Trust me, I’m not claiming credit for “breakfast” for dinner. But as a dietitian, I’m always reminding clients and their families that a food as versatile and nutritious as an egg isn’t limited only to the morning meals!

I always have eggs in my fridge and on my grocery shopping list as a go-to ingredient. I have a feeling you might, too! When I started scheming up this recipe for an easy homemade ramen bowl, it sent me back to the good ol’ days when I was a college student with only a microwave at my disposal. If I could only travel back in time, I’d be eating a LOT better on my shoestring budget if I had to do it over again!

Even if you’ve graduated to a fully equipped kitchen, there are times when you don’t want to turn on the stove or oven to cook dinner. Microwave cooking sometimes gets overlooked for other cooking methods, but it’s reliable, convenient, and can save a lot of time and energy because there’s usually less prep work and clean up involved. Plus, eggs are one of the most affordable sources of high-quality protein. A single large egg has six grams of protein and all nine essential amino acids.

Here are a few more fun facts about the nutrition in eggs:

• Eggs are one of the only foods that naturally has vitamin D (1 mcg in a large egg, or 6% of your daily needs), which along with calcium, is critical for building strong bones. 
• Don’t toss the yolk! Yolks house most of the egg’s nutrients like vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron and more than 40 percent of the protein in an egg.
• The yolk also has fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins D, E, A, choline and the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. And, if you’re monitoring screen time, I recently learned the lutein and zeaxanthin found in egg yolks can help protect eyes from blue light.
• So I suppose you could say there are more than a few “eggs-tremely” good reasons to enjoy some dinner eggs! 

This easy microwave ramen bowl is a simple dinner solution that can be ready in less than half an hour – in fact, depending on your microwave settings, you can go from start to finish in about 20 minutes! And although this is a “homemade” version, don’t think you need to start from pure scratch. Here are some of the ways I sped up the process to make it faster and easier to get dinner on the table!

• Use plain ramen noodle “nests” that cook quickly in the microwave, no stovetop needed
• Purchase frozen, shelled edamame and transfer to the fridge to thaw overnight or the morning of
• Look for shredded/grated carrots in the produce section or buy a small amount off of the salad bar
• Same with green onions – if you’re not going to use them for another recipe, just source from the salad bar or prepped food section (or skip altogether!)
• Use a prepared ramen broth – you can either try a DIY recipe and freeze leftovers to thaw later, or look for readymade versions in the same section as other stocks and broths
• If you’re really in a hurry, you can even purchase eggs that have already been hard boiled. Just slice and add at the end of cooking to let the hot broth reheat them

If you’ve never attempted the microwave version of soft- or hardboiled eggs, you may want to give this a trial run first. It’s all about making sure the eggs are completely covered with water. An exploding egg is no joke! But once you’ve mastered the technique, you’ll always have an option for a quick and easy protein boost to any meal. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with going the traditional route and boiling your eggs on the stovetop. 

SAFETY NOTE: When soft boiling eggs in microwave, it is very important to make sure the eggs are fully submerged in water to prevent them from bursting.

Be sure to adjust the cooking time based on your preference. While I’m normally a fan of runny yolks with my breakfast, I prefer my dinner eggs to be more on the solid side. 

While ramen might seem like a stretch away from the traditional, I was able to find all the ingredients for this dinner egg recipe at my local grocery store. In the past I would have made at least one extra stop to find specialty ingredients at the Asian market, but now I’m seeing more and more diverse ingredients featured in the places I already shop.

While big retailers and national chains are your best bet for one-stop shopping, don’t feel pressured to go out of your way. You can substitute a low sodium chicken broth if ramen broth isn’t an option or swap the garnishes for something you already have at home. Fresh spinach or sliced onions and mushrooms would also pair well with this homemade ramen bowl!