This recipe comes courtesy of my dear friend, Ashley. She was looking for something to cook for dinner one night and decided to type the ingredients she had on hand into google (I think it was google) and Joe’s Special popped up.
Joe’s Special is a recipe created and made famous by a San Francisco restaurant, which basically consists of ground beef, spinach, and eggs. There have been hundreds of variations since, and this is one of them. What makes this version mine? Well, just that I added what I had in my fridge. Primarily feta cheese, which happens to go right along with the spinach and oregano already in the basic recipe. If you don’t have feta, no worries, just use parmesan alone and it will still be delish.
I listed the serving size for this recipe as just one cup. Sure, that’s kind of small, but I really see this dish as just one part of a breakfast (or lunch, or dinner). Serve it open face over whole grain toast, stuffed inside a pita, and with a piece of fresh fruit on the side for a well rounded meal.
Joe’s Special (my way)
Joe’s Special (my way)
Servings 6Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.28)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 lb. ground beef (90/10) ($4.93)
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.07)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce ($0.06)
- 1/2 lb. frozen chopped spinach ($0.75)
- 6 large eggs ($1.50)
- 2 oz. feta cheese (optional) ($0.87)
- 2 Tbsp grated parmesan ($0.21)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Cook both in skillet with olive oil over medium heat until soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the ground beef, oregano, salt, and worcestershire sauce. Cook until the beef is no longer pink, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks (7-10 minutes).
- Once the beef is fully cooked, add the frozen spinach. Cook and stir until it has thawed and heated through, breaking up clumps as you go.
- Briefly whisk 6 eggs in a bowl. Push the beef and spinach mixture to one side of the skillet (or make a well in the center) and pour in the eggs. Gently scramble the eggs until they are cooked through, but still moist. Try not to mix them into the meat as they cook or you’ll have beef coated in egg, rather than clumps of cooked egg. Once the egg is cooked, stir it into the beef mixture and turn off the burner.
- Crumble or roughly chop the feta cheese and sprinkle it over the skillet. Also sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine, taste, adjust the salt if needed, and then serve.
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Nutrition
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Sriracha – because that’s how I roll. What did you expect?
Step By Step Photos
Start here, as usual. Minced garlic, diced onion, and olive oil. Cook over medium heat until soft and transparent.
Next add the ground beef, oregano, and salt. If you’re feeling sassy, add some crushed red pepper flakes.
Also add the Worcestershire sauce, which gives the dish some extra savory oomph and just a touch of sweetness. Cook until the beef is fully browned.
I tend to like the frozen spinach in a bag rather than the block because I think it has a better texture, but you could certainly use the block kind if you need. Just make sure that it’s CHOPPED spinach, so that you don’t have long stringy pieces. I used a half pound (8 ounces), but if you want to use a whole 10 ounce block, that would work just fine.
Once the beef is fully cooked, add the spinach. Keep cooking until the spinach thaws and then fully heats through.
While the spinach is cooking, lightly whisk the eggs. I don’t like to whisk until completely smooth because I like some separation of white and yolk, but that’s just me. Push the beef mixture to the side and pour in the eggs. Cook the eggs without mixing them in with the beef. Only combine the two sides once the eggs have cooked, otherwise, you’ll just coat the beef in eggs and you won’t have any egg clumps. If your pan has a thin bottom or doesn’t heat evenly, you can do this in the center of the pan (right over the heat) instead of on the side. Just push the beef out to the edges.
Once the egg is cooked, stir it into the beef and turn off the burner. If you want even BIGGER clumps of egg, scramble them in a separate skillet then stir them in.
Roughly chop the feta or crumble it with your hands. If you’re using just parmesan, increase the amount to 1/4 cup instead of just 2 tablespoons.
Add the cheeses to the skillet.
Stir it all together, taste it, and adjust the salt if needed. The amount and type of cheese that you use will dictate how much salt is needed.
You don’t have to wait for breakfast to have this super filling dish…
Stuff it inside of a pita or serve over a slice of hearty toast. I have to admit, a tomato would be AWESOME with this!
This was SO GOOD. I am tired of all the beef and rice recipes and wanted something a little different. I love the Greek flavors. I served with some roasted potatoes and it was perfection.
Dont drain the beef after cooking or did I miss to drain it?
For nutritional info…. is that based on 80/20? 90/10? In my dietary case it would be beneficial to know what is being used. Thanks!!!
Hi! Choose 90/10 beef and don’t drain. The nutrition is based on 90/10. Thanks for being here!
Ingredient pricing must be tripled and doubled for California! Lol!
Lucky you to the rest of yous…
I make this nearly every time a family pack of ground beef is on sale. Simple, tasty, and very flexible! Recently I spiced this with za’atar, and finished with some lemon juice alongside the feta for a sort of Middle Eastern flair. Yum!
I used Italian seasoned turkey burger, but followed your directions. My dog went nutz over it. I loved it also.
This looks great! I am doing keto and always need to check the carb count, so in case anyone else was wondering:
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 296
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16.6g 21%
Saturated Fat 5.5g 27%
Cholesterol 262mg 87%
Sodium 479mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 4.3g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1.3g 5%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 31.9g
Vitamin D 18mcg 88%
Calcium 124mg 10%
Iron 16mg 91%
Potassium 616mg 13%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
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Thank you for providing the nutritional information for this recipe. So helpful!
