Curried Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowls

Let’s talk about breakfast bowls! This post is more about a concept than a specific recipe (although, there is a recipe at the end of this post). In our house, a breakfast bowl is made up of a base of grain (usually farro or quinoa) topped with all kinds of of healthy fixins. And then it’s all finished off with perfectly gooey poached eggs. Even though we call them “breakfast” bowls, we eat them pretty much at any meal. In fact, they are one of my favorite fast and healthy dinners!

You might be thinking, “Um, that’s a whole lot of elements, how is that possibly fast?” Well, it isn’t—if you don’t make things ahead of time. The joy of the breakfast bowl is that almost all of it can be made ahead of time and just assembled before serving.

In our fridge, you’ll almost always find a glass food storage container (I love these) with roasted sweet potatoes, cooked grains, and sautéed greens. All I do when it’s breakfast time is to heat up the elements, spoon them into bowls, and then top them with freshly-poached eggs.  It literally takes four minutes—the amount of time it takes to soft-poach eggs—and breakfast/lunch/dinner is served! Food prepping is my jam.

I say breakfast bowls are a concept because, kinda like a smoothie recipe, you can totally adapt these bowls based on what you have kicking around the kitchen, what you and your family like to eat, and even what leftovers you have in the fridge. Sometimes I’ll use leftover brown rice from dinner. Or throw in some steamed broccoli. Or add chicken leftover from the roast chicken I made last night. They are completely adaptable, just as long as you stick to about the same ratios (1/2 grains to 1/2 veggies—topped with runny eggs). You really can’t go wrong.

I have to admit, 95% of what makes breakfast bowls so spectacular are the runny eggs. I know there are people out there who don’t like runny eggs (and even ones that don’t like eggs at all), but man, I don’t understand you. Runny egg yolk is like the perfect velvety sauce for just about anything. I believe with my whole heart that if a dish is a failure, you can make it edible, and maybe even totally save it, by topping it with a runny egg.

I’m sure one of you fine folks is going to ask me if you can make this without the eggs or with hard-poached eggs, and I guess you could, but it really isn’t going to be the flavor explosion that it should be. So proceed with caution, egg-free friends.

Can you tell I like eggs?

So enough about the concept of breakfast bowls, and let’s talk about these specific breakfast bowls. The base is farro, which still remains at the top of the list of my favorite whole grains. It’s nutty, it’s chewy, it cooks quickly, and unlike some other whole grains, it doesn’t taste overly earthy or, ahem, cardboard-y. Garlicky sautéed spinach goes on top of the farro, and then I add a big pile of roasted sweet potatoes with curry. Curry powder and sweet potatoes are a match made in heaven. Seriously, pretty much anytime I use sweet potatoes for anything, I put a little curry powder with them. So delicious!

And of course, you top the whole bowl off with two poached eggs and a generous amount of fresh-cracked black pepper and flaky sea salt. Then you admire the pretty, pretty bowl for a few seconds before hacking away at the egg and mixing it all up so you get each element in every bite. So. Good.

Enjoy!

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Curried Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowls

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Make up all the elements for these Curried Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowls ahead of time, and then just assemble right before serving for a super quick and healthy breakfast!

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Ingredients

For the Sweet Potatoes:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

For the Spinach:

• 1 slice bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Pinch of salt
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach

For the Bowls:

• 2 cups cooked farro
• 4 poached eggs
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, curry powder, garlic powder, and salt. Add in the sweet potatoes and toss to coat.
2. Spread the sweet potatoes out in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender and golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the spinach by cooking the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the bacon has released some of the fat, add in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until the bacon is crisp and the garlic is tender.
4. Add in the spinach and salt, and then toss to coat in the bacon grease. Sauté until the spinach is wilted.
5. To assemble the bowls, place the sweet potatoes and spinach on top of a bed of the farro. Then top with two runny poached eggs. Top with freshly cracked pepper and salt.

Notes

• You can easily make this dish vegetarian by leaving out the bacon, and instead sautéing the spinach in coconut or olive oil.
• To save yourself some time at breakfast, make the farro, sweet potatoes, and spinach in advance and refrigerate in sealed containers. Gently reheat while the eggs are poaching.

 

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 870Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 376mgSodium: 1255mgCarbohydrates: 113gFiber: 19gSugar: 20gProtein: 35g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.