Recipe

Simple Poached Eggs Featured in Well + Good

What if making perfect poached eggs, with their Instagram-worthy runny, jammy egg yolks, was as easy as cracking an egg into a muffin tin? It is!

Ingredients

1 or more large eggs
2 tablespoons of filtered water per egg
¼ teaspoon white vinegar per egg, optional*
Sea salt and a few grinds of freshly ground pepper, to taste
1-2 teaspoons of everything bagel spice, optional
Special Equipment:
Muffin tin (use one with 12 muffin cups) or ramekins. Ramekins are oven-proof baking cups; you can use 6-ounce or 8-ounce ramekins, but you’ll need to monitor and adjust the cooking time depending on which size you use. The beauty of using a ramekin is that you can eat it straight out of the container and there is minimal clean up. My eggs came out perfectly cooked in 8-ounce ramekin for 12 minutes.
This technique can be used to make one or two eggs (as I often do for breakfast) or a dozen eggs to feed a crowd or meal prep for the week. I’ve included reheating instructions, serving suggestions and Weight Watchers points information in the notes.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°.
Add two tablespoons of filtered water and ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar to each muffin cup.
Crack your eggs, one by one into a small bowl and then place it into the muffin cups. This will prevent adding broken yolk into the pan, which is fine but not ideal. Save the eggs with the broken yolks for scrambled eggs. Wipe any excess egg that you may have splashed on the top of the muffin tin.
Bake the eggs until runny but set, 10-12 minutes. If you like the yolk more cooked, you can bake them for longer.*
Remove muffin tin or ramekins from the oven and carefully pour out the excess hot water into the sink. Using a small spoon, gently loosen the eggs from the tin or ramekin by running it along the outside edge of each egg, then gently lift it out.
Serve with your choice of fixings.*

Chef Carla Notes

While this is a hands-off cooking project, don’t walk away from the oven. All ovens are different, so you’ll need to closely monitor the cooking time the first time you make this recipe. It may take some trial and error to achieve your desired doneness, but it’s worth it! Also, I like my eggs more set. The vinegar will help you achieve a more set egg. Not sure, try making the eggs with and without vinegar and see which way you prefer best.

Reheating Instructions:

To me, poached eggs are best served right away with a sprinkle of sea salt and a freshly ground black pepper but you can gently reheat them in the oven with 2 tablespoons of water for 3-5 minutes, at 375°, like how you first baked them. Or if you are at work, pop them into a microwave for 10-20 seconds. You can also eat them cold, if you cooked the yolks a bit more. Remember the everything bagel spice!

Servings Suggestions:

I make a big green salad and top it with a poached egg, smoked salmon and a mix-and-match medley of raw and fermented veggies like kimchi, which are all zero points. I add in other fixings like 1/4 avocado (remember, fat is good!), a teaspoon of olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The egg yolk gives the salad a rich, creamy feel, so I don’t need tons of olive oil. Two teaspoons of everything bagel spice ties this all together—I don’t even miss the bagel! Don’t forget a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. The difference between a good salad and a great one is salt! Total points for this meal is 4 points.

As a chef and food stylist, I know the tricks to making perfectly poached eggs, but as a mother of two, I know how to turn a seemingly difficult cooking technique into a simple, doable home cooking project. This technique can be used to make one or two eggs (as I often do for breakfast) or a dozen eggs to feed a crowd or meal prep for the week. I’ve included reheating instructions, serving suggestions and Weight Watchers points information below the recipe. Want to read more? Read the whole story in Well + Good.

Below is my favorite excerpt:

“Meal prep doesn’t have to take hours—unless you want it to,” she says. “Cutting some veggies, roasting a chicken, and maybe making a soup can make healthy eating doable and it can all be done in an hour or so, if you are efficient.” Read more here.

Eat Well,

xo Chef Carla