JUST Egg Veggie and Cheese Omelette (Vegan)
Need a new delicious breakfast in your life? Look no further than this intensely flavorful and satisfying JUST Egg veggie and cheese omelette. An aromatic base, sweet bell pepper, earthy mushrooms, peppery arugula, and of course savory vegan cheese make this recipe shine. Be ready for a quick and easy meal that will put any ordinary omelette to shame! This recipe is best doubled and enjoyed with a friend or partner, and best served with a cutie and slice of grape jelly toast.
Who would have thought I would eat my best on vacation?
That’s what my best friend and I experienced on our second annual birthday trip to Moab, Utah. Alissa is the best to travel with, because she matches me perfectly in the kitchen. We both know what we’re doing and get in the zone executing meals together — a highly satisfying realm of compatibility for both of us.
Since we met in the spring of 2019, we have been cooking together roughly once per week, alternating planning and hosting. Our meals are delightful, and we rarely have a flop. Conveniently, we are both vegan — Alissa is actually the person who inspired me to make the change. On vacation, our combined skills as cooks flourish, and this year was our best collaboration of all.
The tastiest recipe to come out of November’s vacation is this flavor-packed veggie and cheese omelette, invented through a quick brainstorm of upcoming meals. It was our last meal of the trip enjoying the convenience of kitchen appliances — we would pack up that morning to head to our campsite.
Morning light shone through the large windows of our Airbnb’s community kitchen as I sipped coffee, enjoyed the detailed mountainous view, and waited for my omelette to finish cooking. A decorative sign high on the wall centered between the two ranges read “Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.”
When both of our omelettes were finished, we took our obligatory food pics and headed to the patio. As we soaked up the beautiful day, we savored our first meal with pleasure and amazement. As usual, our wing-it creation was a smashing success. I declared it would be the next recipe up on my blog, and that I would carry the routine of substantial nourishing breakfasts back home into my regular life.
Since my vacation, I have traveled to Illinois to visit family, and had the pleasure of sharing this recipe with my grandparents. My grandma’s reaction especially was so flattering — she must have used every positive adjective imaginable. I knew I had to end my hiatus with Sauté Queen just so my grandma, and ideally so many others, could experience possibly the best omelette they’ve tried so far.
Without further ado, let’s get into this simple yet delicious recipe!
Ingredients
1/2 serrano pepper, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped with whites and greens separated
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika to taste
1/2 container of Just Egg
Vegan feta or Mexican blend cheese to taste
A few handfuls arugula
How to make a Just Egg veggie & cheese omelette
- Chop the veggies.
- Sauté the garlic, green onion, and serrano pepper until aromatic.
- Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika. Stir well to combine.
- Once mushrooms release liquid and brown slightly, add 1/2 container of Just Egg. Sprinkle on more salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika. Sprinkle cheese to your liking over the surface and allow to cook for a few minutes.
- Once omelette has solidified on the bottom, flip to the other side. Add more cheese and a few handfuls of arugula to one side of the surface.
- Once bottom side finishes cooking and is nicely browned, fold the omelette in half with a spatula. Top with a handful of the chopped green parts of the green onion, and more arugula if desired.
- Serve with a cutie and grape jelly toast.
Why this recipe works
Orange bell pepper brings an appealing color and flavor
My obsession with red bell peppers has been humbled by the debut of orange bell peppers in this recipe — I think I’ve found a new favorite. Not only do the orange peppers pair well with the color of this dish, but they add a unique flavor more fitting for this recipe than any other color of bell pepper. If you’ve never tried an orange bell pepper, I recommend diving right in with this recipe. If you already love them, even better!
JUST Egg cooks better and tastes better than chicken eggs
A bold statement, I know. I was never much of an egg lover myself, and have only eaten a few omelettes in my life. Nevertheless, this omelette is the best I’ve had by far, and I would highly recommend that both egg lovers and egg skeptics give it a try. The way the JUST Egg browns adds flavor depth that just can’t be achieved with chicken eggs, and the texture is light yet satisfying. In my opinion, JUST Eggs are just like eggs as the name implies, with the absence of the gross undertone and animal cruelty.
Savory, sweet, spicy, and earthy flavors meld together perfectly
The JUST Egg, garlic, onion, cheese, and spices form the core savory elements of the omelette, while the sweet bell pepper, spicy serrano pepper and arugula, and earthy mushrooms complete the flavor profile. This omelette is truly an explosion of flavor in every bite, in which each ingredient shines. If there are some ingredients in this omelette you’re unsure on — maybe you’re not the biggest fan of mushrooms or don’t have much experience with vegan cheeses — I hope you’ll go outside of your comfort zone and experience a new flavor combination. It just might expand your palate!
Top tips for making a great omelette
Use a nonstick pan and a large spatula
As much as I love and promote stainless steel, it’s just not fit for making an omelette. Yes, it’s supposed to become nonstick if you heat the pan and then heat the oil properly before adding food, but my experience has been that it just doesn’t work. As Teflon is potentially harmful, I recommend opting for pans with ceramic or granite surfaces — I have both, and they are wonderful. If Teflon is all you have, that will work just fine, too.
Likewise, you’ll want a competent spatula for the job of flipping (aka – the largest one you have). Even as an experienced cook, I struggle with flipping omelettes and usually have to flip in three gos — the middle of the omelette followed by each side that cannot fit on the spatula. Don’t worry if your flip isn’t too pretty — it won’t affect the taste! But a large spatula will set you up to flip the entire omelette, whether you get it in one try or three.
