Food and Recipes Recipes Creamy Baked Eggs with Leeks and Spinach We love a good breakfast casserole. By Karen Schroeder-Rankin Karen Schroeder-Rankin Karen Rankin is a chef, recipe developer, and food stylist with over 25 years experience cooking, developing recipes, styling food, and entertaining guests at her table and in restaurants. During the past 11 years, Karen has been styling food for various publications such as Cooking Light, Southern Living, Eating Well, Real Simple, as well as creating instructional videos for Southern Living Magazine's Tips from the Test Kitchen, featured on select television programming, and on websites. With an interest in the use of color, texture, and presentation, she develops recipes that are intended to surprise and delight the recipients of these dishes, both from a visual standpoint and a flavor experience. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on April 18, 2022 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Active Time: 15 mins Bake Time: 15 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe Brunch doesn't always have to be French toast and pancakes. If you're in the mood for something savory, these Creamy Baked Eggs with Leeks and Spinach will hit the spot, whether you're having a lazy Saturday in your pajamas or hosting a crowd. In this spinach-egg bake recipe, eggs nestle in a base of sautéed spinach and leeks, which gets swirled with heavy cream to make a simmering sauce for the eggs. If you don't have spinach, you can use swiss chard, collards, kale, or another green of your choice. From there, it's as easy as making wells in your spinach mixture, cracking an egg in each one, and popping the casserole dish in the oven. Just like that, you've got a hassle-free, healthier brunch option that's sure to convince the kids to eat their greens. The real wow factor comes when you slice into this breakfast casserole and the perfectly-runny yolks burst and mingle with the salty, creamy sauce. Use high-quality farm eggs (or the best eggs you can buy from your grocery store) for the richest and brightest-colored yolks. Don't like feta? Opt for a less briny cheese, like goat cheese, Parmesan, or fontina. Be sure to sop up all the saucy goodness with toasted English muffins. Ingredients 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1 large leek, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (about 1½ cups) 1 (10-oz.) pkg. fresh spinach ¼ cup heavy cream ½ teaspoon kosher salt 8 large eggs 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup) ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives Toasted English muffins, for serving Directions Preheat oven to 375°F with an oven rack in top third of oven. Grease an 11- x 7-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter; set aside. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add leek, and cook, stirring occasionally, just until softened, 3 minutes. Add fresh spinach in 3 batches, stirring to wilt spinach after each addition. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and liquid has almost completely evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cream and salt; remove from heat. Spoon spinach mixture into prepared baking dish; let cool 5 minutes. Make 8 evenly spaced wells in spinach mixture, and crack an egg into each well. Sprinkle eggs with feta and pepper. Bake in preheated oven until egg whites are set but yolks are still soft, 14 to 16 minutes. Sprinkle with chives; serve with English muffins. Print