20 Quick and Easy Ways to Cook Eggs

Eggs might well be the perfect food. Packed with protein and tons of vitamins and minerals, they are affordable, delicious, and form the bedrock of a good diet and any meal—breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

But if you are stuck in a rut when it comes to preparing eggs, it’s easy to hit that wall of menu fatigue. Bust out of that boredom and give your eggs new life in the kitchen with these 20 methods of preparation that are bound to please everyone at the breakfast or dinner table.

And don’t worry, I promise that each of these methods is completely achievable even by amateur home cooks! Grab your bowl and let’s crack some eggs.

Hard-Scrambled

If you’ve ever had scrambled eggs at a restaurant or, heck, at your own table, you’ve probably had hard-scrambled.

Hard-scrambled eggs are made by whisking the whites and the yolks together in a bowl and then pouring the mixture into a
hot, greased pan. They are then cooked until they are crumbly and solid, almost completely dry.

Done properly, they are tasty and very easy to make. Done wrong, by overcooking, they turn rubbery and unappealing. This is often the very first dish that people learn to make after they can be trusted to make toast!

Soft-Scrambled

Soft-scrambled eggs are the preparation for scrambled egg connoisseurs: they start out the same, with the whites and yolks whisked together, but they are not cooked quite as long and, as a rule, have a softer, moister texture. This is best achieved by keeping them constantly moving while they cook.

Another trick to getting great soft-scrambled eggs is to cook them over lower heat, often for longer than hard-scrambled eggs. Cooking them low and slow compared to a hard-scrambled egg takes a little more effort and attention, but the results are truly stupendous.

Egg Scramble

No, this isn’t a repeat. An egg scramble, as opposed to scrambled eggs, is nothing more than scrambled eggs that have other ingredients mixed in like cheese, vegetables, meat, and the like.

It might even have potatoes or sweet potatoes mixed in, though this should not be confused with a hash because eggs are the primary ingredient, or you might say vessel, for the others.

You can hard-scramble eggs and mix in any ingredients or toppings you want, but the consistency of hard-scrambled eggs usually results in a less-than-appealing separation. Soft scrambling allows you to fully incorporate all ingredients into a delicious whole.

Omelets & Frittatas

I’ve heard it said that frittatas are just omelets for high-class diners at expensive establishments, but I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t let the fancy foreign name scare you. If you can make an omelet, you can make a frittata!

Speaking of omelets, an omelet is just scrambled eggs that are left to cook and firm up into a disc before, typically, being filled with meat, cheese, and other toppings. They are then folded up, set on the plate, and eaten with a knife and fork.

A frittata is basically the same although I’m sure a true chef or other culinary expert will correct me in the comments, only they aren’t folded.

Sunny-Side-Up

This is my personal favorite way to have eggs, but it’s also one of the most divisive: eggs that are prepared sunny-side-up are gently pan-fried until the whites are just cooked through and the yolks are still runny.

When you stick your fork in the yolk it will run everywhere and form a delicious sauce for the rest of the egg, your toast, or anything else you care to dip in it!

Making sunny-side-up eggs is a cinch: slightly grease your pan with a little bit of oil, cooking spray, butter, or lard, preheat over medium, then crack the egg and gently, carefully slide it into the pan.

Don’t break that yolk, don’t mess with it, and carefully take it out of the pan with a spatula once the whites are set. Enjoy!

Over-Easy

Another time-honored way to enjoy eggs, especially at the breakfast table, is over-easy. It’s not the easiest method, as the name instead refers to the consistency of the yolk.

Simply fry the egg as before like we were doing sunny-side-up, then carefully, gently flip it over, yolk down, and cook it for just a little while longer. The trick is that the yolk should still be runny, not hard, but it’s all too easy to break the egg when you flip it.

They are tasty, and the crispy brown edges of over-easy make for a wonderful contrast, but it takes a steady hand and a little practice to master over-easy!

