You can learn to make Perfect Poached Eggs every single time with this easy recipe. Master the art of the perfect poached egg and so you can put an egg on top of every meal!
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to avoiding whispy, frayed edges
Worth It: Makes any meal feel special
Bonus: Keeps in the fridge for 7 days
Once you learn the tricks, making perfect poached eggs is easy!
I am very proud of my ability to make a perfect poached egg. The ultimate poached egg is one with firm, set egg whites and a warm, runny yolk in the center. When you break into a poached egg on top of your meal, the yolk become almost like a delicious sauce.
Once you know how to make at perfectly poached eggs, you can do it you can do it over and over again. I perfected my method for this and I am sharing it here with a few tips and tricks to get you going.
Looking to make perfect hard boiled eggs? Check out this post to learn how to long to hard boil eggs.
what is a poached egg?
A poached egg is an egg that you cook by cracking it directly into boiling water. A poached egg is finished cooking when the outer egg whites are cooked and stiff and the center yolk is runny.
You can add a poached egg to pretty much any dish!
The best part about poaches eggs is that they make pretty much any dish better. I could put a poached egg on just about anything that I eat. As you can tell from this post I especially like to put one on avocado toast.
Some of the other ways that I like to enjoy poached eggs are on top of a salad because the warm yolk acts like a dressing. Of course, I like them in the traditional way on eggs Benedict. And I love them on top of my cauliflower rice breakfast stir fry recipe.
Once you know how to make perfect poached eggs you can find countless ways to enjoy them. They are delicious on top of avocado toast simply with some sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Kitchen tools
- Small sauce pan with lid
- Small bowls or ramekins
- Fine mesh strainer
- Measuring spoons
- Slotted spoon
ingredients
- Large eggs
- Vinegar
- Cold water
What kind of eggs are best for poached eggs?
Fresh eggs will give you the best result when trying to make a perfect poached egg. Using fresh eggs will result in a tight round poached egg.
If you only have older eggs, your poached eggs will still be great. Taking time to strain off the excess whites with a small strainer will help when using older eggs.
Some people say that it is best to use room temperature eggs, but I find that cold eggs straight from the fridge yield the same results.
Poached egg tips and tricks
- Use the vortex method – create a vortex in the simmering water by stirring it with a flat spatula. Pour the eggs directly into the center of the vortex to help create tight poached egg.
- Add a splash of vinegar to the water – Add a splash of any kind of vinegar to the water before you bring the water to a boil. You can use any kind of vinegar, but I like white vinegar because it doe not discolor the eggs. The vinegar helps the egg whites together
- Use a fine mesh strainer to strain eggs – Crack the eggs through a fine mesh sieve helps strain off any extraneous egg whites leaving you with a tighter, firmer poached egg.
- Crack eggs into ramekin before pouring into pot – This will help you pour the eggs directly into the center of that vortex in the pot. It can be difficult to crack an egg neatly and gently into the middle of the pot.
- Do not over boil water – the water does not need to be at a rolling boil for the eggs to poach properly. As soon as the water begins to gently boil you can begin to create the vortex and drop your eggs in.
- Use fresh eggs – Fresh eggs tend to result in clean, neat and tight poached eggs.
How to make poached eggs
Step 1: Crack egg into small bowl
To make perfect poached eggs, start by cracking eggs into individual small bowls or ramekins. Crack the eggs over a fine mesh strainer and then pour into the small bowl.
Using the strainer will remove any of the loose whites that cause excess whisps. After straining return each egg to their individual bowls.
Step 2: boil water
Next, fill a small pot with cold water. You only need a few inches of water for poaching eggs. I aim for 3-4 inches.
Then, add 1 tbsp of vinegar to the pot of water. I have found that white or apple cider vinegar works best.
Next, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
Step 3: Swirl water and pour in eggs
Once the water is boiling, swirl the water with a flat spatula into a spiral.
Pour eggs individually into the center of the spiral. This method works best with 1 egg at a time, but I have tried up to 4 eggs.
Step 4: turn off heat and cover pot
Then, immediately turn off the heat, leave the pot on the burner and cover the pot. Cook the eggs for 3 minutes on a gas stove and 2 minutes and 30 seconds on an electric stove.
Remove the cooked eggs from the pot with a slotted spoon. Tap the eggs to test for doneness – the whites should be solid and yolk should be runny. If the whites aren’t fully set you can return the eggs to the water for a bit longer.
Enjoy the eggs immediately or place in an ice bath to stop cooking and enjoy the eggs later.
Storage and reheating
Cooked poached eggs will keep in the fridge up to 7 days. You can store them in an airtight container.
Reheating previously poached eggs will cause the yolk to harden slightly, but if you do not mind this then you can warm them in a pot of warm water before serving. I like to bring a sauce pan of water to a boil, remove from heat and then let the egg sit in it for a couple of minutes to warm.
Check out these other delicious breakfast recipes
You can find the full recipe and instructions below. If you make some perfect poached eggs, please let me know in the comments or on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Perfect Poached Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 egg or up to 4!
- 1 tbsp vinegar per pot of water
Instructions
- Individually crack eggs into individual small bowl so ramekins. Strain each egg through a fine mesh strainer – this will remove any of the loose white that cause excess whisps. After straining return each egg to their individual bowls
- Fill a small pot with cold water. Add 1 tbsp of vinegar to the pot. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Swirl the water with a flat spatula to create a spiral. Pour eggs individually into the center of the spiral – the method works best with 1 egg at time, but I have tried up to 4 eggs.
- Once you have poured your egg into the pot, immediately cover the pot, turn off the heat, and leave the pot on the burner. Leave the eggs in the covered pot for 3 minutes if you are using a gas stove and 2 minutes and 30 seconds if you are using an electric stove.
- Remove the eggs from the pot with a slotted spoon. Tap the eggs to test for doneness – the whites should be solid and yolk should be runny. If the whites aren’t fully set, you can return the eggs to the water for a bit longer.
- Enjoy the eggs immediately of place in an ice bath to stop cooking and enjoy the eggs later. Cooked poached eggs will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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