Scramble eggs make a great last minute, sweep-the-kitchen weekend brunch or dinner. As I was looking through my pantry and fridge taking note of what needed to be used up today, I noticed I had half a jar of taco sauce, a small can of diced green chiles, and a whole block of pepper jack cheese. I knew immediately that I wanted a cheesy skillet full of Ultimate Southwest Scrambled Eggs for lunch. It’s like loaded nachos, except all egg and no nacho. LOL. As a devout egg lover, I’m not sad about that.
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How to Serve Southwest Scrambled Eggs
I just eat them as-is, but there are several other things you can do with these scrambled eggs! Use these “loaded” scrambled eggs as a base for breakfast tacos, breakfast burritos, or even breakfast quesadillas. Got leftover tortilla chips? Break them up and toss them right in the skillet with the cheesy eggs for a crunchy finish.
Other Topping Ideas
When avocados are in season and less than a dollar each, dice them up and add them to the party. Salsa can be used in place of the taco sauce (although it can make the mix a bit more watery), or if you have any leftover homemade enchilada sauce, you can use that. A little fresh pico de gallo or cowboy caviar on top is top-notch, as well!
Can I Add Meat?
If you’re a meat-manditory person, you can brown some breakfast sausage, ground beef, or bacon in the skillet before cooking the eggs (remove the meat first, then stir it back in later), or simply add some shredded rotisserie chicken. See how many options there are? SWEEP THE KITCHEN.
Southwest Scrambled Eggs
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 large eggs ($2.16)
- 1/4 cup milk ($0.08)
- salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.08)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)
- 1 4oz. can diced green chiles ($0.87)
- 1/4 cup taco sauce ($0.48)
- 4 oz. pepper jack, shredded ($1.00)
- 2 green onions ($0.17)
- 1 small tomato ($0.34)
Instructions
- Rinse the can of beans in a colander and let drain as you prepare the eggs.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Whisk until fairly smooth.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the butter and let it melt. Spread the butter over the surface of the skillet with a spatula. Pour the whisked eggs into the skillet and gently fold them with the spatula as they begin to set. Avoid over stirring the eggs.
- When the eggs are bout 75% set (still soft, moist, and fluid around the edges), add the drained beans and chopped green chiles (no need to drain the chiles). Gently fold the beans and chiles into the scrambled eggs. Drizzle taco sauce over the eggs, then top with pepper jack.
- Place a lid on the skillet and let it warm for about 5 more minutes, or until the eggs are fully set and the cheese on top is melted.
- While the eggs are warming through, slice the green onions and dice the tomato. Top the eggs with the fresh tomato and green onion just before serving.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Southwest Scrambled Eggs – Step by Step Photos
Eggs cook quickly, so I like to prepare my ingredients ahead of time. Rinse and drain a 15oz. can of black beans (those are in my sink, so not pictured). Open a 4oz. can of diced green chiles. Shred 4oz. pepper jack cheese, slice two green onions, and dice one small tomato (I actually diced the tomato as the skillet was warming later, but it’s never a bad idea to do it ahead of time). 
Add 8 large eggs to a large bowl, along with 1/4 cup milk and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until fairly smooth. My personal preference is to not whisk the bejeezus out of the eggs, so there are still ribbons of white and yellow in the final scrambled eggs.
I prefer to cook my scrambled eggs over medium-low heat so that I have better control over how fast they cook. The biggest mistake people make with scrambled eggs is over cooking and over stirring them until they are dry, flakey, and in tiny pieces. To avoid that, heat a large skillet over a medium-low flame. Add a tablespoon of butter and let it melt in the skillet. Spread the butter over the entire surface of the skillet. Pour in the eggs, then gently fold the mixture as it begins to set on the bottom. Don’t move the eggs around excessively, just push them around occasionally as the bottom layer solidifies. When they’re about 75% set, then it’s time to start adding in the other ingredients (the eggs will continue to cook, don’t worry).
Add the drained black beans and a 4oz. can of diced green chiles. Gently fold them into the eggs. If you stir too much, everything will get pasty and gross, so just gently fold to maintain the nice large pieces of egg.
Drizzle a little taco sauce over the eggs… (about 1/4 cup)
Add 4oz. shredded pepper jack cheese, then place a lid on the skillet. Keep the eggs over the medium-low flame to let them heat through and to melt the cheese (about 5 minutes).
Once the eggs have set and the cheese has melted, top with the diced tomato and sliced green onion.
Then enjoy the cheesy goodness that is the Ultimate Southwest Scrambled Eggs.
Or, if you have some tortillas laying around (I ALWAYS seem to have tortillas in my fridge), you can stuff the eggs into a cute little breakfast taco, burrito, or quesadilla! 🌮🌯🍳
I fried up some other old veggies (onion, bell pepper) and added in some corn, just because I had some leftovers. This was super delicious – thank you so much!