Over-Medium

As you might have guessed, over-medium eggs are made the same way as over-easy, discussed just previously, but they are only cooked a little bit longer. Fry the one side, flip it when the whites are set, and then cook it not quite all the way through.

The result is egg whites that have a definite brown edge and a yolk that is firm on the outside but still a little runny in the middle. If you like a little bit of moisture in your fried eggs but don’t like them running all over the place, you’ve got to give over-medium a try.

Over-Hard

No surprise here: over-hard refers to a fried egg that is flipped and cooked until the yolk is set all the way through. The whites will have brown, crispy bits throughout by this time, and the yolk should be crumbly and solid, but not rubbery.

These are great for folks who despise a moist, runny fried egg at breakfast or if you want to make an egg sandwich or use it as a topping on a burger.

Most folks make over-hard eggs for the first time accidentally by either breaking the yolk when flipping to try for over-easy or simply by cooking a sunny-side-up egg way too long! I’m not judging, I did it myself.

Egg-in-a-Basket

Another one of my very favorite breakfast preparations is eggs-in-a-basket…

My great-grandma used to make this for me all the time when I was a youngster, and those Sunday morning breakfasts are some of my fondest memories. It’s simple, hearty, and almost like a deconstructed French toast.

To make it, heat up a pan over medium and swirl a thin pat of butter in it. Use butter, not oil.

Cut out a hole in the middle of a piece of bread, leaving enough around the edges to hold it together, and then let it toast in the pan for a minute or two. Flip it over, crack an egg into the hole, then fry the egg sunny-side-up to your preference.

The result is delicious, quick, and easy!

Steamed

Steaming an egg is exactly what it sounds like: using steam to cook the egg to the desired doneness.

This is easily accomplished by cracking an egg into a hot, lightly greased pan and then either placing an ice cube or a dash of water under a lid or steel bowl that is covering it.

As the water quickly turns to steam, that steam will thoroughly cook the top of the egg completely, but it won’t be toasted or brown anywhere.

This usually only takes a couple of minutes, but you can leave it in there longer to firm up the yolk even more.

Butter-Basted

Something most folks have never had is butter-basted eggs. If you are a fried egg enjoyer, you owe it to yourself to try this one.

The way to begin is with a pan full of sizzling hot, melted butter. Be careful not to brown it…

Crack open your egg and begin as you would making them sunny-side-up. Now take a spoon or small ladle and continuously scoop and pour the hot butter over the top of the egg. Do this continuously, and don’t stop!

The result will be an egg that’s cooked all the way through and firm, but it won’t be browned at all, and will stay considerably moister than it would otherwise. They are really something!

Oil-Basted / Spanish Eggs

An unbelievably delicious variation on butter-basting is oil-basting, sometimes called Spanish eggs or Spanish fried eggs. Instead of butter, you use olive oil. Get it good and hot over medium heat, but keep it south of the smoke point.

Crack open an egg and drop it in cautiously as you would if making sunny-side-up eggs and watch out for splashes. Then grab your ladle and carefully, continuously, drizzle the hot olive oil over the top of the egg. It won’t take long!

The finished product will be moist but crispy, with egg whites that are as smooth and creamy as soft-scrambled eggs and a yolk that is runny like sunny-side-up. Folks, it does not get any better than this!

Creamed

Creamed eggs are halfway between a special preparation and making eggs into a topping. Start by hard- or soft-boiling a couple of eggs.

Once they’re done, chop or pour and mix in with a light roux and milk (béchamel) to make a super savory and filling gravy.

It is truly excellent on crusty toast or English muffins, but you can use it to take sausage, bacon, other meats, and veggies to the next level.

Poached

This is arguably the most masterful way to prepare an egg. Poaching is nothing more than cooking egg whites and yolk in simmering water that is just shy of the boiling point. Easy enough, as anyone can almost boil water.

The problem is that it is easy to let the heat go out of control or disturb the egg and watch everything come apart in a big mess. As simple as the process sounds, it requires practice and refinement to do it reliably…

The best way I’ve found is in a deep skillet using anywhere from one and a half to 2 inches of water. Crack the egg into a heat-proof ramekin, set that in the water, and then bring the water up to a simmer. Don’t let it boil.

