Pancakes are good. French toast is good, well, great actually. A fried egg sandwich with arugula, aged cheddar cheese and bacon is really amazing. But my new favorite weekend breakfast adds a touch of class and a whole lot of deliciousness to my laid back Saturday mornings.
Eating baked eggs in individual ramekins makes me feel like I’ve gone out for a fancy weekend brunch, except I’m really sitting on my sofa in my pajamas listening to Car Talk. Making these takes the same amount of time as a good stack of pancakes, and the recipe is infinitely adaptable to whatever you’re in the mood for, or whatever you happen to have in your fridge.
Grab a ramekin, throw in some quickly sautéed onions and swiss chard, or try some diced bell peppers, mushrooms would be great, crumbled bacon would be divine. My husband would be embarrassed that I’m admitting this, but last time I actually used leftover Easy Mac as the base for my baked eggs, and it was grand. So no matter your tastes, pick something yummy for the filling, crack two eggs on top, add a dash of cream, a grating of your favorite cheese, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then throw them in the oven.
While you’re busy making coffee, your baked eggs will take care of themselves, slowly cooking until the whites are set and the yolks are still deliciously oozy. Once they’re done, serve with toast for ultimate dip-a-bility. It’s pretty hard to add class to breakfast when you have bed head, bare feet and the cackle of the Car Talk guys from the radio in the background, but baked eggs make it almost possible.
Individual Baked Eggs in Ramekins
(4 servings)
Adapted from gourmet.com
2 cups of your favorite filling (about 1/2 cup per ramekin). Try sautéed veggies like onions, swiss chard, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, leeks, squash, or fresh diced tomato. Meats: crumbled bacon, diced prosciutto, cooked sausage. My favorite combo so far (and the version pictured) is sautéed onions and swiss chard.
1 T olive oil
8 eggs
¼ cup grated cheddar or parmesan cheese
4 t heavy cream (1 t per ramekin)
Salt and pepper
4 (6 or 8 oz) ramekins
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Distribute filling evenly among 4 ramekins. Crack 2 eggs into each ramekin. Spoon 1 teaspoon cream over each egg. Sprinkle grated cheese among ramekins and dot the surface with olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Put ramekins in a shallow baking pan and bake, rotating pan halfway through baking, until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with toast for dipping.
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What baking temp?
Hi Susan! For ramekins like mine with two eggs in each, you can bake them at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
I am an egg lover and never met an egg that I didn’t like. But when my sister-in-law cooked this for me last weekend, I thought that I had crossed over into heaven.
I’m so glad to hear it! Aren’t eggs just the most amazing things in the world?
Hello, G-ma! I run a bed and breakfast here in Anchorage, Alaska and I was poking around online trying to find a recipe similar to one I had in Montana at the Voss Inn many years ago that I really enjoyed. I ran across yours. I tried it. I like it better! I’ve served it three times in the last few weeks, to rave reviews. The first time, with diced ham and green onions. Very nice, but not super inspirational. The second time, with bacon, leeks and tomato. That one was too juicy (from the tomato) and a little too rich. A couple of days ago, I tried it with sauteed reindeer sausage and green onions, with a dot of a half cherry tomato on the top. HOME RUN! I want you to come up here so I can serve it up to you. Thanks for the recipe. : ) Marilyn
Hi Marilyn!
Oh man, reindeer sausage and green onions sounds amazing! I’ve also had mixed luck with ingredients. You’re right–tomatoes baked in are too juicy. I recently tried leftover roasted brussels sprouts and roasted potatoes (diced), which was yummy. I think my all time favorite was leftover easy mac, which sounds gross, but worked really, really well. My husband and I were actually in Anchorage just a few months ago–I’m so sorry we missed you! We will definitely be back though, and when we are there, we’ll be sure to stay with you so we can try your baked eggs. Happy cooking!
Laurie
I am so excited to find this recipe! I had a similar dish at a B&B in Maine a few months ago and have been hunting for the recipe!! Thank you!! Cooking mine up now with some leftover sauteed chorizo and onion and a couple pieces of baked butternut squash.
Hi Caitlin,
Chorizo, onions and butternut squash sounds fantastic! Which B&B did you stay at? I would love to visit Maine and could use some recommendations 🙂
Laurie
Oh my goodness- I just made the best breakfast sandwich of my life (using your wonderful recipe as a guide)–eggs with mushrooms and red pepper and a touch of heavy cream; topped with crisp bacon and pepper jack cheese. All sandwiched between a multigrain flat round. Yum.
I’m drooling!
Hey, Laurie, when u gonna update this blog? Or, have you given up on baking! 🙂 How’s the weather up north?
Is this something that has to be served immediately?
Yes! You should serve immediately to take advantage of the gooey-ness of the eggs.
What do you think about a play on spinach artichoke dip. With sautéed spinach and artichokes w monzerella cheese. Then after you put the eggs you would sprinkle some shredded Parmesan on top?
Erik, I think that sounds fantastic. You might also consider adding another dash of cream to the spinach and artichokes to make it extra creamy. And yes, some finely grated parm on top would work out well I think! Let me know if you try this!
love this receipe! but why do you need heavy cream? I like to be dairy free.
I don’t think you need the heavy cream–it just makes the veggies you put underneath the eggs come together, and it adds richness. I’ve made this without cream (with olive oil instead) and I didn’t miss a thing.
I’m making this fancy breakfast for myself once the family is out the door!
Nice! Alone time is always better with eggs!
This sounds soooo yummy, but just wondering… could you put avocadoes in as a filling, or would that be a topping? Thanks
Avocados would be yummy! But I’d definitely add them after the eggs come out of the oven as a topping, like you said.
We do this all the time in my house for Saturday ‘brunch’. Starts with a pile of chopped veggies etc. everyone picks what they want and puts it in their dish. Add eggs and into the oven while we have our cereal (we Brits love our full breakfast lol)
My fav at the moment is avocado, goat cheese, bacon and tomato. Spinach is also grand
Can you make this the night before and keep it in the fridge and then bake it in the oven in the morning?
I’ve never tried this, so I can’t say for sure, but if I did, I might make the filling the night before and wait until the morning to crack the eggs in. I just don’t know what happens to already-cracked eggs overnight. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!