This Common Bagel Topping Is Even Better On Scrambled Eggs

If you're a breakfast connoisseur, or simply can't abide food waste, you may already know that the best way to use up leftover cream cheese and the best secret to making incredible scrambled eggs are one and the same. This standard bagel topping is tangy, salty, rich, and, as the name suggests, beautifully creamy. Stirred into scrambled eggs, or simply melted on top, cream cheese adds a layer of luxury and flavor to your breakfast, along with an extra dose of calcium and protein.

While the plain stuff is certainly delicious, today's grocery stores also carry cream cheeses infused with herbs, caramelized onions, and even the rich, salty goodness of lox. This means adding cream cheese to eggs doesn't just make them more satiating, it's also a fairly budget-friendly way to make yourself an artisanal breakfast on even the busiest mornings.

However, you can't whisk cream cheese into raw eggs because it's too dense to mix through smoothly. Instead, prep a few cubes (or use a melon baller to get scoops from the tub) and set them aside in a bowl so they're ready to add when the eggs are just a minute or two from being done. Keep scrambling as normal once the cream cheese is added, and it should practically disappear into the eggs.

As mentioned, today's grocery stores sell a wide variety of flavored cream cheese that hold the secret to making your morning scramble gourmet while staying within budget. For instance, smoked salmon is notoriously expensive, but also a delicious breakfast addition. Lox-infused cream cheese is much cheaper, incredibly flavorful, and provides a similar experience to the real thing. Add a sprinkle of diced red onion and some capers to round out the traditional "bagel with lox" flavors.

Meanwhile, garlic and herb- or garden vegetable-infused cream cheese is the solution for zhuzhing up a boring breakfast sandwich. Think garlicky, herb-infused cream cheese in scrambled eggs layered with crisp bacon on an English muffin, or savory, astringent garden vegetable cream cheese paired with a chicken sausage patty on rye toast. If you have time, you can up the ante by adding roasted garlic or sauteed veggies to your eggs to enhance the flavors in the cream cheese.

If you love a deliciously spicy Tex Mex morning meal, jalapeño-infused cream cheese may be your favorite. Piquant and creamy all at once, this choice makes scrambled eggs perfect for stuffing inside a zesty breakfast burrito, pairing with huevos rancheros, or sliding on top of a bowl of chilaquiles.