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Home | Recipes | Ricotta Pesto Fried Eggs

Ricotta Pesto Fried Eggs

Published on June 16, 2024 by Stephanie Kay

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These 5-minute ricotta pesto fried eggs on toast are perfect for a quick and easy meal, and they work well for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Ricotta pesto fried eggs on toast on a white plate with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper on top, with a side of homemade pesto.

Eggs are one of my go-to meals. It doesn’t matter if it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, they are such as versatile ingredient and a great way to add protein to a meal in a matter of minutes. They can be scrambled, boiled, poached, or fried, made into a sandwich, added to salads, cooked into a skillet, or fried up and added to toast for a quick, easy, and healthy meal.

Although eggs are pretty neutral tasting on their own, the combination of pesto and ricotta adds a ton of flavor, and makes a humble fried egg the most delicious topping for toast. So, if you’re looking for a new quick and easy meal, give the ricotta pesto fried eggs on toast a try, because I know you’re going to love them.

Pesto fried eggs on sourdough on a plate with a fork.

Why You’ll Love Them

  • Quick + Easy – Made with 4 ingredients and ready in 5 minutes, this recipe is perfect for a weekday breakfast.
  • High in Protein – These pesto eggs contain over 25 grams of protein per serving.
  • Full of Healthy Fats – The combination of pesto and eggs ensures that these pesto-fried eggs are rich in healthy fats and micronutrients.
Ingredients for pesto fried eggs: eggs, basil pesto, ricotta cheese, and sourdough bread.

Ingredients + Substitutions

  • Eggs – To ensure this breakfast is packed full of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
  • Pesto – To fry the eggs and add some healthy fats and flavor. You can make homemade pesto, with pine nuts, fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, lemon, and parmesan, or just grab a jar of store-bought pesto.
  • Ricotta Cheese – To boost the protein content and ensure the eggs are rich and creamy. If you don’t like ricotta cheese, feta cheese, goat cheese, or cream cheese would also work well.
  • Bread – I use sourdough bread for my eggs, since sourdough is the healthiest bread, but you can use any style of bread that you like.
  • Red Pepper Flakes – To add a bit of heat, although optional.
  • Salt and Pepper – To season the dish, although optional.

Dietary Adaptions

To Make it Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free bread.

To Make it Dairy-Free: Use vegan pesto and omit the ricotta cheese.

Pesto and ricotta cheese in a non-stick frying pan.
Pesto, ricotta, and eggs in a non-stick frying pan.

How to Make Pesto Eggs on Toast

  1. Add pesto to a pan. In a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, add the pesto and heat for 10-30 seconds until it releases its oil, and then spread it out into a thin layer large enough to cook the eggs.
  2. Add ricotta to the pan. Add the ricotta cheese to the pan, spreading it out into a thin layer across the pesto.
  3. Add the eggs. Crack the eggs into the pan, directly on top of the pesto and ricotta mixture, and cook for 4-5 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
  4. Toast the bread. Add the slices of bread to a toaster and cook to your liking, then place them on a plate, and top each slice with a pesto-fried egg.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

You can find the detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

Pesto eggs in a frying pan.

Red’s Nutrition Tip

Eggs are a great source of protein, however, a couple of eggs is not a particularly high-protien meal. Fortunaly, pairing them with ricotta, which is a great source of vegetarian protein, and sourdough bread, which made from high-protein grains, you can easily create a high-protein meal without much effort.

Serving Suggestions

These pesto-fried eggs are a good source of protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates, however, you can add a side to make them a more balanced meal.

  • To increase the fiber content, serve the fried eggs with a side of fresh fruit, such as berries or sliced apple.
  • To increase the fat content, serve them with a side of sliced avocado or a sprinkle or parmesan cheese.
  • To increase the protein content, fry up and additional egg or serve the pesto fried eggs with a side of breakfast sausage or a small bowl of Greek yogurt or skyr.
Fried pesto eggs with ricotta and red pepper flakes on toast on a white plate with a fork.

More Easy Egg Recipes:

  • Creamy Spinach Baked Eggs
  • Tortilla Egg Bake
  • Kale and Egg Skillet
  • Ricotta Toast
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Ricotta pesto fried eggs on toast on a white plate with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper on top, with a side of homemade pesto.

Ricotta Pesto Fried Eggs

Author: Stephanie Kay

Ready in 5 minutes, these ricotta and pesto fried eggs are a great high-protein recipe that works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

  • Author: Stephanie Kay
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Stovetop
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons pesto
  • 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 slices sourdough, or bread of choice
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Salt and pepper, to season

Instructions

  1. In a non-stick pan on medium heat, add the pesto and heat for 10-30 seconds until it releases its oil, and then spread it out into a thin layer large enough to cook the eggs. Then add the ricotta to the pan and spread it onto the pesto.
  2. Crack the eggs into the pan, directly on top of the pesto and ricotta mixture, and cook for 4-5 minutes until the egg whites are set and the yolk is still a little runny, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
  3. While the eggs are cooking, add the bread to a toaster and toast to your liking.
  4. Once the bread is toasted, transfer it to a plate, then top each slice of bread with a fried egg, ensuring that you scrape up all of the pesto ricotta mixture along with the eggs from the pan. (You can add an extra spread of ricotta and/or pesto to your toast if desired.)
  5. Top the eggs with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper as desired, and serve immediately.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 518 calories
  • Fat: 29 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 41 grams
  • Fiber: 3 grams
  • Protein: 25 grams

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    Comments

    1. Fred G says

      July 16, 2024 at 3:13 pm

      Great addition to breakfast – protein, carbs and a little zing of pesto. Tastes great and fast.

      Reply
    2. Erin says

      July 16, 2024 at 6:40 pm

      Made this the other night and it was so easy and delicious! A quick healthy meal when you need it.

      Reply
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