Once the water is simmering, carefully tip over the ramekin and let the egg bob in the water for four or five minutes until the whites are firm.

Gently lift it out with a spatula or strainer, then cut it open; the yolk should be runny but have a more viscous consistency than over-easy. Congratulations, you did it!

Hard-Boiled

One of the most popular egg preparations in the entire world, hard-boiled eggs are boiled in their shell until both the white and the yolk are set all the way through. As with frying eggs in the pan, hard refers to the consistency of the yolk.

To prepare, all you need is an appropriately sized pot that has enough water in it to cover your eggs by a few inches. Bring the water to a rolling boil, carefully drop in your uncracked eggs, and then set a timer for 10 minutes, maybe a minute or two longer for very large eggs.

When the timer goes off, pull out the eggs and blanch them in a bowl of ice water, then crack the shells and peel them off. Hard-boiled eggs are delicious by themselves, in salads, in ramen, or by themselves.

Soft-Boiled

As expected, soft-boiled eggs are just boiled eggs that are taken out before the yolk is cooked all the way through. The whites should be fully cooked, however. Cooking time is usually 6 to 7 minutes, maybe a minute longer for the largest eggs.

Eating a soft-boiled egg is a bit of a different experience: often the top of the eggshell is cracked off and the whites and yolk either sucked or scooped out.

Have you ever seen an egg sitting in one of those weird little holders before someone daintily taps on the top with that little spoon? That’s how a soft-boiled egg is usually eaten formally or semi-formally.

Soft-boiling an egg is fairly rare in America, but take it from me that they are truly delicious and very satisfying. Give them a try!

Deviled

The pride and joy of Southern holiday gatherings and all other occasions, deviled eggs are sort of a variant of hard-boiled eggs, but there are so many different recipes and preparations they have become a preparation unto themselves.

Once the eggs are hard-boiled and peeled, the yolks can be scooped out carefully and then mixed into other ingredients to form a sort of sauce or topping. Mayo and mustard are often the core ingredients, alongside minced peppers, relish, and various spices.

This mixture is then chilled and spooned back into the cavity of the whites, before being topped with more seasonings or other things. Be careful! These are truly habit-forming!

Coddled

No, these aren’t special eggs that come from your most spoiled hen. Coddled eggs are those that are cracked into a heat-proof container which is then placed in boiling water.

This will gently cook them through and produce tasty, moist eggs that are similar to soft-scrambled, but different. They’re hard to describe, but if you like eggs, you’ll like these…

Again, this cooking method sounds fancy, and it’s easy to find intimidating recipes that call for double-boilers and other intricate setups, but it’s entirely possible to make these using small bowls or even a mason jar.

Coddling eggs is a great way to put a new spin on the usual scrambled ones that you have for breakfast.

Baked

Baked eggs are nothing more than eggs cracked open into a dish and cooked, typically by popping them in the oven as the name suggests.

Note that they are not typically mixed or scrambled prior to cooking; that will occur during cooking and gives baked eggs a unique and delightful consistency.

Baked eggs often serve as the base for other ingredients like vegetables, cheese, and meat, or sometimes as a covering. The moisture from the eggs helps the flavors of the other ingredients mingle together wonderfully.

If you want to be fancy and impress your dinner guests, you can call these shirred eggs.

Quiche

A quiche is another dish that sounds fancy and sophisticated, but is essentially quite simple and wholesome.

Basically, you might think of it as a pie, complete with a crust, only instead of a fruit filling, the filling is made from cooked eggs and other ingredients.

Enjoyed around the world and predominantly in Europe, quiches are notable for their smooth texture, crisp crust, and savory taste, and are often enjoyed for dinner as often as lunch and breakfast.

You can try to bake a quiche, complete with crust, in one go, but this is more prone to failure and requires more skill and careful prep. Preparing the filling and then adding that to a pre-baked crust is far more straightforward and the results are still delicious!