Pumpkin Omelet with Chives & Sesame

Introduction

Most of what we do here at Butter Together with a can of pumpkin ends up sweet: pie, muffins, a latte, a parfait. This one goes the other way. Look at us changing things up!

This cup of pumpkin puree gets cooked down in a skillet until it’s thick and paste-like. Whisk three eggs with soy sauce, black pepper, and a handful of chives, pour it over, and let it set into one round, orange omelet. Sound interesting? I hope it does, because this is super quick to make and pretty delicious, too!

It doesn’t look much like a folded diner omelet. It’s flat and round, and it cuts into wedges like a savory pancake. One batch makes two servings, so it’s breakfast for two or a slow weekend brunch for one very committed person.

Why Pumpkin Works in an Omelet

The pumpkin here isn’t a filling. It gets whisked through the eggs, so there’s pumpkin in every bite rather than a stripe of it down the middle, and that’s where the color comes from too.

It also changes how much omelet you get. A full cup of puree against three eggs is a lot of pumpkin, and it gives the omelet more body than the eggs would have on their own. The soy sauce, salt and pepper keep it firmly on the savory side, and the chives are cut long, about two inches, so they still show up as green strips against the orange.

The catch is the water. Canned pumpkin is mostly water — USDA puts it at about 90 percent — and if all of that goes into the pan with the eggs, you end up with a damp, soggy omelet. Which brings us to the one step you really shouldn’t rush.

Cook the Pumpkin Down First

Before the eggs go anywhere near it, the puree goes into the skillet on its own with a tablespoon of oil, and you keep stirring it over medium heat until it’s visibly thicker and less wet. You’re aiming for something close to a paste.

Go by how it looks rather than the clock. Some cans start out much looser than others, so a watery one needs longer and a very thick one may only need a couple of minutes.

Once it’s there, spread the pumpkin out over the pan and add the second tablespoon of oil before the eggs go in.

What Goes In

• Pumpkin puree: plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling is sweetened and spiced, which is the last thing you want next to soy sauce and chives. Our guide to pumpkin on keto has more on telling the two cans apart.
• Eggs: three large eggs for two servings.
• Soy sauce, salt and black pepper: whisked into the eggs, so the seasoning is spread through the whole omelet rather than sprinkled on top.
• Chives: cut into two-inch pieces and stirred into the eggs.
• Vegetable oil: two tablespoons, split between cooking down the pumpkin and getting the eggs into the pan.
• Sesame seeds: toasted, and only for the top.

You’ll also want a nonstick skillet. This omelet gets flipped or folded, and you want it to let go of the pan when you do.

Puree, Not Pieces of Pumpkin

Plenty of pumpkin-and-egg recipes start with slices or shreds of fresh pumpkin, cooked until tender before the eggs go in. This isn’t one of those.

Because this one starts with puree, there’s nothing to soften. The pumpkin is already cooked, and the job of the skillet is only to dry it out. It also doesn’t sit in the omelet as separate pieces. Whisk the egg mixture into the pumpkin right in the pan and it blends in so the whole thing sets as one even, orange round.

Stick with canned puree here. Cooked, mashed fresh pumpkin holds more water than canned (see the FAQ below), and there’s no verified fresh-pumpkin conversion for this omelet.

How to Tell It’s Done

Let the omelet set over medium-low heat before you try to flip or fold it. Moving it too early is how a round omelet turns into scrambled eggs.

It’s ready when the eggs are fully set all the way through, with no wet or runny egg left in the middle, but the omelet is still tender rather than dry. If you’d like to check with a thermometer, the USDA’s safe minimum internal temperature for egg dishes is 160°F, measured in the center.

Serving It

The sesame seeds go on last, then cut it into wedges, the way it’s shown here. The soy sauce is already whisked through the eggs, so taste a wedge before you reach for more salt.

Is This Pumpkin Omelet Keto?

Most of the carbohydrate in this omelet comes from the pumpkin. The eggs, soy sauce, sesame seeds and seasonings add a little between them, and the oil adds none. That means it carries more carbs than a plain egg omelet would, because a full cup of puree is split between just two servings.

Check the Nutrition Facts panel above for the total carbs, fiber and calories in one serving. Whether that fits your day depends on what else you’re eating, so go by those numbers rather than the word “pumpkin.”

For more ways to use the rest of that can, our keto pumpkin recipes page puts this omelet alongside the sweet side: pie, bread, cookies, muffins and drinks.