Steak and Eggs with Spinach
A seared lean steak, two eggs cooked in the steak’s own warmth, and a heap of garlicky spinach wilted soft. One plate, around 560 calories with 46 grams of protein. It’s the steady, old-fashioned meal I come back to more than any other — quiet food that leaves you feeling like yourself.
Plate 01 / Finished
For about three years this was the first thing I ate every single morning. I’d come back from the early gym session, the flat still dark and cold, and I wanted something that would actually hold me until lunch instead of leaving me clawing at the cupboard by ten. Steak and eggs did that. It still does. There’s nothing clever about it — a lean steak gets seared hard, the eggs go into the same hot pan, and a great fistful of spinach wilts down in the last of the fat. Three things, one pan, twenty minutes, most of it spent waiting on the steak to rest.
I started leaning on it harder after I went on TRT in my mid-thirties. Not because the plate is anything special — no plate is, and I won’t pretend otherwise — but because it’s an honest source of the things I want when I’m eating for steady energy: whole-food protein, real fat from the eggs, and a proper hit of zinc, iron and B12 from the red meat. I’m not making a claim about any of that beyond the food itself. I’m just telling you what I cook and why it feels good to me. Eating well is the part I can actually control, so I do it.
It’s the kind of plate that makes you feel looked after at seven in the morning, and just as good across a quiet table at night. There’s no trick to it, only patience: temper the meat, get the pan hot, leave it alone, let it rest. Cook it once and you’ll see what I mean — I’ve got you.
01Who it’s for & when to eat it
Steak, eggs and spinach are a brilliant base because the protein is high and the parts move easily. You change one or two things and the whole plate changes job. Here’s how I steer it.
Lean it down
A leaner cut, one whole egg plus a couple of whites, cooked dry with no butter, and the spinach piled higher. Same protein, fewer calories — the fats come down while the plate stays satisfying. Numbers are in the variations below.
Build it up
A bigger steak, the full two eggs, and a side of potatoes or sourdough for the carbs. Easy, honest calories around a plate you already want to eat. Good for getting food in when training’s heavy.
Steady fuel
The plate as written — a lean sirloin, two whole eggs, garlicky spinach. Balanced protein and fat, light on the day, the kind of meal I lean on to feel level. This is my default.
Timing: this works as a real breakfast or an easy dinner. The protein and fat keep you full for hours, so it’s a kind plate first thing or after training. It’s best fresh from the pan — eggs don’t love reheating — but the steak and spinach hold fine for later.
02Ingredients
Makes 1 plate — one generous serving. Cooking for two? Sear the steaks one at a time so the pan stays hot, then rest them together while you do the eggs.
Servings 1 · adjust on the live recipe card- Lean steak, sirloin or flank170 g · 6 oz
- Eggs, large2
- Baby spinach150 g · 5.3 oz
- Garlic, finely sliced2 cloves
- Olive oil2 tsp · 10 ml
- Butter optional, for the eggs1 tsp · 5 g
- Black pepperto taste
- Flaky saltto taste
Swaps I actually use: any quick-cooking steak works — sirloin, flank, rump, or a thin ribeye if you don’t mind the extra fat. For a leaner plate, use a 5%-fat lean cut and cook the eggs dry. No baby spinach? Mature spinach is fine, just chop it and give it another minute; frozen is fine too — squeeze it bone dry first. A pinch of chilli flakes in the spinach is never a bad idea.
03Step by step
Bring it up, dry it, season it
Take the steak out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before you cook — a cold steak in a hot pan cooks unevenly. Pat it completely dry with paper towel and season both sides well with salt and pepper. A dry surface is what gives you a proper brown crust.
Magnus says: wet meat steams, it doesn’t sear. Dry it like you mean it.
Hot pan, oil in, leave it alone
Get a heavy pan properly hot. Add the olive oil, lay the steak down, and don’t touch it — let it sear for about 3 minutes a side for medium-rare on a 2cm cut, longer if it’s thicker or you like it more done. One flip is enough. Don’t poke it or slide it around; let the crust form.
Magnus says: the urge to poke it is the enemy. Set it down and walk away.
Off the heat, give it five minutes
Move the steak to a board or warm plate and leave it to rest for 5 minutes while you cook everything else. This is not optional. Cut it too soon and all the juice runs out onto the board instead of staying in the meat.
Magnus says: resting is cooking too. Patience here is the whole difference.
Garlic first, then the greens
In the same pan, drop the heat to medium and add the sliced garlic. Let it sizzle gently for about a minute until fragrant, then pile in the spinach. It looks like far too much, but it collapses in a minute or two. Toss it through the garlicky fat, season, and pull it off the heat while it’s still bright green.
Magnus says: cooking it in the steak pan picks up all the flavour left behind. Waste nothing.
Fry or poach them to your liking
Push the spinach aside, add the butter if using, and crack in the eggs. Fry them gently for a couple of minutes until the whites are set and the yolks are how you like them. Soft yolks are the move here — they make a sauce when you cut into them. Poach them instead if that’s your way.
Slice, build, flaky salt
Slice the rested steak against the grain so it eats tender, lay it beside the spinach, and slide the eggs on top. A final crack of pepper, a little flaky salt, and that’s the plate. Eat it straight away while everything’s hot.
04The one thing most people skip: resting
If you take one habit from this plate, make it resting the steak. When meat sears, the heat drives the juices toward the centre. Cut into it the second it leaves the pan and that juice floods out onto the board — you lose flavour, and the steak goes grey and dry from edge to edge.
Give it 5 minutes off the heat and the juices settle back through the meat. It stays pink, stays tender, and carves clean. Five minutes feels long when you’re hungry and the plate’s nearly done, I know. Use the time to wilt the spinach and cook the eggs, and the wait does itself. It’s the cheapest upgrade in cooking — costs nothing, asks only that you stand still.
