Egg Recipes: 12 Perfect Ways to Cook Eggs

There are many ways to prepare and serve eggs.

• As a side dish: Eggs are a fairly light dish, so it’s common to pair them with heavier dishes like pancakes or a classic potato hash made in a cast-iron pan.
• As an entrée: You can pair eggs with bacon and hash browns for added saltiness. You can also use eggs to make avocado toast, an English muffin, smoked salmon benedict, or a simple veggie scramble for an easy breakfast.
• With a garnish or topping: Sprinkle eggs with fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, cilantro, or spices like paprika or cumin. Try topping eggs with chives, bacon bits, spinach, mushrooms, and cheeses like parmesan or cheddar cheese.

Try these recipes and discover the wide variety of ways to make and enjoy fresh eggs:

1. 1. French omelet: A French omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs cooked in a pan on the stovetop. Unlike American-style omelets or Italian frittatas, French-style omelets are meant to be cooked very quickly so that the outside of the omelet is smooth and golden and the inside is custardy and even a little runny.
2. 2. Scrambled eggs: Scrambled eggs is a dish made from the whisked together yolks and whites of eggs. The egg mixture is sometimes combined with butter, heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese, or cheddar cheese and is cooked over low heat or medium heat to achieve varying textures. You’ll find variations on creamy scrambled eggs with chives, red peppers, feta cheese, or goat cheese on almost every brunch menu.
3. 3. Croque Madame: A croque madame is a hot breakfast sandwich served on buttered bread with layers of Gruyère cheese and thinly sliced ham, covered in béchamel or Mornay sauce (a white sauce similar to béchamel but with cheese), and topped with a poached, sunny-side up, or lightly fried egg.
4. 4. Deviled eggs: Deviled eggs are an egg dish made up of hard-boiled egg halves filled with a creamy, egg yolk mixture. After the eggs are hard-boiled, you use the hardened egg yolks to create a stuffing that is then spooned into the egg-white halves. Deviled eggs are often spiced with cayenne, smoked paprika, or black pepper and can be served with a garnish, like dill or chives. They are often served as a side dish or as an appetizer.
5. 5. Japanese egg sandwich: Also called a tamago sando, a Japanese egg salad sandwich puts a uniquely Japanese twist on the classic Western-style egg salad sandwich with Japanese mayonnaise, Japanese milk bread, and sometimes scallions, rice vinegar, or even a whole soft-boiled egg.
6. 6. Over-easy eggs: Over-easy eggs are fried eggs cooked on both sides for a very short amount of time until the egg whites are just about set and the yolk is still runny.
7. 7. Poached eggs: A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked outside of its shell in gently simmering water. A poached egg requires a delicate preparation that relies on a swirling motion to evenly disperse the heat of the water until the egg whites are just set and the yolks remain runny.
8. 8. Eggs Benedict: Eggs Benedict is a classic breakfast dish made of a soft poached egg and Canadian bacon sandwiched in an English muffin. The sandwich also features hollandaise sauce consisting of an emulsion of egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and spice.
9. 9. Huevos rancheros: Huevos rancheros are a fittingly hearty breakfast made from lightly fried tortillas topped with refried beans, sunny-side-up eggs, and salsa.
10. 10. Sunny-side up eggs: A sunny-side up egg has been fried on one side, so the exposed egg yolk protrudes from the egg whites. While the runny yolk may look uncooked, the standard sunny-side up egg that reaches 165 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit exceeds temperatures deemed safe for eating. Leaving the yolk-side up makes the egg look just like the sun, which is how this style got its name.
11. 11. Scotch eggs: A Scotch egg is a British pub snack consisting of a boiled egg encased in ground meat (typically pork sausage), coated with bread crumbs, and fried until the exterior is crispy and the meat is cooked through. Some Scotch eggs have runny yolks, while others are perfect hard-boiled eggs. Scotch eggs can be served straight out of the fryer, or at room temperature.
12. 12. Baked eggs: Baked eggs are eggs you cook in the oven in a cupcake tin or baking dish. Egg bakes are commonly a breakfast or brunch dish, and the cooked eggs are often made in large batches as breakfast casseroles.

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