They’re easier than over easy but taste better than sunny side up. Basted eggs are the best eggs to make at home.
When we originally decided to do this whole series on eggs, I had a bunch of different diner-style eggs on my list to make (think over easy, sunny side up, over medium, etc.). However, I then remembered that my favorite way to cook eggs beats those all, hands down.
Ahhh basted eggs, how I love thee.
Here’s A Video Showing How To Baste Eggs:
Why Should I Make Basted Eggs?
Why make basted eggs? Well…
Have you ever made over easy eggs at home? It’s a pain. Trying to get that egg flipped without breaking the yolk. Yikes!
If you want a dippable yolk but you don’t want to have to flip the egg, then you’re going with sunny side up. Much easier. The downside to that is that there is often this slimy goop over the egg yolk that doesn’t cook. It’s exactly that stuff that you’re trying to cook when you do over easy eggs.
Conclusion so far? Over easy eggs are annoying. Sunny side up have slime.
So then, what if I told you that you could cook that slime without having to flip the eggs? You’d be pretty excited, right?
That’s where basted eggs come in. You start by making a sunny side up egg. When the whites are almost set, you add some water and a lid. What happens? The steam created from the water surrounds the yolk and cooks the goopy layer.
I told you basted eggs are where it’s at!
How to Make Basted Eggs:
Melt some butter in a non-stick skillet.
Crack in an egg.
When the whites are nearly set, add a drizzle of water (tap or better, recently boiled water from a kettle).
Put a lid on the skillet. If you don’t have a lid for your skillet, a big sheet of aluminum foil will work. Note that the lid you use does not have to be a lid that came with the skillet. Any sauce pan lid that is bigger than your skillet will work here.
Let it cook until the steam has cooked the layer of egg whites that is over the yolk. About 30 seconds. If you like your yolks more cooked, you can let the egg steam for longer.
Trim off any uneven whites if desired and serve.
Enjoy!
Podcast Episode About Basting Eggs
Listen to me explain briefly about how baste eggs, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print Basted Egg
They’re easier than over-easy but taste better than sunny side up. Basted eggs are the best eggs to make at home.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 4-5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. butter or margarine
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp. boiling water*
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Crack in the egg.
- Cook until whites are nearly fully set and then add the water to the skillet. Cover the skillet.
- Cook the egg in the covered skillet until the whites are set and the thin layer of whites that tops the yolk has turned white as well.
- Remove egg from skillet. Serve.
Notes
*Cold water will work too. Boiling water just starts the steam a tiny bit more quickly.
This post originally appeared in April 2018 and was revised and republished in April 2021.
How do you keep the egg yolk from cooking further while you are basting the egg? Should the heat be turned off under the pan while the poaching is occurring?
Cynthia, I’m not sure I understand your question. The goal here is to get perfectly cooked (set) egg whites and a runny yolk. You cook the egg uncovered in the pan until the whites are
nearly set, but not quite. Then you add the water and the lid and cook just until the whites are set and a film of whites is set over top of the yolk. It only takes a very short amount of time. Then you take the egg out of the skillet. At that point, the yolk is still completely runny but the whites around it and over it are cooked fully set. I hope that helps!
When my brother and I would spend a night at Gpa’s and Gma’s house (way back in the 1950’s), Grandma would yell up the stairs to tell us it was time for breakfast. She would ask how we wanted our eggs. (We were farmers, and she had her own chickens.) My request was for a basted egg. She would spoon the fat over the egg, until the yolk was just covered in white; then she would put the egg on a plate, make a slight cut in the soft yolk, and place a pat of butter inside. OMG! It was so yummy, I cannot forget it – even at my age of 72!
Connie, that sounds incredible! I’m going to give it a try. Thanks for sharing your memory with me <3
This isn’t a basted egg, it’s a steam fried egg. Basted eggs are when you spoon hot oil over the egg. However, either way is fantastic!
I use a quarter inch of bacon fat to fry the eggs in, and at the point that you would add water and steam them, use a spatula to gently splash the hot grease over the top of the eggs. That will set the tops, turn the yolks pink, and give bacon flavor.
Thanks for sharing your method, Johnny!
I just melt the butter, add the eggs and the lid and when they’re white on top it’s perfectly done.
Thanks for sharing, Stacey!
For me, basted eggs are the best. This is the way I’ve always made them. Your recipe is very easy to follow. And I hope more people try it this way.
Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, MJ! Thanks for taking time to comment.
If you want a nice kick to the dish, try adding some Cajun seasoning to the butter just before you crack your eggs into the skillet. When you pour your hot water in, it’ll dissolve the salt and distribute the other seasonings. So good.
Oooo interesting, JM, I’ll have to give that a try.
skip the water and just cover the egg
If you would ask your mom or your grandma or her mom, they would probably tell you that basted eggs are actually sunny side up eggs that are basted with the hot oil or butter or grease or even steaming water from the pan to cook the liquid whites “slime” …
We call these “mommy and daddy eggs“ in our family because that’s the way my parents made them, while scrambling eggs for the kids. Makes me smile every time. Fantastic way to cook eggs!.
Thanks for sharing, Beth!
When I’ve tried this before, I’ve just added the lid, and it never came out quite right. The answer? Water! How didn’t I think of that?! Thanks for sharing!
So glad I could help, Kim! I love making my eggs this way.
I’ve been making what looks like basted eggs but didn’t know what it was called. I don’t even add the water, I just immediately put the cover on and the heat cooks the eggs to have that white look. I love basted eggs. So easy and yummy
Thanks for letting us know, Bobby! Enjoy!
i like ur cook mode
It’s a great feature isn’t it? 🙂
Was looking around where I live in Clarence NY, and found the Campfire Grill. Their breakfast menu is replete with various proprietary names; several included Basted Eggs. While I am familiar with the name Basted Eggs, my repertoire included scrambled, sunny side up, over easy and hard, hard boiled, poached but not basted as didn’t know the method. They’re so simple, so did my first basted egg immediately! It turned out perfectly! My new Family style egg will be basted for sure, and experiment with fresh light herbs as the egg is so mild. When basting meats, one needed a few utensils, with basted eggs, one needs a fry pan, and something to scoop the final product out with; and they are light! Thank you for providing the easy to follow recipe and video.
So glad it was helpful for you, Steven! Enjoy!
I don’t know why these boomer comments are so negative. Thank you for sharing. I already knew about Basted eggs but I’m glad other people at e catching on! I didn’t know their official name, I called them steamed lol I like basted better. Thank you for sharing this wonderful way to make perfect eggs. Try eating then with some Boston brown bread, you won’t be sorry !
Thank you, Joshua, glad you enjoy eggs this way too!