How to Make Eggs in a Basket {VIDEO}

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Learning how to make eggs in a basket is one of the perfect places to start with basic kitchen skills. It is an easy breakfast for kids to learn to cook.

A fry pan with melted butter and a slice of bread with the center hole missing. An egg has been cracked into the hole.

As the author of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook, I'm passionate about teaching kids how to cook because it empowers them in ways that surprise even me.

When my oldest daughter wanted to learn to make eggs in a basket, where you griddle a piece of bread with a hole in the center and place an egg in the middle to cook, she headed into the kitchen to experiment with how to do it just right.

My resourceful little girl tried and tried again until she figured out all the best tricks for making perfect eggs in a hole each every time she cooked it.

She helped me to write these instructions so your little chef can cook this yummy breakfast dish, too.

Why This is the Best Recipe

The finished egg in a basket toast is on a plate with a fork.

While every recipe on this site is tested on my own family, this eggs in a hole recipe is extra special to me because it belongs completely to my daughter.

I'm certain it is the best recipe because:

  1. Kid-Tested & Approved: My kiddo developed the perfect trick to ensuring the eggs in a basket is flipped at exactly the right time. I'm in awe of her creativity!
  2. Gently Soft Egg: The yolk to the egg is just slightly runny, perfect for dipping your toast into.
  3. Golden Brown Bread: The toast cooks perfectly and is crispy and buttery and so good.
  4. Quick & Easy: My daughter made this for her own breakfast more times than I can count and loved to make it for me for Mother's Day.

Ingredients

This simple breakfast only needs 4 ingredients:

  • Sandwich Bread: You want a piece of bread that has a soft center so that you can easily cut the hole.
  • Fresh Egg
  • Butter
  • Salt & Pepper

Tools You Need

Before you begin, gather the items you need for cooking:

  • Small Cup: You'll use this to cut the hole. A thin plastic or melamine cup works great. It should be smaller than the center of the bread so you have a clean border all around.
  • Spatula
  • Non-Stick Skillet

Cut the Hole

Lay the slice of bread flat on a cutting board or clean plate.

Position the open end of the small cup over the center of the bread. Make sure there's a clean border all around the cup so a neat hole can be removed from the center without breaking the edge of the bread.

Firmly press down on the cup and then gently twist it in a circular rotation to cut the edges neatly.

Remove the circle piece and set it aside. Do NOT discard it.

Prep the Egg

Crack the egg into a small cup or bowl and set aside.

Cooking Instructions

The egg has been placed inside the hole in the bread in a skillet.

Place the skillet over medium heat.

Add a pat of butter to the pan and let it melt.

Add the prepared bread AND the reserved circle to the pan. The circle piece should be next to the slice so that the hole is still empty.

Pour the cracked egg into the hole and season it with a pinch of salt and pepper.

How to Know When to Flip the Bread

The egg in a basket has been turned over so you can see how golden brown and toasted the bread got.

The egg will start to turn white as it cooks. When you think it might be time to turn the toast over, check the underside of the small circle piece first.

You can lift it with the spatula to see if it is toasted and golden brown. When it looks nice and toasted, the big piece of bread with the egg in it is ready to flip, too.

Watch How It's Done

Want to watch my daughter demonstrate how to cook eggs in a basket?

This was the very first food video we ever produced in our kitchen:

This was the first food video she ever filmed for me, and she did absolutely great.

But, she also got a little nervous. You'll notice she mentions turning the burner to medium-high, it really should be closer to medium.

Her tester toast got a little darker than normal, you want it to be a lighter golden brown than what you see at the end of the video.

But she shows how to cut the hole from the bread perfectly.

Serving Suggestions

The egg in a basket toast is on a kid plate with a fork.

My cutie's method for making eggs in a basket leaves the yolks just a little soft and runny, perfect for dipping that circle piece of toast into!

You could serve this easy breakfast with a side of fresh fruit. She made it for me as a Mother's Day breakfast more years than I can count!

More Easy Breakfast Recipes

Looking for more easy recipes for breakfast? Here are a few of our family favorites:

More Recipes for Kids

Looking for more easy recipes your kids could cook? Don't miss these excellent ideas:

📖 Recipe

A fry pan with melted butter and a slice of bread with the center hole missing. An egg has been cracked into the hole.

How to Make Eggs in a Basket

4.50 from 2 votes
This simple breakfast is a perfect recipe for kids to learn to cook all by themselves. Just in time for Mother's Day, it's a great option for breakfast in beds that the kids can make for mom.
TOTAL TIME 7 minutes
PREP TIME 2 minutes
COOK TIME 5 minutes
YIELD 1 serving

Ingredients
  

  • 1 slice of sandwich bread softer works a little better
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 egg
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

Gather all the tools you'll need before you begin:

  • A non-stick skillet
  • A cutting board or plate
  • A child-sized drinking cup
  • A butter knife
  • A small bowl
  • A spatula that is safe for the non-stick pan surface

How to cook the egg:

  • Place the bread on the cutting board or plate. Use a drinking cup with a small enough opening that it can cut a circle in the middle of the bread while leaving a nice border around all the edges. (A little kid's cup from Target is our favorite.) Firmly push the cup straight down on the bread and gently twist it in place to trim and cut a circle-shaped hole from the center of the bread. Set both pieces of bread aside.
  • Crack the egg into the small bowl. 
  • Place the non-stick skillet on a stove burner and turn the heat to medium. Add the tablespoon of butter to the pan and let it melt completely.
  • When the butter just begins to bubble, swirl the pan so the butter coats the entire bottom of the skillet. Add both pieces of bread to the pan at the same time (the main piece with the center hole AND the small circle cut-out piece.) Carefully pour the egg into the open hole in the main piece of bread.
  • Let the bread and egg cook for a minute or two and then use the spatula to gently peek on the underside of the circle cut-out bread. When that looks toasted and golden brown, use the spatula to flip it over. Then, use the spatula to firmly scoop under the eggy toast and flip it over as well.
  • The second side will cook faster than the first. Check your tester circle to see if it is golden brown. When it is, remove both the egg in a basket and the circle toast from the skillet and put it on your plate for serving.
COURSEBreakfast
CUISINEAmerican

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The photo collage shows the eggs in a basket just prepped in the skillet next to a photo of it flipped over.

8 Comments

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  7. That's fab! Such ingenuity 🙂

    On a different tangent... is that a ceramic pan? I need to buy new but can't work out what I want!

    1. Hey Claire, thanks! I'm super proud of her. It is a ceramic pan -- The Original GreenPan, I bought it on sale at Target last fall. My daughter loves cooking on it. They say you're not supposed to need oil or butter when cooking with it, but we do anyway. It's perfect for making eggs of all kinds.

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