Cook the aromatics (garlic, onion, pepper) quickly
An easy way to ruin a dish is by burning your garlic. For this mistake, there is no recovery, and one must start over. Fortunately, as the aromatics are cooked in the very first step of this recipe and you will likely have extra of each ingredient, it’s not the end of the world to mess up and have to restart.
Ideally though, you will cook the aromatics perfectly on the first try. This is quite straightforward — you’ll just want to be mindful of heat and timing. There should be an immediate sizzle when the aromatics are added to the pan, but it should not be so aggressive that the pan starts steaming and you can’t stop mixing for a second without burning. If the sizzle is too weak or too strong, be sure to adjust the heat accordingly. And don’t be afraid to completely remove the pan from the heat for a few moments, especially if the pan starts to smoke.
Getting a feel for the correct heat for your particular stove just takes experimentation. As far as timing goes, you typically won’t want to cook aromatics for longer than a minute. The main goal is just to release the lovely smell of these flavorful ingredients, so that the subsequent ingredients can soak it up as much as possible. A nice visual cue for this particular recipe is watching for the serrano pepper to become a more vibrant green — as soon as this happens, it’s time to add the next ingredients.
Use your favorite veggies and vegan cheese
While I do feel that orange bell pepper is a key ingredient in this recipe and that mushrooms make everything better, there is no reason you can’t use your own favorite veggies in this recipe and still produce a delicious omelette. If you do change out the veggies, just be aware of their unique cooking times. Zucchini, for example, would cook at about the same rate as the bell pepper and mushrooms and could be easily subbed in. Potatoes, however, should be boiled first as they take much longer to cook.
As far as the vegan cheeses go, there are many on the market that taste great and would work well in this recipe. Personally, I can vouch for Follow Your Heart feta crumbles and Mexican style Chao blend by Field Roast. Feel free to experiment with whichever cheese strikes you! Just be sure to add the cheese right after you add the JUST Egg, as they can be slow to melt and taste best when cooked into the omelette instead of just added on top of it.
Use your sense of taste and sight to produce the best result
This is a general rule for all cooking endeavors. I see a lot of recipes that call for cooking on the stove for a certain amount of minutes, and I do feel that this is a helpful framework for new cooks. However, every range is a little bit different, and cooking well depends much more on your individual judgement than an arbitrary cooking time. Cooking is a science that relies on the right combinations of heat and timing (and ingredients, of course) to optimize flavor and texture.
Tasting as you go is a great strategy to get a feel for how your approach is impacting your food. Keep in mind that you can always add more, but you can never take away. If you’re unsure of how much spice to add in this recipe, just keep tasting after each addition to understand how the flavor is changing.
In the same vein, sight can tell you a lot — particularly, color. To get better at frying and sautéing in particular, I recommend paying close attention to the color of your veggies. Veggies taste best when they are the most vibrant in color, which tends to happen quickly after they are added to the pan. The heat of the pan actually forces the chlorophyl (color) molecules in the vegetable to burst, emitting a visibly more vibrant color. This is the best time to add the next ingredients to the pan — continue too far past this point and the veggies will appear dull, signaling they have been cooked too long.
If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think with a comment and rating. This is one of my best recipes so far, and I so appreciate anyone who can help me spread the word!
Hungry for more vegan egg-inspired recipes? Here’s a few ideas:
- Chickpea omelette breakfast sandwich
- Sausage, “egg”, and cheese breakfast sandwich
- Spicy chickpea veggie frittatas
- Tofu scramble “egg” sandwich
- Vegan breakfast burrito crunchwrap
JUST Egg Veggie and Cheese Omelette (Vegan)
Equipment
- Medium nonstick skillet
- Large spatula
Ingredients
- ½ serrano pepper minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch green onions chopped, with whites and greens divided
- 4 oz shiitake mushrooms sliced
- ½ large orange bell pepper diced
- Salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika to taste
- ½ container JUST Egg
- Follow Your Heart feta crumbles or Field Roast Mexican style Chao shreds to taste
- 2-3 handfuls arugula
Instructions
- Prepare the veggies. Preheat a medium non-stick skillet on medium heat. Once pan is hot, add roughly a tablespoon of olive oil. Rotate the pan to coat with oil and watch for the viscous consistency to appear thinner and "watery."
- Add serrano pepper, garlic, and half of the whites from the green onion bunch to the skillet. Mix and cook for about 1 minute until the aroma is lovely and serrano pepper is bright green, being careful not to overcook.
- Add orange bell pepper and mushrooms to the pan. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika to lightly cover the surface, using about the same amount of the first 3 spices and less paprika as it is more potent.
- Mix to combine well, and allow mixture to cook until mushrooms start to release liquid and brown slightly. Feel free to taste the veggies at this point and adjust the spice amounts.
- Evenly distribute the veggies across the pan with the spatula. Shake up the container of JUST Egg, and pour half of the container evenly over the veggies.
- Sprinkle more salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika lightly over the surface, again using a bit less paprika than the other seasonings. Sprinkle vegan cheese evenly over the surface to your liking – I recommend covering but not overloading the surface as you want all of the flavors to shine through and balance each other.
- Allow to cook until the bottom of the omelette feels adhered together when nudged with a spatula. Slide spatula under as much of the omelette as you can, and flip to the other side.
- Add more vegan cheese on half of the omelette surface, along with a few handfuls of arugula. Cook until it once again feels adhered together. Look for a lovely golden brown color to develop on the underside before using the spatula to fold the omelette in half over the arugula and cheese.
- Top with a handful of the reserved green portion of the chopped green onion, and add more arugula if desired. Serve with a cutie and slice of grape jelly toast for a complimentary flavor and nutritional balance.