Delicious! Took the recommendation and added sliced tomatoes. Would make again!
Fantastic recipe!
My apartment smelled heavenly when I made Joe’s Special for breakfast. It was so good that I came back for seconds!!! I’ll definitely make it again soon. Thank you, Beth!!! :-)
This Joe’s special recipe is sacrilege and heresy! I say this as a 4th generation San Franciscan. My beloved, late Mom used to make it at least twice a month for dinner when she didn’t have much time to shop or cook. Cheese? Worcester sauce?!
It actually sounds great. But you MUST add just a dash of nutmeg. My Mom was Greek. She’d approve of the oregano in lieu of basil and the addition of feta cheese and shoving it into pita bread:) Looking forward to trying your version!
Made this tonight for the family. Inexpensive, quick, and easy. Also delicious. It’s definitely going into the rotation.
Do you think it would freeze well?
Eggs are kind of so-so when frozen. It depends on how much texture changes bother you. They tend to seep a little water when thawed and will always cook a little further when they’re reheated, so it just depends on if that bothers you or not.
Beth…there is no listing for frozen eggs! I believe you read the line above in the recipe that calls for frozen chopped spinach.
Gael… I believe Beth was responding to Eric’s question of whether or not the recipe would freeze well. SMH. Great recipe though.
LOL!!!!
You might want to add
Drain all liquid before the eggs or you’ll end up with soup
yummy and so easy! I customized by adding more Worcestershire, scrambling only 5 eggs instead of 6, substituting a mix of ground pork and beef b/c that’s what was on sale; I also added chopped kale and a healthy dash of my favourite creole seasoning. served with goat queso and siracha wrapped in tortillas with tomatoes and cucumbers on the side for my work lunch for 2 delicious days. thanks beth! another winner :)
I just made this. The only thing I added was a red pepper and doubled the Worcestershire sauce. I am planning on serving it over egg noodles for dinner. This is seriously delicious! I will definitely be making it again! :-)
I remembered to buy MOST of the ingredients but came up a bit short when I got to the kitchen, so I had to make a few creative substitutions. Parsley flakes in place of oregano and soy sauce in place of Worcestershire. Still tasted awesome, and now I get to proudly tell people I can cook real people food! I’m pretty kitchen-illiterate with everything that ISN’T baking or hamburger helper, so this was definitely a great success, haha!
I just made this but substituted ground hot italian sausage…. YUM!
I like this because, aside from being a native san franciscan and thus obliged to make this, it’s a very simple and adaptable recipe. I really love the “make and eat whenever” recipes like the meatballs.
I usually get fresh spinach for salads so i’ll probably use that, so I’ll be sure to try this soon!
Very, very good. I used an entire 12 oz package of spinach, killed off what was left of a carton of farm fresh eggs (7 eggs), and used mexican blend cheese, with sriracha rolled up in flour tortillas. HUGE hit! Very, very healthy. Dear hubby is strictly low carb during the week, and he skips pretty much any cheese except cottage cheese. He ate this with cottage cheese – lots of protein, leafy greens, low on carbs. Plus, we get lots of free farm fresh eggs and are always looking for new ways to use them up. This will be going into regular rotation at our house.
I tried this meal, with great success. I did have to make some changes though.
First I am allergic to beef, so I tried this meal with ground turkey. It was awesome. I put it in pitas with tomatoesvand blue cheese crumbles (a splurge from holidays I had left over).
Second my hubby thinks he has to have a side dish. So I made fried potatoes. When he packed his lunch for work (he works graveyard) he just threw the meat mix on top of potatoes. He said it was great that way also.
Defintaly keeping this recipe handy.
I tried this meal with a few variations of my own! I am allergic to beef, so I used ground turkey instead. And it was DELISH! I also didnt have any feta on hand, but I did have some blue cheese crumbles (left over from holiday splurge) and it was great. Now my hubby thinks he has to have side dish with everything… so I put meat in pita with tomato slices and made some fried potatoes for him. He works graveyard so when he packed his lunch for work he just threw meat mix on top of pototes. He said it was great that way to. And of course we used siricaha to!
Now THAT would be my last day on earth meal. I tried once and I can’t stop myself now. It’s so easy, so tasty… It’s even better after being microwaved, isn’t that the dream?
Thanks so much for the recipe.
I’m def trying this with feta next time…it’s such an ugly dish but you got nice pictures of it! You’re awesome!
Ashley
Hah! My parents lived in San Francisco for years and my dad calls his variation “Jeffer Scramble”! Good memories! <3
Hahah, no bother. I’m HAPPY when people let me know about my typos! I forget to change that last number on the table way too often… fixing now ;)
I don’t mean to be a bother but your total doesn’t match.
Joe’s special has been heavy in my rotation for 15 years, this version looks terrific.
This would be great with some tortillas = yummmm!
Your recipes never let me down! Cannot wait to try this one, thanks!
Yay, Joe’s Special! I’m an SF kid and my mom used to make this on those nights when you get home and everyone is starving and no one wants to cook. I love your idea of adding fetta, I’ll probably add that in when I make it from now on too.
Just FYI, it is delicious with tomatoes. Lots of times my mom would make a simple cucumber/tomato salad to go with it. It’s also served at the restaurant on the Brunch menu. So, so tasty after a night out. :)