Eggs in a Basket is golden, buttery toast with a perfectly sized hole, into which a fresh egg is cracked and cooked to absolute perfection.
This simple fried egg dish has only 5 essential ingredients and is cooked and ready to eat in 15 minutes.
You can cook the egg with a runny, jammy, or fully set yolk, making this easy recipe perfect for breakfast, brunch, or even a quick main course for dinner.
Serve it with my Yogurt Parfait Shooters, which are perfectly sweet and tart and pair beautifully with eggs.
🔍 Quick Look: Eggs in a Basket Recipe
- Ready in: 15 minutes
- Best Made: Just before serving
- Servings: 2
- Calories: 325 kcal
- Main Ingredients: Rustic bread, eggs, butter, salt, & pepper
- Flavor Profile: Rich • Nutty • Buttery • Savory
- Cook Method: Pan Fried
- Difficulty: Easy, making it great for cooks of all levels.
- Why You'll Love It: Buttery bread is toasted and holds a savory egg cooked to perfection.
- Perfect For: Weekend Brunches & Holiday Breakfasts
Jump to:
- 🔍 Quick Look: Eggs in a Basket Recipe
- Why You'll Love This Eggs in a Basket Recipe
- About This Recipe
- Ingredient Notes
- How to Make Eggs in a Basket
- Variations
- Why I Finish Cooking Eggs in a Basket in the Oven
- My Top Tip
- How to Make Eggs in a Basket for a Crowd
- Make-Ahead & Storage
- More Brunch Recipes You Will Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why You'll Love This Eggs in a Basket Recipe
- Quick and Easy. You need only 5 essential ingredients and about 15 minutes.
- Toast and Eggs in One. The bread becomes crisp and buttery while the egg cooks right in the center.
- Cook the Egg Your Way. Make the yolk runny, jammy, or fully set.
- Easy to Scale. Make two in a skillet or use the sheet-pan method below to feed a crowd.
About This Recipe
If you've seen the movie Moonstruck, you will immediately recognize this deliciously simple homey breakfast... and I love trying new dishes I see on TV or in the movies. Just like my Midnight Diner Potato Salad, that's how Eggs in a Basket was chosen to be on Encharted Cook.
To make Eggs in a Basket, melt butter in a pan and cook slices of bread with a hole cut out, along with the cutout holes, also known as "lids" or "hats. Flip the bread over, crack an egg into the hole, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking until the egg, sunny side up, is to your liking.
As the bread cooks in the butter, the butter becomes nutty and slightly caramel in flavor and aroma. Bread cooked in butter is like... alchemy. It becomes transformed to new heights and is nothing like simple buttered toast.
This simple egg-and-toast dish has many names, from regional cooking traditions to pop culture. You might know this iconic breakfast dish by another name, including egg in a hole, eggs in a frame, one-eyed Jack, hole in one, eggs with a hat, or eggs in a nest.
But whatever you call it... It is a genius way to make delicious, buttery, homestyle toast and eggs.
Ingredient Notes
Here's everything you'll need to make Eggs in a Basket. Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.
- Rustic Bread - Use a sturdy Italian, country-style, or sourdough bread sliced about ¾-inch thick. A substantial slice holds the egg better than thin sandwich bread.
- Salted Butter - I prefer salted butter, which brings out the flavor of the bread.
- Large Eggs - Large eggs perfectly fit the size and depth of the hole in the bread.
- Fine Sea Salt - A pinch of salt over the eggs enhances their flavor.
- Black Pepper - I always use freshly ground black pepper, which has a flowery aroma and spicy flavor. You only need a few grinds for each egg.
Optional Garnish:
Fresh Chives - Just a couple of fresh chives, finely chopped, give a fresh and beautiful look to this dish. You can also use any fresh herbs you like with eggs like sweet basil, chervil, dill, fennel, or tarragon.
How to Make Eggs in a Basket
♡ So, let's cook!
- Step 1: Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400°F/204°C and heat a skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Step 2: Cut Holes in Bread. While the skillet heats, use a 2 ½-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out the centers of the sliced bread. Do not discard the centers.
- Step 3: Toast the Bread. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread and the cut-out bread rounds to the skillet and cook about 3 to 5 minutes or until the bread is golden. Use a spatula and turn the golden side of the bread up.
