One of the challenges of retirement is coming up with a more varied breakfast menu. When we were working outside the house, fruit and cereal was our standard breakfast; but now, with more time in the mornings and breakfast being closer to a brunch, our repertoire has increased. One of the breakfasts that we both absolutely love is scrambled eggs with roasted red chile and cotija cheese. These scrambled eggs are so easy to whip up and are complemented with a variety of sides. Serve with beans, potatoes or something as simple as a piece of toast, and you have a spicy and tasty meal with which to start the day. And, for those of you that aren’t retired, these eggs are actually easier than putting together a bowl of fruit and cereal.
Note: If you can find a local source for farm fresh eggs, you’ll learn what an egg should really taste like. The eggs we buy are fresh, hand-picked eggs, less than a week old. They have huge dark yellow to orange yolks (as you can see in the pictures), with firm whites as opposed to the runny whites one finds in most storebought eggs. And the flavor…the best eggs we’ve ever eaten.
Scrambled Eggs with Red Chile and Cotija Cheese
Simple and spicy scrambled eggs made with hot roasted red chile and cotija cheese. Serve with a side of beans or potatoes for a deliciously filling breakfast.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 4 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp. milk or half and half
- ¼ tsp. green chile spice blend*
- 1 roasted red chile pod (preferably Hot)*, minced
- ¼ cup crumbled cotija cheese*
- A little fat butter, bacon drippings or oil
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and green chile spice.
- Stir in the minced red chile and crumbled cotija cheese
- In a medium size skillet, heat the fat over medium heat.
Add the egg mixture. Run a heat resistant spatula through the eggs as they cook, moving the eggs around, then flipping over to cook through, but remain moist. The cheese softens, but does not melt.
Serve immediately with a complementary side*.
Green Chile Spice Blend – Substitute with a dash of each: red or green chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and white or black pepper.
Roasted Red Chile – Substitute with ½ roasted red bell pepper and increase green chile spice mix to a heaping ¼ tsp. or the substituted red chile powder to ¼ tsp. One could substitute with roasted green chile, but it would greatly change the flavor profile. For this batch of eggs I used a hot Sandia roasted red from The Hatch Chile Store.
Cotija Cheese – Cotija has a high melting point and unique flavor making it my favorite cheese for this recipe. However, you can substitute with queso fresco which also has a high melting point but a different flavor. Avoid a low melting point cheese as it make the eggs runny.
Suggested Sides – Bolita Beans (shown in pictures), pintos or black beans, Home fries, flour or corn tortilla.
Here are some of the other breakfast dishes that we enjoy of a weekly basis.
On really cold mornings, I love a hot cup of Spiced Chocolate Atole
What a delicious way to spice and flavor up your scrambled eggs! I really love the idea of beans on the side as well.
Thanks Amy! We love eggs in this house, so we need to dress them differently at times and this “dressing” is a favorite. And yes, a side of beans always works with eggs. 🙂
Pingback: Have You Heard About Hurd? - Melodie K
Looks great, will need to try eggs with cotija.
Eggs with black beans, chorizo, potatoes and red chile is one of my favorites. Add an avocado and that’s near perfection.
Thanks Ed! You can’t beat a breakfast with chile, can you? 🙂 Yours looks great – nice and hearty with lots and lots of flavors!
I love eggs and I try different ways to cook it since it’s healthy and easiest to prepare. Great combination of spice and cheese. Definitely a must-try!
Thanks so much Ashley! Hope you enjoy them!
I never used to eat a lot of chilis but suddenly I find myself loving them – and it’s recipes like this that have definitely made it happen! Your Scrambled Eggs with Roasted Red Chili and Cotija Cheese look amazing, MJ. Real comfort food! Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Have a lovely week!
Thank you April! Hope you have a wonderful week as well!
These really do sound delicious. I love the sides that you serve for some of your breakfasts. I am envious of your retirement gig! 🙂
Thanks so much Debra! Yep, retirement is really nice; however, I do miss the people. Of course we still get together for lunch. 🙂
“When breakfast is closer to brunch” is so us on weekends! My husband will often put green chiles in our scrambled eggs, but I think it’s time we change it up! Sounds so good, MJ!
Wait until you both retire, then it’s brunch every day. YAY! 🙂 It’s incredible the difference in using roasted red as opposed to green. Both are great, but do different. Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend Judy!
This looks like my dream breakfast MJ! I am with you on the cotija… I always have a hunk in my fridge. The question is whether or not I have the chile! Life outside New Mexico… I do hope to try it soon. Pinning!
Thanks Tamara! You can always substitute the red chile with a roasted red bell pepper than then some chile powder for heat if you want it.
Breakfast is my absolute favourite meal of the day and so nice to mix it up every now and then. Love the addition of beans ♡
Thanks so much Mariam!
The hue on those eggs…. we just struck a deal with a chicken lady 😉 we supply the persimmon (as feed for her hens) and she gives us fresh eggs. I think we got the better end of that bargain, but she’s equally thrilled. I was just mentioning to another blogging friend that we eat a ton of eggs in this family and we could all use a little creative twist now and then. This sounds like a delicious path — I’m hoping I can find cotija cheese at our Nob Hill. Sounds like something I want to discover.
