57 cracking ways with eggs
Written by Anna Glover, Olive Magazine
57 (yes, 57!) marvelous ways with the most versatile ingredient we know – eggs. Whether it’s shakshuka, muffins, eggs benedict or a chilli cheese omelette, we’ve got a recipe for everyone.
Breakfast eggs
Despite the obvious fried, poached or scrambled eggs, here are a few other ways we like our eggs in the morning. Whatever you choose, cover it in sriracha (we always do).
1. Breakfast quesadillas
Fry spring onion, pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes in a frying pan, then add beaten egg and scramble. Pile into warmed tortillas with grated cheese, fold over, and fry on both sides until golden and the cheese has melted.
2. Breakfast muffins
Add cooked bacon, peas, ham, cheese… whatever you have lurking in your fridge! These are great for a picnic, too.
Watch our ‘how to make muffin tin frittatas’ video here

3. Eggs Benedict
Usually saved for special occasions, but you can easily make it an ‘everyday’ recipe. Start with a toasted muffin and a poached egg, then add buttered, garlicky greens on top; or ham, mustard and melted cheese. Or even marmite hollandaise!
4. 3-ingredient pancakes
Eggs play an important part in these 3-ingredient banana pancakes. They set the pancakes, making them flip-able. They’re flourless, too.

5. Baked avocado with eggs
Breakfast or brunch, our baked avocado with smoked salmon and egg hits the mark. If you’re not a fan of smoked salmon, add a small piece of Parma ham in the baked avocado middles instead. For a vegan option, drizzle the baked avocados with harissa, houmous and some coriander.

6. Eggy bread
AKA French toast for the sweet version. Go down the savoury route and serve stuffed with cheese or baked beans. Or add sugar and cinnamon to the mix, and serve with berries, Nutella, ice cream, chopped nuts, maple syrup, squirty cream… we’re just joking about that last one. Maybe.

10 minute meals with eggs
Eggs are a hero ingredient when it comes to quick dinners. They’re filling and healthy too… so even if you only have 10 minutes to prepare a meal, you can still eat well if you’ve got eggs in the fridge.
7. Avocado egg on toast
This is a go-to 10-minute meal for cookery writer Anna Glover. It’s super quick, there’s minimal washing up, but it still tastes pretty special. Just toast rye bread and mash half a ripe avocado with a fork on top. Add a squeeze of lime or lemon, season, and top with a poached, fried or even boiled egg. Sprinkle with chilli flakes, sriracha or a pinch of sumac.
8. Poached eggs with asparagus
Classic breakfast eggs, but they make a great dinner too. To take this dish to the next level, wrap blanched asparagus with parma ham and grill for a minute to crisp up while your eggs are poaching. Serve with sourdough for a more filling meal.
Raid your store cupboard and spice up your scramble. Lightly toast ground cumin, coriander and garam masala in a tsp of ghee or butter, then add your beaten eggs and swirl in the pan until scrambled. Stir in some chopped coriander and red chilli just before serving. Serve with roti or paratha if you have some in your cupboard.

10. Baked egg mushrooms
These look super impressive, but it’s very easy. Grill Portobello mushrooms with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle over some thyme. When they’re just turning soft, crack an egg in the middle and grill again until the white is set. Scatter with some more chopped thyme, serve on toast, or with a salad and a dollop of ricotta or crème fraiche.
11. Broccoli, poached egg and chorizo salad
Warm salads are a great way to transition from summer to winter. You could add whatever greens you like here – kale, broccoli, green beans, chard, or just whatever is in season. Just remove any woody stems, blanch the greens then drain well.
Fry chorizo in a little olive oil until golden and crisp, then add in the wilted greens, some sliced spring onions and a few handfuls of watercress or spinach. Toss in the chorizo oil, a dash of sherry vinegar, tip onto a plate and top with a poached egg. Add a pinch of paprika to serve, if you like.
12. Courgette omelette
A quick and easy way to cook courgettes. Fry crushed garlic and grated courgette in some olive oil before scooping out of the frying pan. Add the beaten eggs with some seasoning, a pinch of chopped dill, or mint, and swirl around the pan to make a thin pancake.
Once it’s set around the edges, add the courgette to the middle and fold the omelette over. Add some cheese in there too, if you’re feeling indulgent.
13. Beetroot and egg salad
Thanks to the convenience of pre-cooked vacuum packed beetroot, this classic salad can be ready in 10 minutes. While the eggs are hard boiling, dice cooked beetroot and toss with a drizzle olive oil, sherry vinegar, finely chopped shallot and dill. Peel and chop the eggs and toss through the beetroot with a handful watercress or spinach. Serve with rye bread.
14. Grilled cheese on toast with egg and ham
More like a no-fuss croque madame, but still tastes so good. Spread crusty bread with Dijon mustard, then top with a slice of ham, and a slice of gruyere or ementhal cheese. Grill until the cheese is bubbling then top with a fried egg.
15. Quick egg fried rice
Fry chopped spring onion and frozen peas or sweetcorn in a drizzle of groundnut oil in a hot wok. Add a pinch chili flakes and crushed garlic if you like. Add a pack of cooked rice and stir through, breaking up any clumps of rice with a wooden spoon. Pour in a couple of beaten eggs and stir-fry to scramble the eggs. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil before serving.

