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Savory and satisfying, a classic Denver omelette is a breakfast staple. Fluffy, tender eggs, smoky diced ham, sweet bell peppers and onions, and perfect melty cheese. Enjoy it on its own or serve it with hashbrowns or roasted potatoes. Either way, a Denver omelette is a nutritious, delicious breakfast that starts the day off right.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

A Denver omelette (or maybe you know it as a Western omelette) is one of those quintessential breakfast dishes – right up there with bacon, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls. For good reason, I mean. Look at the list of ingredients! Ham, cheese, eggs, onion, green bell pepper… There’s so much flavor here!
Since it’s packed with protein and veggies, it’ll keep you satisfied ’til lunch. There’s no fillers in this omelette like you might find in a version you’d order from a breakfast place. No pancake batter to make the eggs fluffy or anything like that. Just simple, nutritious, real-food ingredients.
This recipe’s written for just one omelette, but you can totally scale it up if you’re cooking for a group. Multiply the ingredients by the number of people you need to feed, then cook all the ham and veggies together. You’ll have to make each actual omelette individually, but you don’t have to start from scratch with each one.

Chef’s Tips

For the best texture, dice the ham, onions, and bell pepper into small, even-sized pieces. That’ll help them all cook at the same speed, too, plus you’ll be sure to get some of each ingredient in every bite.
Resist the urge to turn up the heat and rush the process. Eggs cook pretty quickly, but if you try to go too hot or too fast, you’ll burn them. Keep your heat on medium (at most) and turn it down if you notice the eggs are starting to brown.
A lot of people are intimidated by homemade omelettes. Maybe it’s the folding part? It’s really simple, though, so if you’re feeling unsure, don’t worry. Two things to keep in mind for a perfect Denver omelette – 1) use a non-stick skillet, and don’t let it get too hot. 2) Cook the omelette until it’s almost set on top, not completely set. If you cook until the top’s dry and firm, you’ll have undercooked the bottom.

Angled view of a Denver omelette on a plate, with a bowl of ketchup in the background, and ham and green onions surrounding.

Serve This Dish With…

Recipe By: Sam Guarnieri

Denver Omelette

Prep 15

Cook 10

Total 25

Loaded with ham, onions, peppers, and melted cheese, this recipe for a classic Denver omelette is a super easy, nutritious way to start your day off right.

1 omelette

Equipment

Small bowl
whisk
medium non-stick skillet
Medium bowl
thin spatula
Large plate

Ingredients

Instructions

Crack three eggs directly into small bowl. Pour in milk, then whisk egg mixture until fully combined. Mixture should be pale in color and no longer streaky.
Heat medium, non-stick skillet over medium heat. When skillet is warm, add neutral oil and swirl pan to coat.
Continue heating skillet until oil is hot and shimmering, then add diced ham, diced onion, and diced bell pepper. Stir to incorporate ingredients, then cook 5 minutes or until veggies are tender. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon butter to same skillet and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. When butter is melted, slowly pour egg mixture into skillet and carefully tilt skillet to spread egg mixture out to edges of pan. Cook until eggs are almost fully-set, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
Sprinkle shredded cheese down center of omelette. Continue cooking until cheese has melted, approximately 1 minute.
Remove skillet from heat. Spread diced ham and veggie mixture out in one even layer down center of omelette.
Carefully fold top edge of omelette down and over ham filling to center of omelette. Fold bottom edge of omelette up and over filling to meet top edge of omelette. Once folded, carefully slide omelette out of skillet onto plate and serve warm with desired sides or toppings.

For the best texture, dice the ham, onion, and bell peppers so they’re all roughly the same size.
Make it Whole30: Eliminate the cheese entirely. Use unsweetened almond milk and replace the butter with ghee.
Make it Keto: This omelette is keto as-is, but if you’re following a stricter version of the keto diet, you can eliminate the onions and/or the bell peppers to lower the carb count even more.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1omeletteCalories: 634calProtein: 33gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 639mgSodium: 888mgPotassium: 457mgTotal Carbs: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gNet Carbs: 7gVitamin A: 1698IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 379mgIron: 3mg