The Nutty Addition That'll Make Your Scrambled Eggs Taste Unexpectedly Delicious

How many ingredients do you need to make scrambled eggs? Technically just the one, although even egg purists will probably approve of adding salt, pepper, and a bit of butter for the pan. If you're up for exploring new taste sensations, however, you could sweeten the eggs with citrus juice or add umami with sun-dried tomatoes. Nelson Serrano-Bahri, director of innovation at the American Egg Board, has yet another suggestion for your consideration: What about peanut butter? This protein-packed ingredient is more often found keeping company with bread and jelly, but Bahri says it plays surprisingly well with eggs.

"Peanut butter adds roasted, nutty depth, a touch of sweetness, and subtle umami from Maillard-driven peanut aromas," he told The Takeout. Not only that, but it helps them to stay nice and firm. As the eggs-pert explained, "[Peanut butter's] natural fats and emulsifiers like lecithin tenderize the curds, creating a glossy, custard-like texture that resists weeping." Serrano-Bahri did warn, however, that some brands of peanut butter may make the eggs somewhat salty. If your peanut butter is on the saltier side, you may not need to add as much salt to the eggs as you ordinarily would.

Nelson Serrano-Bahri suggested three different ways of incorporating peanut butter into your scrambled eggs. One way involves softening the peanut butter with a little warm water or milk, then beating the liquid into the eggs before you cook them. "This gives even dispersion and softer curds without scorching," he said. You can also add a small amount of peanut butter to the butter as it melts in the pan, then scramble the eggs in the peanut butter-flavored butter. Serrano-Bahri cautioned, however, "This method deepens the roasted aroma but requires gentle heat to prevent burning."

His preferred method for adding peanut butter to eggs is as a sauce. His recommendation is to go satay-style by combining the peanut butter with soy or fish sauce, lime juice, and enough warm water to thin it out to a sauce-like consistency. The reason for adding a sauce after the eggs are cooked, according to Serrano-Bahri, is that it provides "rich flavor contrast and full texture control."

Peanut butter is a surprisingly adaptable ingredient, and this applies even when it's added to eggs. Nelson Serrano-Bahri offered several ideas for ingredients that could further boost the flavor of this unexpected combination, including chili crisp, green onions, lime zest, sesame oil, and soy sauce or tamari. You could also add lemon or lime juice, as above, since, as he advised, "Acid cuts the richness." If you want a green garnish, basil, cilantro, chiles, chives, and cucumber would all add a fresh, light flavor as well as a little color.

If you're looking to give your scrambled eggs a little texture, what could be better than a sprinkling of chopped or crushed peanuts? You could even go with flavored peanuts — chile-lime peanuts, for example, would work as both a flavor and texture boost. Finally, Serrano-Bahri suggests adding some sweetness: "A drizzle of honey or maple softens heat and salt without tipping sweet." You could also bring in peanut butter's bff, jelly, since jelly omelets have been around for years, and PBJ omelets are also a thing.