05The spec sheet
Real numbers, calculated — not guessed. The plate as written is one serving, about 330g of cooked food. Here’s what that serving and a flat 100g actually give you.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 560 kcal | 170 kcal |
| Protein | 46.0 g | 13.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 5.0 g | 1.5 g |
| — of which sugars | 1.0 g | 0.3 g |
| Fat | 38.0 g | 11.5 g |
| — of which saturates | 12.0 g | 3.6 g |
| Fibre | 2.0 g | 0.6 g |
| Sodium | ~0.60 g | ~0.18 g |
Moderate. The fat from the eggs and steak carries the calories, which is exactly what you want from a satisfying plate that holds you for hours rather than minutes.
A lifter’s metric. Lower than a pure lean plate because the fats earn their keep here — but 46g of complete protein in one meal is a genuinely strong number.
- Vitamin B12~3.4 µg · 142% DV
- Zinc~7.5 mg · 68% DV
- Iron~5 mg · 28% DV
- Selenium~45 µg · 82% DV
- Choline~290 mg · 53% DV
- Vitamin K~290 µg · 240% DV
Macros are calculated from standard food-composition data and will shift a little with your exact cut of steak and brands. Micronutrient figures are estimates against general adult Daily Values. Red meat, eggs and leafy greens are whole-food sources of nutrients like zinc and B12 that matter for general health; that’s a statement about food, not a medical claim. Numbers are for guidance, not medical advice — see our Nutrition Disclaimer.
06Bulk / Cut / TRT variations
One plate, three jobs. The method never changes — you adjust the cut, the eggs, and what you serve alongside. Macros below are for a full serving.
Lean it down
A leaner cut like a small flank or 5%-fat sirloin, one whole egg plus two egg whites, no butter, the spinach piled higher. You keep the protein and most of the satisfaction for far fewer calories — the version I live on before a shoot.
Build it up
A bigger 220g steak, the full two eggs, and a side of 200g potatoes cooked in the steak fat. Honest calories around a plate you already want — easy fuel for heavy training weeks.
Steady & balanced
The plate exactly as written — a lean sirloin, two whole eggs, garlicky spinach. Balanced protein and fat, light on the day, the meal I come back to for feeling level and well-fed.
07Meal prep & storage
Honestly, this is a cook-fresh plate — eggs don’t reheat well and a seared steak loses its magic in the fridge. But you can do the prep that makes it a fast job on a busy morning. The spinach is the part that preps well.
Leftover cooked steak keeps airtight for two days. Slice it cold and warm it through in the pan for the last thirty seconds only — don’t recook it or it goes grey and tough.
Wash and dry the spinach ahead and keep it bagged with a sheet of paper towel. The garlic can be sliced and stored too. Morning-you will thank you.
Always cook the eggs to order — two minutes, every time. They’re the one thing here that’s never worth making ahead.
If you’re prepping for the week, my honest advice is to wilt a big batch of garlicky spinach ahead and keep it in the fridge, then sear a fresh steak and a couple of eggs to order. Ten minutes and dinner’s done — barely more effort than reheating, and it tastes like a proper meal instead of leftovers.
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08Common questions
What’s the best cut of steak for this? +
For a lean, protein-forward plate I reach for sirloin or flank — both are full of flavour without much fat, and they cook fast. If you want it richer, a thin ribeye is lovely but it’ll add fat and calories. Whatever you use, buy a cut you can sear in a few minutes; thick roasting joints are a different job entirely.
How should I cook the eggs? +
However you like them — this plate doesn’t argue. I fry mine gently with soft yolks so they break into a kind of sauce over the steak and spinach. For runny yolks, use medium heat and cover the pan for thirty seconds at the end; the trapped steam sets the white without hardening the yolk. Poached works beautifully too, and skips the butter if you’re watching fats.
Can I meal-prep this? +
Partly. Steak and eggs are best fresh, so I wouldn’t batch the whole plate. What works is prepping the garlicky spinach ahead and keeping it in the fridge, then searing a fresh steak and a couple of eggs to order. It’s ten minutes and tastes far better than anything reheated.
Is red meat okay to eat regularly? +
For most people, lean red meat fits comfortably into a balanced way of eating — it’s a strong whole-food source of protein, iron, zinc and B12, and a sensible portion like this one keeps the fats reasonable. Everyone’s situation is different, though, so if you’ve been given specific dietary guidance, follow that. I share food and macros, not medical advice — your doctor or dietitian is the one to weigh in on what’s right for you.
What can I use instead of spinach? +
Any quick-cooking green slots in — kale, chard, or a handful of rocket wilted at the end all work. You could also serve the steak and eggs over a tomato salad if you’d rather something fresh. Keep the cooking light so the greens hold their colour.
This plate lives inside a full week of meals.
This steak and eggs is one meal in my 7-day TRT plan — seven days of steady, whole-food, protein-forward meals with the macros counted and the grocery list written. You pick the goal; I do the maths.
See the TRT meal plan →09Pairs well with
Magnus Olafsson
I’m Magnus — twenty years under the iron, from a cold gym in Stockholm to the classic-physique stage, and now mostly in my kitchen in a pink apron. I’ve cut for shows, bulked through winters, and I’ve been on TRT since I was thirty-five. I know what it takes to eat for the body you’re chasing, and I know it shouldn’t come with a side of shame.
Everything here is food I actually cook and macros I actually count. I don’t diagnose, I don’t promise, and I never make a number up. I just feed you well and tell you the truth.
Slim Diet Era shares recipes and general nutrition information. It is not medical or dietetic advice, and we do not provide guidance on obtaining or using any controlled substance. See our Medical Disclaimer and Nutrition Disclaimer.