Perfect Poached Eggs

Learn how to make perfect Poached Eggs every time with this simple recipe. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and require minimal kitchen skills.

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If you love eggs, you might have already tried some of my other egg recipes. When I don’t make boiled eggs in the air fryer or a spinach omelette, I go for poached eggs. Poached eggs are very common in French cuisine. They are served on buttered, toasted bread with a coulis of roasted tomato sauce and basil.

It’s a way of cooking eggs whole but without their shells in water. Poached eggs typically have a very runny yolk and soft, cooked egg white around it. Let me share with you how to make poached eggs perfectly every single time.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to make poached eggs are:

• Fresh Eggs – The freshness of eggs is crucial to perfect the recipe. Prefer free-range organic eggs for a better taste.
• Boiling Water – Reduced to a light boil.
• Vinegar – White or apple cider vinegar.
• Salt – You can also add black pepper.

How To Make Perfect Poached Eggs

A delicious poached egg has a firm, shiny oval-shaped white egg encasing a runny egg yolk.

1. Preparing The Eggs: First, crack the eggs over a small sieve above a bowl. This will remove the part of the egg white that is not well attached to the egg. It’s often a few milliliters, but if you keep it, the poached eggs won’t get a nice oval shape.
2. Discard White: Discard the egg white that goes through the sieve. Transfer the egg from the sieve to a small bowl or small ramekin.
3. Don’t Crack Eggs In The Water: Keep the cracked eggs in individual ramekins or small bowls. This makes it easier when pouring the egg into the boiled water and prevents the egg yolk from breaking.
4. Boiling Water: Place a large saucepan filled with cold water over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, add a pinch of salt to the hot water, and reduce it to a medium boil to have simmering water. Now use a fork to swirl the pot of water and create a whirlpool on the spot you expect to release the egg. Pour the egg from the ramekin into middle of the vortex of boiling water.
5. Add Eggs Slowly: Now, wait for 45 seconds. Don’t touch the swirling water or add any other egg in the saucepan. In fact, swirling the water too early mixes the egg white with boiled water and results in a white foam all around the top of the saucepan. However, if this happens, you can remove the foam from the saucepan using a small sieve.
6. Cooking Until Set: A poached egg cooks within 3 minutes. The key to knowing if the egg is cooked through is to look at the egg white. The egg white should be set around the egg yolk and firm. Line a plate with a clean kitchen towel. Use a slotted spoon to remove the poached egg from the water and transfer it to the towel. The towel will absorb the extra water around the egg. Leave the egg for a few minutes on the towel. To keep the poached eggs warm, place another kitchen towel on top.

Serving Poached Eggs

You can eat poached eggs on their own with some of the seasoning options below:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Chili flakes
• Freshly chopped Parsley
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Grated Parmesan

You can also serve them on top of any salad, to substitute boiled eggs, add protein to your meal, or make Turkish eggs. These are my favorite salads for poached eggs.

• Cucumber Yogurt Salad
• Cottage Cheese Salad
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Cobb SaladCaprese Salad

Another common way to serve a perfectly poached egg is on top of bread, like my:

• English muffins or try my 90-Second English Muffins for a healthy breakfast.
• Toasted bread – use my Keto Bread Recipe for a diabetic-friendly option.

Making Egg Benedict

Poached eggs are most famously used to make egg Benedict for a delicious brunch. An egg benedict is made by splitting an English Muffin into halves and toasting them. You can alternatively use classic bread slices.

1. Cook some bacon in a frying pan. You don’t need oil, as the bacon will release enough grease. Turn the bacon slices regularly until it’s cooked.
2. Use forks or tongs to take the cooked bacon to a paper towel to let them release their grease.
3. Butter the bottom slice of your English muffins and add your bacon strips.
4. Place one or two poached eggs on top of the bacon before pouring Hollandaise sauce (store-bought or homemade).
5. Top the eggs Benedict with the top slice of English muffins and enjoy warn.

Storage Instructions

Poached eggs are better served lukewarm just after cooking. You can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days but don’t rewarm before serving, or the egg yolk will harden. Serve the poached eggs cold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find below my answers to your common questions on how to poach eggs.

More Egg Recipes

I love eggs for breakfast or in my salad recipes. So here are some more ways to cook eggs.