Sounds like you definitely got the better end on the bargain. Fruit tree waste for fresh eggs. Now that’s a deal! I do have to purchase my eggs but knowing where they come from, how they are treated and fed, and when they are gathered is worth every penny.
I hope you do find cotija cheese. Bobby and I both have become addicting to and you’ll be seeing more of it here very soon. 🙂 Do you have a Mexican market close by? Surely they’ll have it there. Thanks Kelly!
Oh my, brunch every day? Life is hard lol. Well a bit more time in the kitchen but so worth it with these scrambled eggs!
Yep – brunch every day. Huge Grin!!! 🙂 Thanks!
I love breakfast and half of the fun is having the time to enjoy it! This looks worthy! And healthy! And the perfect way to start one’s day…or afternoon!
Thanks Abbe! Yes it is a great start to the day!
Nice! You don’t see a lot of recipes with roasted red chile, so I really appreciate this recipe. There’s a short window of time in Albuquerque when I can get fresh red chile (not dry ristras) and it’s actually my favorite time even over the roasted green chile. The roasted red just has an earthier, sweeter, deeper flavor. I even freeze them blanched/unroasted and add them to my red chile and pork (I blend it with the rehydrated pods). Everyone is always asking for my recipe and secret! The chile comes out SO good when added to the usual chile made with red dried pods.
Thanks so much Diana! Like you, I too purchased the fresh red in the fall. I get mine from Sichler Farms. So far I’ve been roasting and freezing like I do green chile, but I’m interested in what you do with blanching rather than roasting. I bet they add a little sweetness and eliminate some of the bitterness that sometimes comes with red chile from dried pods. I need to make a batch of red chile soon, so I’ll pull out some roasted red and check it out. Thanks again!
I want this for my breakfast, cojita cheese on eggs! Yum
Yes it’s so good!
I usually have tiny snack just to have something in the morning (not hungry…), but I love good filling breakfast on weekends and on holidays. Eggs are my favourite (we eat about a dozen eggs every week and just like you, only good quality ones), so your dish would be my dream breakfast! I prepare scrambled eggs all the time, but somehow they always seem the same…. time to add cheese and both green and red chile! Thank you so much for this wonderful idea!
Totally agree! Bobby likes a “meal” for breakfast, but most of the time I’m happy with a piece of buttered toast. So we’ve compromised and eat midmorning. A dozen eggs a week sounds right. 🙂 Good source of protein and a good substitute for “meat”. So glad you like this breakfast. It is a great way to dress up boring scrambled eggs. Hope you like them. Thanks for stopping by Darlin!
Looks like a lovely meal and the bright yellow color of the scrambled eggs is so tempting!
Thanks Taruna! The color of those eggs is amazing, isn’t it? 🙂
These are the eggs I buy and the difference is incredible. I loooove scrambled eggs and your additions 🙂
Thanks Marta! I know, fresh eggs are amazing. The lady I buy them from comes into town on Wednesday and sells what she has picked that week. Her eggs are absolutely scrumptious!
Thank you for this delicious low carb recipe idea MJ! Need to get this on the meal plan for this week breakfast.
Thanks Bobbi! Enjoy!
I must make these scrambled eggs and soon. And as much as I’ve been carrying on about NM Red chile, I do happen to also have some green chili powder I can blend. And thanks for the reminder about the atoll. We have snow on the ground this morning and it will be great to make some in a bit.
Thanks Lea Ann! Making up the green chile blend is so easy and there so many ways to use it. Blends like this are a shortcut to seasoning. 🙂 Snow!! We want some, in fact, we need some! We haven’t had rain or any significant moisture since the end of September.
Perfect breakfast for our week ends…. with tortillas ! Thank you !
Thanks! They are great with tortillas! Enjoy!
This is a very nutritious and delicious breakfast! Love what you eat, always very delicious and healthy too.
Thanks so much Angie! We like to eat what I cook as well. Of course when it’s not just right, Bobby will let me know. 🙂
It sounds delicious.
Thanks!
Cotija cheese is wonderful, isn’t it? And I just happen to have some on hand! Lucky me. — I can make this. 🙂 Wonderful dish — thanks so much.
Thanks John! Oh Yes – love that cotija cheese! I use it all of the time now. Feta use to be my go to cheese, but cotija changed that. Hope you get a chance to try the eggs. They are quite scrumptious. We had them again this morning. 🙂
I don’t get up early enough to make breakfast but we often have eggs at lunchtime. This would be delicious and something new for us. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Jan! Nice to know someone else that is not a morning person. We also have eggs for lunch at times as well as supper. 🙂 We’ll eat these anytime of the day.
I love cojita cheese on eggs – it’s a perfect, mild compliment that doesn’t weigh the eggs down. I can see I need to get some green chile spice blend now….
Thanks Susan! I’ve become addicted to cojita cheese. 🙂