This was delicious! I added about a 1/2 cup of chopped cooked bacon because we love bacon! This is quick n easy AND tastes so good! Try it :)
Simple and delicious. Reheated in the microwave amazingly well for breakfasts for the work week, with no noticeable change in texture.
My family loves this…. it reminds my wife of a “mexican pizza” from Taco Bell! It is perfect for a quick weeknight meal. I have made this recipe several times, exactly as listed, it is a “regular” in the recipe book.
Beth, thanks so much for all of your delicious recipes. I have had more success with your recipes for my family than with any other resource.
What would you suggest as an alternative to green chiles? I have one family member whose stomach doesn’t tolerate them. Thank you!
I’d probably just leave them out. :) There is enough going on with the other ingredients that it will still be tasty!
The Ultimate Southwest Egg Scramble is amazing!!! I turned this delicious dish into breakfast burritos for my sister and me this week, and I added Beef Chorizo and red onion for some extra flavor. I plan on adding some taco sauce to the burrito after I heat it up in the microwave. I will be making this again. Thank you for sharing this very delicious recipe Miss Beth 😃
My son and I absolutely loved this. We took out the tomatoes and added spicy sausage. Yum! I think we might add some crispy home fries to it next time.
I made this the other day and it was delicious! I couldn’t poach the eggs so I just made sunny side up and I also added a little mustard to the sauce for more flavor. Thank you for the recipe. Yummy!
Tasty! I added a dollop of sour cream and some Cholula for extra heat.
Best breakfast dish ever! Thank you so much.
Hi Beth, I love love this recipe. Even though it’s just sweetie and me I make the whole recipe. Then use it to stuff a burrito that I grill on my grill pan. We share one for breakfast or lunch with some fruit. Also I just want to thank you for sticking to your blog format and NOT cluttering it up with a bunch of crazy adds. I love your recipes. They inspire me. Thanks!
All of your recipes look really good and not hard to make.
Finally made these! All i can say is WOW! Put them in homemade flour tortilla’s and I mean WoW. Had the neighbor over for breakfast, he added Hot Sauce, and the two of us ate the entire thing in one sitting, He was scrapping down the pan to get every last bit of egg.
Thank you for teaching me to be a great cook for le$$,
Used Rotel instead of the green chiles and the small tomato, and it made the dish so much quicker and simpler! Plus I seasoned my eggs extra with onion powder and garlic powder for a nice kick. This meal came together so quickly and my partner and I loved it! We’re putting the leftovers in tortillas to freeze into breakfast burritos for many breakfasts to come.
Sounds good!
Next time I’ll remember to blot dry the tomato pieces before adding them. The juice makes things a little soggy
Perfect! Thanks,
Those look fantastic! How did you know that my plain scrambled eggs for breakfast were getting too boring?
Yours looks so much prettier than mine but it sure tasted good and my husband went back for seconds. He put his in a wrap. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Any recommendations on how to heat these without overcooking the eggs? I’m worried about them in the microwave, but obviously this isn’t a meal to be eaten in one sitting for most people.
I just try to microwave them until they’re warm/hot, not super hot. That tends to work well. The eggs don’t get stiff or rubbery.
Thanks!
Oh man, this looks so delicious! For some reason seeing it in a taco shell just put it over the edge for me.
I’ll have to make a tofu-scramble like this soon. I never thought to throw some black beans in there.. probably because I felt like there was already enough bean happening.
Thank you!
Because everything is better in a tortilla. ;)
This looks really good!! I just wish that I liked eggs! : P
Just WOW for this innovative recipe !! I have never tasted this dish before. Thanks Beth for sharing the recipe 😄
Avocados for under a dollar?!? You’re so lucky. Not in New Jersey.
Try going to Aldi if there’s any near you. Currently they are a little high at 1.30 by me but normally I find them at Aldi for 80 cents in NJ.
Not currently but back in the spring avocados were going for 3/$1 in my grocery stores in north NJ. Unfortunately now they are back up there. =(
I eat those types of eggs at least once a week if not more. I adore eggs.
This is one of those recipes where I slap my head and think “why haven’t I done this?!?!”
Brilliant! :)
Beth! Have you ever seen Gordon Ramsey’s recipe/video for scrambled eggs? It might change your life. Really! They’re the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had and the few other people I’ve made them for agree. Love your site!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7U5vTMM0
Oh, cool! Thanks for sending that clip! It’s funny because the video that auto-played after the Gordon Ramsey video was Jamie Oliver showing scrambled eggs three ways: English, French, and American. American was big folds (like mine), French was super whisked and creamy (kind of like Gordon’s), and English was half way between. :D
My favorite will always be Alton Brown on his (or one of his) Good Eats episodes about eggs. Since watching that, my eggs always end up fluffy and delicious with big folds/curds. Unfortunately, I can never find the video anymore, but basically: If they look done in the pan, they’ll be overdone on the plate, and start with the heat low but finish them high and fast!