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Poached eggs are so good! Tender egg whites with a still runny yolk make them perfect breakfast fare. But the traditional way of poaching can be daunting. Once you see how to poach eggs in the oven, you won’t believe how easy it is – you’ll want to make them every weekend!

The Idea:

I love eggs, I eat them every day (I’m not sure this is a good thing, but I do!). I associate poached eggs with going out for a nice brunch and sitting on a fun patio, basically heaven. You’ve got the tender egg whites surrounding a still runny yolk, making them perfect for topping not only eggs benedict, but also chicken and sweet potato hash, or even a simple slice of toast. Poached eggs also have the reputation of being difficult to make, which is why they are fun to order when you’re at a restaurant. But, once you see how to poach eggs in the oven, you’ll be making them for brunch at your house this weekend!

The traditional way of poaching eggs takes practice, and not many home cooks have the time to put in. Should the water be boiling or simmering? Should you add vinegar to the water or not? And the big question, to swirl the water before breaking the egg in, or to not swirl?

Instead of worrying about any of that, make your poached eggs in the oven! Though not exactly like a traditionally poached egg, they are so easy that you’ll be using this technique from now on.

The Ingredients:

The only actual ingredient is eggs! Other than those, you’ll need a muffin tin, cooking spray and an oven. A muffin tin works really well for this technique, but you can also use oven safe individual ramekins. Use whatever sized eggs you have, you can adjust your oven time accordingly from a small egg to a jumbo.

The Preparation:

To prepare your muffin tin and help prevent any of the egg white from sticking, spray it lightly with your favorite cooking spray. Next add about a tablespoon of water to each cavity, followed by cracking an egg into each one. That’s it!

Now comes the tricky part, deciding when the eggs are done. In my oven it took about 12 minutes for the whites to be set and the yolks to still be runny. You can take them out and test one after 10-12 minutes to see what you think, which I would suggest. The water on the top of the eggs will make it a little difficult to tell the doneness just by looking, so if you take a spoon and lift one of the eggs up you’ll be able to tell how they’re doing.

Once they are cooked to your liking, use a large spoon to life them out of the pan, tilting the spoon to drain off any excess water as you go. You can drain them on paper towels too if you prefer.

The Payoff:

Now comes the fun part – who’s ready for perfectly poached eggs for brunch?? Everyone, that’s who.

Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and eat one right out of the bowl, or make some of your favorite toast, put an egg on top and enjoy.

Or, if you want to get really fancy, put a couple of your oven poached eggs on top of some chicken and sweet potato hash! Once you see how easy it is to poach eggs in the oven, there will be no stopping you. People might even come to your house and order them for brunch!