Baked Eggs With Kale, Bacon and Cornbread Crumbs

By Lidey Heuck

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(587)
Notes: Read community notes

This Southern riff on bacon and eggs comes together quickly and with just a few ingredients. Using a store-bought corn muffin to make the toasted cornbread crumbs is a quick shortcut that gives this dish its star power. (Try using these crumbs as croutons in a kale Caesar salad, too!) Curly kale, collard greens, Swiss chard or a combination may be used in place of the Tuscan kale. For a vegetarian-friendly version, this recipe can be made without the bacon: Just sauté the garlic, onion and greens in 3 tablespoons olive oil, and add an additional ½ teaspoon salt.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

1cup large cornbread crumbs (about 4 ounces) from about 1 large corn muffin
1teaspoon olive oil
1teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1pound Tuscan or lacinato kale (about 2 bunches)
6bacon slices (about 6 ounces), cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces (optional)
1medium yellow onion, cut in half through the stem and thinly sliced
2teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
½teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
½cup water or chicken stock
2teaspoons white-wine or apple cider vinegar
6large eggs

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cornbread crumbs on a sheet pan and toss gently with the olive oil. Season lightly with salt, and bake in the prepared oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until toasted. Set aside to cool.
Step 2
Strip the kale leaves from the stems and roughly chop the leaves, discarding the stems. Place the leaves in a colander and rinse thoroughly (no need to dry).
Step 3
Heat a large 12-inch cast-iron or ovenproof stainless-steel skillet over medium. Add the bacon, if using, and cook, tossing occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan, add the onions and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned and tender. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, being careful not to let the garlic scorch.
Step 4
Add a large handful of kale to the pan, along with 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. As the kale wilts, begin tossing it with tongs and adding more handfuls until all the kale is added. Add the water and vinegar, and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, tossing often, until the kale is tender. Return the bacon to the pan and toss.
Step 5
Use a spoon to create 6 small hollows in the cooked greens. Carefully crack an egg into each, sprinkle each one with salt and pepper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the egg whites are just set. Sprinkle a handful of cornbread crumbs over the greens and eggs, and serve with additional cornbread crumbs on the side.

Ratings

5 out of 5

587 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

m. g.5 years ago

Great recipe! I got home late tonight and decided I wanted something light. I made a few adaptations using what was in my fridge ... turkey bacon (2 slices), peppered salami (1 slice), added a little broccoli and mushrooms. I'm in the south so I also have a shaker of yellow pepper spiced vinegar (for greens and such) so I used that in place of the cider vinegar. After removing from the oven, I topped with fresh Parmesan cheese and a tiny bit of spicy Mexican red sauce (taqueria style). Wow!

Margaux Laskey, Senior Staff Editor5 years ago

Hi all! After reading your notes, we've adjusted the salt down by 1/2 teaspoon, but as always, season your food to taste. Keep in mind that this recipe calls for kosher salt. If you use fine table salt, your dish will be much saltier. Happy cooking!

Jerry C.5 years ago

Delicious! The pepper vinegar others are suggesting would be a welcome twist, particularly here in Texas, where food bites back. I made cornbread: Pre-heat 2 tbs vegetable oil to 425° F. in a 12" cast iron skillet. Mix 3/4 cup stone ground corn meal, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 egg, 1/8 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup milk. Pour into hot skillet and bake for 25 minutes. Crumble and toast while the eggs are baking, then sprinkle on the baked eggs and kale. Add grated Parmesan.

Leo5 years ago

Don’t need to add salt if using bacon. Comes out way too salty.

amazing5 years ago

If you don't want to eat bacon, you can add 2 Tbls. tamari, 1 Tbl. nutritional yeast and 1 tsp. liquid smoke. Add it to the pan when you add the stock and vinegar. It was great!

Chris5 years ago

Great recipe! Made this with a Vidalia instead of yellow onion. The sweetness of the Vidalia takes the bitterness away from the kale and makes a great mix. I agree with others here who suggest that the bacon makes the salt unnecessary.

Cathy5 years ago

I make a version of this all the time, on the stove. Olive oil, cumin seed or other spices optional, thinly sliced onion, greens, glug of cider vinegar (I like it tart), slide in the eggs, season, quick lid to trap the steam, done. No need for the oven, or bacon, or cornbread--what a fussy recipe this one is.

