If you’re looking for a different way to enjoy eggs, why not try baking them in ramekins with a treasure hunt of add-ins? These Baked Eggs with Herbs, Chili & Cheese are easy and tasty. A tray of them would be lovely as part of a brunch offering. This post was first published in January 2014, but these eggs would be welcome at breakfast or brunch any time of year.

Looking at my blog posts around the holidays, I can’t blame anyone who has the impression that I eat nothing but baked goods for weeks. Actually, that’s not as far off the mark as I would like. I do get rather carried away with the holiday goodies. Am I alone in that? Somehow, I doubt it.

Oh well, that’s behind me (and no, that’s not supposed to be a pun). While there’ll always be more desserts and sweet treats published here on the blog, there’s a major reformation going on here, people. Yesterday I got a juicer. Yes, a juicer. So, I suppose I’ll be photographing glasses of green stuff once I’ve gotten the hang of that. You’re safe for now, though.

Let’s Talk Eggs … Baked Eggs

What I want to talk about today is eggs. Lovely baked eggs, in fact. Now, I grew up on an egg farm, so I can say with confidence that I’ve picked up more eggs that most of you will ever see in your lifetime. I don’t think we ate any more eggs than most people, although my mother did make a lot of angel food cakes. We ate our eggs scrambled, over easy, in fried egg sandwiches, and sometimes fried with apples (oh, the nostalgia). But they never arrived at the table baked in ramekins with little bits of this and that added in to make an elegant yet easy breakfast or lunch treat.

I’ve been seeing these around for a few years now and finally made them one weekend as a special breakfast to reward myself for the effort I was putting into preparing for our holiday open house. Not only were they tasty, but they also fit with my easy-on-the cook philosophy that it’s somehow more restful to make things in the oven than on top of the stove.

Infinitely Variable Baked Eggs

This isn’t the kind of dish you actually need a recipe for, but it’s nice to have one as a jumping-off point for your own, infinitely variable, versions. Switch up the herbs or try dry instead of fresh. Maybe you fancy some garlic? Care to try different kinds of cheese? What if you added in some diced seeded tomato? You get the idea.

You could even switch up the ingredients nestled under each egg, making breakfast a bit of a treasure hunt.

If some diners like their eggs soft for dipping, but others prefer firm, just vary how long you keep them in the oven.

Baked Eggs with Herbs, Chili & Cheese

Easy peasy and fun. And below is my recipe to get you started on your own baked eggs adventures.

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Baked Eggs with Herbs, Chili & Cheese

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease four ramekins with olive oil or butter and set them on a baking tray. This particular recipe is for four eggs; you can decide how many servings that is.

Category: Breakfast, Brunch

Keyword: baked eggs, eggs

Author: © Marlene Cornelis/Urban Cottage Life 2014

Ingredients

• 1 medium shallot, finely diced
• 2 to 4 tsp minced red chili pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil or butter (plus more for greasing the ramekins)
• 2 leaves sage, chiffonaded
• Leaves of several sprigs of thyme, lightly chopped
• 1/4 cup Grated cheese (See note) (reserver some for sprinkling on top if desired)
• 4 eggs
• 4 tsp cream, divided for each ramekin
• Freshly ground pepper
• Kosher or sea salt

How To Make This Recipe

1. Heat the oil or butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, chili pepper, a grinding of fresh pepper and a pinch of salt, and sauté for about five minutes, until the vegetables soften slightly. Divide between the four ramekins, making sure the vegetable mixture is evenly distributed around the bottom. Add the herbs, then the cheese, reserving some cheese for on top of the eggs if you wish.

2. Crack an egg into each ramekin (for some reason, this is much more fun than cracking eggs into a frying pan). If using cheese, add a light sprinkling on top. Then top with the cream, a grating of pepper and a light sprinkling of kosher or sea salt, and an optional sprinkling of cheese.

3. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs reach the doneness you desire. I baked mine for 18 minutes; the white were quite firm and the yolks had some softness to them but weren’t runny. Next time I’ll bake the shorter time period to facilitate dipping my toast.

4. Eat the eggs from the ramekins and enjoy finding the treasures buried beneath the eggs.

Recipe Notes

• Use your favourite cheese. I used a zesty provolone piquant, because I had some on hand.

Enjoy the Goodness of Eggs

Eggs are known as the perfect food and I eat them pretty much every day. The first two recipes I’m sharing here show how you can jazz up eggs with leftovers (or is it that you’re jazzing up leftovers with eggs?): Scrambled Eggs with Corn Salsa and Peperonata Two Ways with Eggs. The third recipe is a gift to you, because it’s a unique Flemish recipe that Mom used to make and it takes me right back to childhood: Fried Eggs and Apples.

First Published 2014 01 07
Republished 2019 04 13