- Step 4: Add the Eggs. Crack open each egg and place each in a small measuring cup or dish. Add each egg to the hole in each slice. Season the eggs to taste with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Step 5: Cook the Eggs. Place the skillet in the oven and cook until the egg white is set and the yolk is cooked to your liking, about 4 to 5 minutes for a jammy yolk. For a runnier yolk, begin checking at about 3 minutes. Wearing an oven mitt, gently shake the skillet to check the yolk. A runny yolk will wobble noticeably; a fully cooked yolk will barely move.
Alternatively, you can continue to cook the eggs in the pan instead of the oven by covering the pan with a lid and continuing to cook to your liking on the stove.
- Serve & Enjoy. Plate the egg toasts and the cut-out circles and garnish with fresh chopped chives.
Variations
- Break the Yolk. Use a fork to break and swirl the yolk into the white after adding the egg to the hole.
- Scrambled Eggs. Beat the yolk and white together well with a fork to make a scrambled egg in the hole.
- Add Cheese. Sprinkle your favorite shredded cheese on top of the egg and toast.
- Add Bacon Bits. Add a few bacon bits to a scrambled egg mixture or when breaking the yolk in the hole.
- Add Paprika. If you don't have fresh herbs, feel free to sprinkle sweet or smoked paprika over the egg.
Why I Finish Cooking Eggs in a Basket in the Oven
You might ask why I finish cooking my eggs in the oven when I can simply put a lid on the pan and finish cooking... and there are two reasons.
- The buttery toast stays crisp.
- The egg cooks more gently and evenly, making it easier to get a thick, jammy yolk without overcooking the toast.
My Top Tip
♡ Don't skimp on the butter. It may seem like 3 tablespoons is a lot, but trust me it is the perfect amount to make the bread toast up golden and delicious.
How to Make Eggs in a Basket for a Crowd
Use a sheet pan instead of a skillet when you need to cook several servings at once.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place it in the pre-heated oven to warm.
- Generously butter both sides of the slices of bread.
- Cut the holes in the buttered bread.
- Place the bread and the hole cut-outs on the baking sheet and bake until the tops are light golden brown.
- Remove from oven, crack an egg into each hole, season with salt and pepper, and return to oven to cook the eggs to your liking.
For a super easy brunch feast, you can cook bacon in the oven before making Eggs in a Basket!
Make-Ahead & Storage
Eggs in a Basket are best served immediately and aren't a good candidate for refrigerating or freezing after cooking.
However, you can cut the bread a day ahead and keep it well wrapped at room temperature, or freeze it and thaw it before using it.
More Brunch Recipes You Will Love
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📖 Recipe
Eggs in a Basket
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Equipment
- 10" Skillet
- 2 ½" Cookie or Biscuit Cutter
- Silicone Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 Slices Rustic Bread, Like Italian or Sourdough Cut ¾" Inch Thick
- 3 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- 2 Large Eggs
- Fine Sea Salt, to Taste
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to Taste
Optional Garnish:
- Fresh Chives, Finely Chopped
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400°F/204°C and heat a non-stick skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Cut Holes in Bread. While the skillet heats, use a 2 ½-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out the centers of the sliced bread. Do not discard the centers.2 Slices Rustic Bread
- Toast the Bread. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread and the cut-out bread rounds to the skillet and cook about 3 to 5 minutes or until the bread is golden. Use a spatula and turn the bread golden side up.3 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- Add the Eggs. Crack open each egg and place each in a small measuring cup or dish. Add each egg to the hole in each slice. Season the eggs to taste with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.2 Large Eggs, Fine Sea Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Cook the Eggs. Place the skillet in the oven and cook until the egg white is set and the yolk is cooked to your liking, about 4 to 5 minutes for a jammy yolk. For a runnier yolk, begin checking at about 3 minutes. Wearing an oven mitt, gently shake the skillet to check the yolk. A runny yolk will wobble noticeably; a fully cooked yolk will barely move. Alternatively, you can continue to cook the eggs in the pan instead of the oven by covering the pan with a lid and continuing to cook to your liking on the stove.
- Serve & Enjoy. Plate the egg toasts and the cut-out circles and garnish with fresh chopped chives.Fresh Chives
Notes
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place it in the pre-heated oven to warm.
- Generously butter both sides of the slices of bread.
- Cut the holes in the buttered bread.
- Place the bread and the hole cut-outs on the baking sheet and bake until the tops are light golden brown.
- Remove from oven, crack an egg into each hole, season with salt and pepper, and return to oven to cook the eggs to your liking.
Nutrition
Per 1 serving. All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.
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