This Spinach Besan Egg Chilla is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 394 calories, 23.6g protein, and 30.5g carbs per serving. Ready in 15 minutes. High in fiber (6.5g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
Plain besan chilla is mostly chickpea flour, which leaves it at about 10g of protein. Two eggs whisked into the batter take it to 24g, and the chilla still flips like a crepe. Each serving has about 395 calories and 6g of fibre. It takes 15 minutes in one pan.
Grocery list:
- Chickpea flour (besan)
- Eggs
- Baby spinach
- Red onion
- Tomato
- Green chilli
- Fresh coriander
- Ground turmeric
- Cumin seeds or ajwain
- Avocado oil
Nutrition notes: figures are for the whole recipe, which is one serving of 2 chillas, worked from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient.
Hing note: many recipes add a pinch of hing (asafoetida). Most hing sold in shops is cut with wheat flour, so leave it out if you avoid wheat, or buy one labelled wheat free.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Whisk the chickpea flour, turmeric, cumin seeds and salt in a bowl. Whisk in 4 tablespoons of water until there are no lumps.Beat in the eggs. The batter should be thinner than pancake batter. Add the last tablespoon of water if it is thick.Stir in the spinach, onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander.Heat half the oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour in half the batter and tilt the pan to spread it to about 18cm.Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the top looks set and the underside is golden. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more.Repeat with the rest of the oil and batter. Serve hot, with green chutney or a spoon of tomato chutney.
Why this works for PCOS
Besan is already one of the better Indian flours for blood sugar. Per 100g it has 22g of protein and 11g of fibre, against 6g and 2g for rice flour. But a chilla made only from besan is still mostly starch. The eggs fix that. They add 13g of protein and almost no carbohydrate, so the meal becomes protein-led.
The ingredients doing the work
- Chickpea flour (besan): the base. 40g brings 9g of protein and 4g of fibre.
- Eggs: 2 large eggs add 13g of protein and bind the batter so it flips cleanly.
- Spinach: 40g wilts into the batter and adds folate and fibre without changing the texture.
Swaps
Egg-free: leave out the eggs, use 70g of besan and about 7 tablespoons of water, and serve it with masala tofu bhurji for protein. Bigger appetite: make 3 chillas with 60g of besan and 3 eggs.
How this fits a PCOS week
Most PCOS meal plans are built around Greek yogurt, cheese and toast. If you cook Indian food, or you skip dairy, those plans fall apart by Wednesday. PCOS Meal Planner builds a week around the food you actually cook, keeps out the foods you avoid, and gives you one shopping list.
Why this Spinach Besan Egg Chilla works for PCOS
This Spinach Besan Egg Chilla delivers 23.6g of protein per serving, which sits in the moderate range for a PCOS-friendly meal. If you find yourself hungry within 2-3 hours, pair this dish with an additional protein source (Greek yogurt, a boiled egg, or a small portion of fish) to push the meal closer to the 25-35g per-meal target most PCOS dietitians recommend.
The 30.5g of carbohydrates here come paired with 6.5g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Fat makes up about 45% of calories in this dish. Dietary fat plays a load-bearing role in PCOS because sex hormones are synthesised from cholesterol, and very-low-fat eating can suppress hormone production over time. The 2023 PCOS guideline does not specify a strict fat target, but most clinicians recommend at least 25-35% of calories from a mix of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated sources.
Eating a substantial breakfast like this Spinach Besan Egg Chilla is one of the highest-leverage moves you can make for PCOS. In the Jakubowicz et al. 2013 trial published in Clinical Science, women with PCOS who front-loaded calories to breakfast reduced fasting insulin by 56% and increased ovulation rates 50%, with no change in total calories. Front-loading works because insulin sensitivity is highest in the morning and lowest at night.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Spinach Besan Egg Chilla recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 394 calories per serving with 23.6g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 6.5g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 15 minutes total. Prep time is 5 minutes and cook time is 10 minutes.
Per serving: 394 calories, 23.6g protein (24%), 30.5g carbs, 19.7g fat. Plus 6.5g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Breakfast. At 394 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Breakfast. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
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