Ever since making my 5 Minute Microwave French Toast Mug a couple of weeks ago, I’ve wanted to try a savory version (because I’m alllll about savory breakfast). I’m about to go out of town again and desperately trying to use up the last few leftover ingredients in my fridge before I go, so I thought now was a good time. For this savory microwave breakfast mug I used some left over French bread, leftover rotisserie chicken, a handful of baby spinach, and a little shredded cheese. It’s so simple, but so extremely satisfying! It’s like a single serving breakfast strata!
Use What You’ve Got For a New Breakfast Mug Every Time
What I think I love the most about this dish is that you can use just about any meat, vegetable, or cheese that you have on hand. I used rotisserie chicken, but you could use just about any deli meat in its place (or leave out the meat all together).
For vegetables you could use frozen broccoli (chopped fine), frozen spinach, mushrooms, green onions, diced bell peppers, or even a couple grape tomatoes.
I happened to have cheddar on hand, which makes a nice color contrast, but you could do something like feta, shredded Parmesan, smoked gouda, or pepper jack.
There are just so many options. If you think about the flavor themes that restaurants do with omelets, you could do the same themes with this savory microwave breakfast mug (think mediterranean, southwest, Denver, garden, etc.).
No Price Estimate This Time, Sorrry
I decided not to price out this recipe because I was using such small quantities of ingredients and they were all leftovers, so it would be nearly impossible to get even a general price estimate. But, I think the idea of re-using leftovers for a new meal is important enough to stand on its own. :)
5 Minute Savory Microwave Breakfast Mug
Servings 1Ingredients
- 1 cup stale bread pieces*
- 1/4 cup pre-cooked chopped sausage
- 1/4 cup finely chopped vegetables
- 2 Tbsp shredded cheese
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 1 large egg
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Tear or cut the bread into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the meat and vegetables into small pieces. Shred the cheese.
- Add the butter to the bottom of a large mug (10-12oz.) and microwave on high for 20 seconds or until it is fully melted. Whisk in the milk, egg, salt, and pepper with a fork.
- Stir the meat, vegetables, and cheese into the milk and egg mixture first, then gently fold in the bread cubes until they are fully saturated.
- Let the mug sit for one minute to fully absorb the liquid, then microwave on high for about 90 seconds, or until the center is solid and it has begun to pull away from the mug around the edges. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
Step by Step Photos
Tear a couple slices of stale bread into 1/2-inch pieces, or about 1 cup of pieces. Finely chop about 1/4 cup of meat (I used rotisserie chicken) and 1/4 cup of vegetables (I used baby spinach). Shred about 1/4 cup of cheese (I used cheddar).
If you’re unsure about how much bread to use, go ahead and put the bread pieces in your mug. They should come almost all the way up to the top when placed loosely in the mug (don’t pack them in, there needs to be room for the other ingredients).
Set the bread pieces aside, then place 1 Tbsp butter in the bottom of the mug. Microwave the butter for about 20 seconds, or until it is melted. Whisk in 3 Tbsp milk, 1 large egg, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Stir the dry ingredients into the milk and egg mixture, starting with the meat, vegetables, and cheese. Fold the break pieces in last so they don’t begin to break apart when they soften from the liquid. Let the mixture sit for about a minute to fully absorb the liquid.
Microwave the mug on high for about 90 seconds, or until the center is solid and the sides begin to pull away from the mug. Every microwave is a bit different, so you may need to experiment with the timing.
And that’s it! In just 5 minutes you have a totally delicious and filling Savory Microwave Breakfast Mug AND reduced your food waste. :)
Would a bagel work or be too chewy?
I think a bagel might be too dense to soak up the egg mixture, but then again, some store bought bagels these days are the same texture as bread. LOL!
This is such a great idea! This morning I used up an old piece of sourdough, some broccoli from the fridge drawer and a piece of precooked bavon. It was tasty in fact my 14 month old kept begging for bites! I’ll definitely make this again! I have a hard time choking down scrambled or fried eggs in the morning and this might be just the right solution 👍🏼
Finally someone who wants savory breakfast too. I don’t like sweet things first thing in my day. Must do this. So excited, I have turkey pastrami in the fridge.
