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Chaya con Huevo (Scrambled Eggs with Chaya Leaf — Yucatecan Breakfast)

Name: Chaya con Huevo (Scrambled Eggs with Chaya Leaf — Yucatecan Breakfast)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 150 g Chaya leaves (or spinach); 4 Eggs; 1 pieza mediana Tomato; 0.25 White onion; 0.5 Habanero chilli; 2 tbsp Vegetable oil; 0.5 tsp Salt

25 min (10 prep + 15 cook) Easy 2 servings Yucatán

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 30 Mar 2026 · Updated: 12 May 2026

Scrambled eggs with chaya leaf, tomato and habanero — the classic Yucatecan breakfast.

About this recipe

Chaya con huevo is the quintessential Yucatecan breakfast: chaya leaves blanched and sautéed with onion, tomato and habanero chilli, then mixed with soft, creamy scrambled eggs. Simple, nutritious and full of flavour, this dish sums up the culinary philosophy of Peninsular cuisine: making the most of local resources with simple but precise technique. Chaya, the 'Maya spinach', contributes a slightly bitter and earthy flavour that pairs perfectly with the creaminess of the eggs.

History & Origin

Chaya — Cnidoscolus aconitifolius — is one of the most important plants in the culinary and medicinal history of Maya culture. Cultivated for more than two thousand years on the Yucatán Peninsula, the Maya used it as their main source of green vegetables in a region where the tropical climate and scarcity of surface water limit the variety of vegetables. Chaya con huevo is the simplest and most everyday way to eat this plant: the leaves are blanched to remove the natural toxic compounds (prussic acid that disappears with heat), sautéed with the basic aromatics of Yucatecan cuisine and mixed with egg. It is the breakfast of Maya farmers who work the milpas (cornfields) from dawn and need a nutritious, energising dish that can be prepared in minutes from what is found in the kitchen garden. Today chaya con huevo appears in breakfast restaurants in Mérida's historic centre as part of the revival of traditional Maya cuisine.

Estimated cost

£3.50

Total cost

£1.75

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

210

Calories

14g

Protein

Carbohydrates

14g

Fat

Fibre

380mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Wash the chaya leaves thoroughly. Cook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes to remove the toxic compounds. Drain, squeeze out excess water and chop into medium pieces. (IMPORTANT: Never eat chaya raw.)
2
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the chopped onion until translucent, about 3 minutes.
3
Add the chopped tomato and habanero chilli (whole for mild flavour, chopped for more heat). Cook for a further 3 minutes until the tomato releases its juices.
4
Add the cooked, chopped chaya to the pan. Mix well with the aromatics and cook for 2 minutes.
5
Beat the eggs with salt and pour over the chaya mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently with a spatula, until the eggs are just set but still creamy.
6
Serve immediately with warm corn tortillas, black beans from the pot and habanero sauce to taste.