Over-Easy Eggs

I love the versatility of over-easy eggs. Hot off the skillet, they can be served simply with a piece of toast and a mug of coffee. Or, they can also elevate a brunchy avocado toast or a steakhouse-worthy hamburger.

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as cracking an egg into a pan willy-nilly and flipping the egg with a spatula. But it is a straightforward method, so long as you keep a few techniques in mind. That’s why we delved deep into our bag of tricks to teach you how to make over-easy eggs perfectly every time. Plus, mastering this eggs over-easy recipe is a great steppingstone to learning all the different ways to cook an egg.

What is an over-easy egg?

An over-easy egg is a type of fried egg that has a fully set egg white with a completely runny yolk. Once the egg white is set, the entire egg is carefully flipped to its other side, while keeping the yolk intact, and cooked for an additional 30 seconds.

Ingredients for Over-Easy Eggs

• Eggs: One of the secrets to learning how to cook over-easy eggs is making sure your eggs are as fresh as can be. Fresh eggs have a stronger egg white, which will help protect the yolk from breaking when you flip it. To tell if eggs are fresh, fill a cup of water and drop in one egg. If your egg is lying horizontally, it’s fresh! If it’s floating, the egg is past its prime.
• Butter: Oil is a perfectly acceptable fat to use when frying eggs over-easy, but is there anything more delicious than flavor-rich butter? Maybe leftover bacon grease … which can also fry eggs! If you must use oil, use olive oil for its grassy notes, and avoid canola oil as it won’t impart any flavor to the eggs.
• Salt and pepper: A little pinch of salt brings out the truest flavors of the egg without making anything taste especially salty. Pepper enlivens the eggs, especially when the pepper is freshly cracked.

Directions

Step 1: Crack the eggs in the pan

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Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

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Crack the eggs into the skillet, and immediately season the eggs with the salt and pepper. Cook the eggs until their whites are set, two to three minutes.

Step 2: Carefully flip the eggs

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Slide your spatula fully underneath one of the eggs, then carefully flip it. Repeat the same process with the other egg. Cook the eggs until the whites are fully set but the yolks are still runny, 30 to 60 seconds.

Serve the eggs while they’re still hot.

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Recipe Variations

• Over-medium eggs: For those who prefer a jammy-textured egg yolk, over-medium eggs are more in your territory. They follow the same cooking technique as over-easy eggs, but once you flip the egg, you’ll want to cook it for one minute.
• Over-hard eggs: Cooked all the way through, over-hard eggs have fully set egg whites and egg yolks. They’re cooked just like over-easy eggs but, once flipped, they need to cook until the egg yolk is fully set, for two to three minutes.
• Sunny-side up eggs: If you’re nervous about flipping and possibly breaking the egg yolk, try making sunny-side up eggs instead! They make almost the same egg as over-easy eggs—fully set egg whites and runny yolks—but the sunny-side up egg does not get flipped.

How to Store Over-Easy Eggs

Over-easy eggs taste best fresh and are not recommended for meal prep cooking. However, if you must keep any leftovers, allow the over-easy eggs to cool to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container. They can be refrigerated for up to three days.

How do you reheat over-easy eggs?

Reheat over-easy eggs in a pan. Splash in a bit of water to create a steamy environment for the egg, then pop a lid on the pan. Reheat the over-easy egg until it’s warmed. No matter how you reheat over-easy eggs, they will cook through a bit more, meaning you’ll have an egg yolk that’s a bit more set than runny.

Over-Easy Egg Tips

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What’s the difference between an over-easy egg and a sunny-side up egg?

The difference between an over-easy egg and a sunny-side up egg is the cooking method. Over-easy eggs meet the pan’s heat on both sides, whereas sunny-side up eggs are cooked only on one side. However, both eggs have fully set egg whites and runny yolks.

How do you serve over-easy eggs?

Toast expertly sops up the creamy, runny egg yolk and is a must-have with over-easy eggs. Serve the eggs and toast with a side of sausage, bacon, yogurt or fruit for a full breakfast plate. Egg-topped avocado toast is a favorite at brunch spots, especially with extras like tomatoes, red onions and cheese.

An over-easy egg on a juicy burger is unmissable for added depth, and eggs over-easy are an excellent protein addition to any grain bowl. We also love an over-easy egg plated on top of a bowl of white rice with a little soy sauce, chili crisp and chopped green onions.

Why do my egg yolks keep breaking when I flip the eggs?

Your egg yolks may be breaking during flipping for a few reasons. Metal spatulas are sharper and can make the yolk break easily when the spatula is scooped underneath. We recommend using a silicone spatula rather than a metal one. Also, when learning how to make an over-easy egg, be gentle with your egg flip. Try to be as close to the pan as possible and turn your wrist slowly.