Ross5 years ago

Added fresh morel mushrooms and asparagus to our veggie version on Mothers Day. Absolutely delicious!

Aidan5 years ago

Instead of the plain vinegar called for, substitute the pepper vinegar ubiquitous to the Southern table. Spectacular!

Janet H.5 years ago

Great and surprising combination of ingredients! However, where I live it seems as all store-bought corn muffins and cornbread are so sweet that they taste like cake. I found several quick cornbread mixes in the grocery story (Jiffy has a good one), that mix up easily and bake, so I did that, saving the rest for the author´s suggestion to try making croutons for a salad. Also if you are stuck with gluten-free people, this recipie will satisfy that requirement.

Dan5 years ago

Made this for my wife for Mother's Day. It would have been great, but there was far too much salt in the recipe--especially since there's bacon in it. Next time I'll probably cut the salt out altogether.

Agree with Candace, BLAND5 days ago

Thanks for the idea, and that's where the compliments end. Greens out of proportion, so you have to double (homemade) cornbread croutons (and hope seeded sourdough adds enough flavour). I used lime juice for vinegar. My food was salty. I added old bay seasoning, smoky paprika, dried thyme, and yet it was still BLAND... until I added homemade salsa, and then it was edible, but not worth the time. Reduce bacon cheddar? Chives sour cream? Cholula? Or just skip...

Candace Morrison3 months ago

I was so disappointed in this recipe. I made as instructed and couldn't eat it. Just threw the whole thing away. I iused farmer's market kale and expensive bacon so the quality of the ingredients were not the issue. Just no flavor or interest of any kind. I love New York Times recipes that are 5 star and this was not the typical outcome.

KW3 months ago

Make with brown butter skillet cornbread

Lafayette Ann4 months ago

Excellent recipe to riff on. I had spinach and no bacon, so sprinkled sharp cheddar on top in the last few minutes of baking and it was terrific.

Azawakh4 months ago

Made it to the recipe but served with harissa and some gorgeous fresh goat cheese. It just sounded right and it was!!!

ariele5 months ago

Omitted the onions, and used fresh red chili, scallions, and sun dried tomatoes. Did the recipe the same outside of that and it was GREAT!

Amy1 year ago

I make this all the time. I use 3 bunches of kale and cook it in the deep cast iron skillet. Also, just make cornbread. No one will complain.

Anjali1 year ago

Truly wonderful! We actually had this for dinner. I added Swiss chard and substituted champagne for white wine. I also added extra garlic and a light topping of parmesan cheese. Can’t wait to make it for guests.

Liz1 year ago

Yum! I made this as written, except subbed some croutons I had on hand for the cornbread crumbs. I halved the recipe and made in a 10” pan - worked great. I used apple cider vinegar and water. Definitely going into the rotation.

Marina MacNamara1 year ago

This is one of those reviews where there were a lot of changes. But it was delicious! We don’t eat bacon, so I used butter and olive oil as the fat. Added some red bell pepper to the onion, smoked paprika for the spicing. And chick peas just because. Based on reviews added cheese on top of the eggs (decided on queso fresco), and then made corn bread on the side. A great weeknight dinner!

CK2 years ago

Delicious. After reviewing the comments and the author's note, I made my own cornbread and then salted it when crisping the crumbs. They add a nice texture to this dish. The salted breadcrumbs provided enough salt to complement the bacon.

Renee2 years ago

Excellent recipe but deleted the cornbread and steamed it on the stove instead of baking in oven. Decreased the Himalayan salt to 1/2 tsp, used red and yellow onion, organic kale and free-range eggs. 3 cloves of garlic. Will use mushrooms and red and orange peppers next time too.

LisaLisa2 years ago

Delicious! I heavily seasoned the onions, however. L

Lisa2 years ago

Love this recipe also, but wanted to add a little zip. I mixed in two heaping spoonful's (or was it three?) of Gochujang into the base mixture of kale, onion, garlic and bacon. Be careful not to overcook the eggs. You want the yolks good and runny. Really the whole thing is dee-lish.

Anna Frost2 years ago

I’d like to make this over the holidays and it will be a crowded, busy time. I wonder if it would be alright to use frozen greens, instead of fresh. Would love anybody’s thoughts on that.

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