This was delicious and great for a weekday morning when I have to get out the door to work. I love savory breakfast. I lightly toasted my bread slices to help ensure “staleness” while I was prepping the rest of the ingredients.
This looks awesome! Eggs are usually such a hassle in the morning, thanks for the quick and easy recipe here.
Is there something vegetarians should substitute for chicken, or should they just omit it entirely? Thanks – love your blog!
I would just do a mix of vegetables and cheese. :)
I cooked up a tube of Gimme Lean meatless sausage (use a wooden spoon to crumble it in the pan as you brown it), as I plan on making this all week long.
I make “chilaquiles” this way. Instead of bread, just break up a couple tortilla chips (even stale work just fine). Add your choice of cheese and egg. MIx it up. Put a little salsa/taco sauce on top.
I use about 3 tortilla chips, one egg+one egg white, 1 T. milk and about 3/4 oz of shredded cheese. Taco sauce to taste.
One of my favorites!!!
BTW – I LOVE your website. Thank you.
I am so going to make this tomorrow! Such a cool idea.
http://www.hayleydawnblogs.com
I love this!! Egg mug breakfasts are my favorite! Here are my tips: Instead of milk I add a tablespoon or so of cottage cheese. I also skip the butter and, instead, coat the mug with a spritze of nonstick cooking spray.
Oooh, I like the cottage cheese idea!
Hi Beth, I love your blog and cook many of your recipes. But lately I have noticed many more very distracting ads. Very distracting. I loved your blog cause it was just food but these ads are very off putting. Please consider the ads you are adding. They do not in any way enhance your blog. Suze
Hi Suze, thanks for the feedback! I actually don’t pick the ads, they are picked for each person every time the page is loaded based on your browsing history. We have filters set up to block the obnoxious or offensive ads, but sometimes they get through anyway (grrrr). If you see an ad that you don’t like, you can click on the tiny grey “report this ad” just under the bottom right of each ad and that will send us the exact ad and the name of the advertiser so we can block them! I hate annoying ads too. :)
This is such a cool idea!
Hej Beth, heres a suggestion. I live in Europe ,and find your recipes very good. Now , I got a traveller to buy me a set of measuring cups while they were in the USA. American recipes all use the “cup” system. So I,m good. I know that 1 cup =2.35 deciliters etc.. Anyway, how about a once and for all conversion table into metric.? It could be incorporated in the “how to ” section. How to convert weights/measures etc. A usefull service for non Americans. Just a thought, regards,Tony
I live in Hungary and England and would LOVE a conversion chart with metrics and perhaps weights for staple items (rather than volume, e.g. one cup of flour=x grams). I have been using Google but a one-stop chart would be amazingly helpful. Cheers!
Hi Tony/June, I don’t know if this will help, but I’m in America and I use this online calculator all the time when I need to convert metric to US measurements:
http://www.worldwidemetric.com/measurements.html
Love this! At a recent weekend holiday, a few friends and I tried meal planning for omnis, vegetarians, and vegans. Tough work.
I adapted the featured recipe. My vegetarian friends really restricts their use of animal products. The recipe’s eggs, butter, and milk maxed out some personal limits, so instead of meat and cheese, we added an extra egg and nutritional yeast.
My vegan friends subbed in a mixture of mashed silken tofu, TVP, EVOO, nutritional yeast, and nut milk. We experimented to get best proportions, and after a few interesting results, we came up with an incredible breakfast item.
I couldn’t believe how delicious it turned out! The beauty parts were how each person received a tailored main course and how the posted recipe is so easily adaptable. Nobody felt excluded; in fact, I noticed we actually lingered over brunches. Thank you so much.
Yummy!! I LOVE savory breakfast!!!! :-)
Just had to comment on your savory breakfast recipes. They are delicious!!! I cannot wait to try this one.