Veggie-packed breakfast that is full of protein, healthy fats, and tons of nutrients! This simple Breakfast Salad with poached eggs has all your breakfast favorites like roasted potatoes, bacon, and avocado, all topped over some greens for a delicious and nutrient-dense way to start the day! It makes the perfect Whole30, paleo, and gluten-free breakfast!
Last updated on December 1, 2020.
Salad for breakfast?! I know what some of you are thinking – why would I want to be eating a salad for breakfast? Well, I’m here to prove you wrong! With the right flavors and textures, it is a great way to start your day!
If you follow me on Instagram, I share my breakfast pretty frequently in stories. And more likely than not, it is eggs with lots of veggies, toast or potatoes, maybe some avocado, and some kind of sauce. It always hits the spot!
When I am feeling a little extra, I will make a big salad out of it all. A breakfast salad is a great way to up your vegetable game too. I’m all for getting in as many veggies as I can in my diet (I try for 6+ cups a day) and that usually means starting the day with them. And a salad that is full of things like roasted sweet potatoes, bacon, avocado, and topped with poached eggs, you pretty much can’t go wrong!
This breakfast salad recipe is packed with vitamins and minerals from the veggies, healthy fats and protein from the eggs and bacon, and complex carbs from the sweet potatoes. It’s a nutrient-dense way to start the day with a mixed balance of macronutrients for steady blood sugar levels and energy.
Feel free to adjust the ingredients and the amounts of each to make it your own!
How to make a breakfast salad
This breakfast bowl takes a little bit of time, but is worth it! You can prep the ingredients ahead of time, or make it all at once. The hardest part will probably be the poached eggs, but I promise you they aren’t hard to make at all.
Here is what you need:
- sweet potato
- paprika
- cumin
- bacon – I love ButcherBox!
- greens – I love mixed greens or arugula
- tomatoes
- cucumber
- dill
- avocado
- eggs
- apple cider vinegar
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
First, we need to roast our potatoes and bacon. Dice up the potatoes, season with a teaspoon of oil and the spices, and then roast for about 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When there are about 15 minutes left, add the bacon. Roasting the bacon in the oven is super easy and very hands-off. It gets really crispy too.
If desired, you can make your potatoes in the air fryer. Follow this method, except cut the time in half since we aren’t using as many. The bacon can be cooked on the stovetop if you don’t want to use the oven.
Next, make your tomato and cucumber salad. Dice up your tomatoes and cucumber and mix with 1 teaspoon oil and fresh dill.
Finally, when the bacon is almost done, start to poach your eggs. See below for a step-by-step method on how I poach my eggs.
Then you just have to assemble the salad and enjoy! I garnished it with some fresh dill and lemon juice and used the egg yolks for a “salad dressing”. The lemon juice adds a nice freshness to the salad. You can also use whatever dressing you like – doctor it up however you like!
How to poach an egg
Poaching an egg can look hard, but it is really easy. All you need is a saucepan, some water, vinegar (this helps the whites stay together), a small bowl and large spoon, and a little patience. Here is my no-fail method:
- Bring a small pot of water to a simmer/low boil. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. This will help the egg white coagulate in the pan.
- Crack your egg into a small bowl or ramekin. This allows for an easy and gentle way to place the egg into the water.
- Using a spoon, swirl the water around to form a whirlpool.
- Add egg. The whirlpool will help form the whites.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes, depending on how cooked you want them, and remove with a slotted spoon. If needed, trim the egg whites for a pretty presentation.
I suggest cooking one egg at a time for the best results. If you would like to cook more at one, I also have this egg poacher my mom got me last year and I love it! You can make up to four eggs at a time and it couldn’t be easier to use!
Make it ahead of time
If you want to make this poached egg salad ahead of time or for meal prep, it is really easy. Depending on how much prep you want to do, you can either meal prep it all or just a few components. Here are a few suggestions for prepping and storage:
- partial prep – cook your sweet potatoes and bacon and allow them to cool. Store in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. When you are ready, if desired you can heat them up. Then just assemble your salad and make the eggs.
- full prep – just follow the directions as written and allow everything to cool. You can store the salad ingredients (greens, veggies, sweet potatoes, and bacon) in one container and the eggs in another. I would wait until you are ready to eat to cut the avocado.
- best storage containers – we love these meal prep containers on Amazon are great! Feel free to double or triple the recipe to have a few meals for the week. They keep everything fresh and are better for the environment since they are glass.
If you get weird about leftover eggs, wait to make the poached egg until you are ready to eat. It should take about 3-6 minutes in total depending on how many eggs you want. You can also use hard-boiled eggs instead so everything can be prepped ahead of time.
Substitutions and additions for a breakfast salad
Change up this breakfast bowl to make it your own. Here are a few suggestions for swaps and additions.
- eggs – if you don’t have time to poach your eggs, you can scramble or fry your eggs. As mentioned above, you can also use hard-boiled eggs (cook them to your preference) or an easy way to prep this breakfast salad in advance.
- meat – swap out the bacon or sausage or leave it out altogether.
- potatoes – use white, red, or baby potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. You could also substitute any kind of winter squash (butternut, acorn, delicata…) if you don’t have sweet potatoes.
- veggies – saute up some more veggies to add to your salad – the more the merrier. I love zucchini, peppers, and onions with my eggs.
- grains – swap our the potatoes for some grains. I love quinoa or farro for some added protein.
More healthy breakfast recipes
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
- Whole30 Sweet Potato Breakfast
- Cauliflower Oatmeal
- Breakfast Fried Rice
- Sweet Potato Sausage Hash
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
Whole30 Breakfast Salad with Poached Eggs
ingredients
- 1 small sweet potato, diced (about 6.5 ounces)
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil (divided)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 pieces bacon
- 1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes (70 grams)
- 1 cup diced cucumber (120 grams)
- 1 tablespoon dill, roughly chopped
- 2 packed cups greens (mixed greens, spinach, baby kale, arugula)
- 1/2 small avocado, sliced (50 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional toppings: fresh dill, lemon juice, dukkah…
instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the diced sweet potatoes, 1 teaspoon oil, paprika, cumin, and salt and pepper. Mix well to fully coat. Bake for 30-35 minutes until crispy.
- Make the tomato and cucumber salad. Add the diced tomatoes, cucumber, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and dill to a bowl. Mix well to combine.
- When there are about 15 minutes left on the potatoes, make the bacon. Remove the pan from the oven and create some room for the bacon. Place on the baking sheet and season with pepper. Bake for 15 minutes until crispy. The bacon will let off some grease, so make sure there is enough room between it and the potatoes. Once done, remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Roughly chop once cooled.
- When there are about 10 minutes left on the bacon, make the eggs. Fill a medium-sized saucepan with a few inches of water and let it come to a simmer. Crack an egg into a small bowl and set aside. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the water once it simmers. Using a spoon, swirl the water to create a whirlpool and slowly drop the egg into the water. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes (depending on your preference on how you like your eggs cooked) and remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining egg.
- Assemble the salad. Add greens, sweet potatoes, tomato cucumber salad, bacon, avocado to a large bowl. Top with poached egg and any optional toppings. I like to squeeze fresh lemon juice on it for a dressing. Enjoy!
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Dan says
Looks good and also healthy
Kelly says
A great way to start the day!