16. Easy egg-in-the-hole
Egg in the hole is one of those meals you cook for kids, but adults secretly love it too. Fry buttered sourdough bread on one side, then flip in the pan. Cut out circles in the toast for the egg to fit into. Crack the eggs in, and keep cooking until the whites have set.
Healthy recipes using eggs
Surprisingly filling, and very low cal. You could make individual ones of these, and bake in mini ramekins. Serve with toasted bagels or rye if you’re not on a health kick.
18. Tuna and egg lunch box
Tinned tuna is always a bit of a plain ingredient, but paired with slices of hard boiled egg, a spinach salad and a wholegrain mustard dressing, your lunchbox salad is healthy and tastes great. Add some cooked barley, freekeh or bulgar wheat for a more filling lunch.
19. Frittata
Another filling meal that’s low cal – great for people on the 5:2 diet. Fill your frittata with spring onion, red pepper and long stemmed broccoli, or sweet potato, green beans and feta. You’ll find some great frittata recipes here.

20. Shakshuka
Stewed, subtly spicedtomatoes and roasted red peppers with eggs gently cooked in sauce. It’s a one-pan and a healthy meal that’s ready in 30 minutes. The perfect midweek and meat-free meal.

21. Boil ‘em
Bit of an obvious one, but so many people get it wrong. Follow our foolproof method to nail the perfect boiled egg, then watch our video of how to peel a hard boiled egg.

Omelettes
22. Chilli cheese omelette
Chilli? Check. Cheese? Check. What could me more warming and comforting? Gooey melty cheese – eggs are just the carrier of all things delicious here.
23. Soufflé omelette
Whisking the egg whites to peaks and then folding in the egg yolks means you get an even lighter, fluffier omelette. What’s not to love about that?
24. Mushroom omelette
A bit of a posh meal for one, where shitake mushrooms, spring onions and ginger are paired with sticky, sweet ketcap manis for an Asian inspired 20 minute eat-straight-from-the-pan-it’s-so-good dinner.
Scrambled
25. Colombian eggs
Chef Dan Doherty shares his favorite way to eat scrambled egg, from his book Duck and Waffle. These are brunch eggs if ever we’ve seen them.

Packed full of good-for-you ingredients like watercress, chilli, tomatoes and avocado – plus it’s ready in 15 minutes.

Other eggcellent ideas
27. Scotch egg
If in doubt, deep-fry. Always deep-fry. Click here for all our scotch egg recipes
28. Put them in a curry
This is the stuff dreams are made of. Make this Bombay egg and potato curry for friends and everyone will ask for the recipe.

29. Stick them on a crumpet
Egg, bacon, cheese, crumpet. Eat. Then take a nap. Click here for our bacon and egg crumpet melts recipe.

30. Nasi goreng
Similar to fried rice but drizzled with sriracha and packed with veg. This Indonedian recipe comes topped with a runny poached egg for richness.

31. Squash and pancetta squeak with poached eggs
No one will turn their nose up to squash and pancetta squeak – even if you are using up yesterdays leftovers! A poached egg takes this to the next level.

32. Ratatouille with poached eggs
Healthy, but hearty; the way we love good-for-you dishes. Packed with veg and served with crusty bread, it makes the best weekend brunch for friends.
12 meals that are made so much better by adding an egg
33. Gammon and chips
Who wants tinned pineapple when you can have a fried egg? Exactly. That’s what we thought.
34. Pizza
No thin-crust veg pizza is complete without a runny egg. Try our kale fiorentina pizzas for a slice of heaven.

35. Crack them on top of tarts
Nothing will get people to the table quicker than mentioning brunch tarts. We’ve taken smoked bacon, eggs and cheese, and baked them in puff pastry. You’ll be asking where these has been all your life.

36. Soy sauce eggs on ramen
Hard-boiled eggs with their shells lightly cracked and drowned in a soy sauce pickle to give a marble effect when they’re peeled. Popular in ramen, but we can think of lots more ideas for them.. including canapés.
37. Deviled eggs
Nearly as retro as a prawn cocktail, but deviled eggs are making a comeback and it’s all about the toppings. Sweet pepperdew peppers, pate, chorizo, crayfish tails, caviar… these can be as fancy or as straightforward as you like.

38. Spaghetti carbonara
Any Italian would turn their nose up at carbonara with cream in it. The creaminess is simply from the eggs and cheese, plus that delicious pancetta fat… if you’ve got eggs and pancetta in your fridge, you’re half way there to making carbonara.
39. Rosti
‘Loving your leftovers’ means wanting to eat it again, not avoiding it every time you open the fridge! Rostis are the perfect leftover food, especially when served with an egg.
40. Pilaf
Any pilaf, any time. Just #putaneggonit. Try our buttery mushroom and spinach pilaf here.

41. Croque madam
The French are on to a good thing. How to make cheese, ham and bread better? They put an egg on it!

42. Full English
How have we got to number 42 and NOT mentioned the full English breakfast?
43. Egg sandwich
This is a winner, any way you want to serve it. Fried egg with red or brown sauce, egg mayo, boiled egg, cress and celery salt… let the debate commence.
44. Put in a salad
Try our BLT salad with a poached egg, or hard-boiled quails egg salad with sweet and sour dressing – the options are endless.

Use leftover egg whites or yolks
Watch our ‘how to separate an egg’ video here
45. Mousse
That classic dessert we still can’t get enough of. There are loads of ways with mousse here. Most of them involving lots of chocolate.
46. Hollandaise
Asparagus just feels naked without lashings of hollandaise. Unless you cover them up in Parma ham clothes, of course.

A sweet note
47. Custard tart
Portuguese custard tarts, English egg custard – any set custard will make us happy. We dare you to try and eat just one…

A few more favourite egg recipes
49. Baked mushroom, potato and cheese hash

50. Huevos rancheros
51. Egg and ham baked in croissant cups

52. Poached egg on green beans with ravigote
53. Classic tortilla

54. Omelette with chorizo and parsley
55. Tenderstem broccoli, chorizo with poached eggs
56. Chargrilled asparagus and fennel salad
57. Ham egg and asparagus tart

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