Crispy Parmesan Eggs

By Melissa Clark

Crispy Parmesan Eggs
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(1,624)
Comments
Read comments

How can you make runny-yolked fried eggs even better? Give them edges of crisp, salty Parmesan. The addition takes just a few extra minutes and adds an incredible layer to a dish that’s already deeply lovable. Make sure to skip preground Parmesan here: You’ll want to shred the cheese yourself on the largest holes of your grater. And use a nonstick skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron pan to fry the eggs. They may never come off a regular pan. Eat them alone, lay them over asparagus, or use them to top a sharp, lemony salad. When something’s this perfect, it’s hard to go wrong however you serve it.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • 1teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½cup coarsely grated (not ground) Parmesan
  • 4eggs
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

290 calories; 20 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 561 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Brush 1 teaspoon olive oil into a thin layer on the bottom of a 10-inch nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet and place over medium heat. Sprinkle ½ cup Parmesan in an even layer covering the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2 minutes until cheese begins to melt.

  2. Step 2

    Crack eggs onto cheese, then cover pan and cook until eggs are starting to set but are not cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and turn heat to medium-high to finish cooking eggs for another 1 to 2 minutes, until edges are crisp and golden brown. Make sure the cheese doesn’t get too brown; if it goes past light golden, turn down heat. To serve, season eggs with salt and pepper to taste.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,624 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Shelley

Try this in the oven! I put a piece of baking parchment on a half sheet pan, spread the cheese out with 4 little 'nests' and put it in a 350 degree oven for 3 minutes, took out the pan and cracked an egg into each of the divots and returned it to the oven for 8 minutes. Perfect eggs, crispy cheese and easy clean up.

Marlene Heller

I've been making a version of this for years; just a lot simpler. I make the eggs, as I would normally, with butter in a non-stick pan. Sprinkle grated Parmesan or Parm/Reggiano on the eggs a minute before flipping to give them a minute to start melting. Then flip, and cook on the other side. Sprinkle cheese on that side too. Only cook for a minute, unless you want your eggs rock hard. Delicious.

Prakash Nadkarni

As someone who prefers fried eggs over easy rather than sunny side up, I'm with Marlene on this one. Whether to trade esthetics for time in a recipe is a personal decision: it's presumptuous to tell others how they can and can't cook. Rustic French cooking, for example, skips the numerous decorative steps of French Banquet cooking, but is none the worse for its simplicity.

Michael Nathan

Sunny Side up with Crispy whites...I have been making sunny side up eggs for 60 years. to get the whites crispy (as they should be) separate the eggs...some olive oil...heat pan to semi high.. and pour the white first turning pan slightly side to side so white gets thinner. Let edges turn crispy. Then put yolk on top of cooked whites and let cook until desired doneness. yoke should still be runny.

Justine Aurelia S.

I made this tonight for dinner with our fresh farm eggs and it was pretty good. I will, going forward, call this heart attack in a skillet. I added asparagus and some herbs which made the dish have some more depth than the straight recipe. I will make this again with some other tweaks as the season progresses.

kay RI

I used well well seasoned cast iron and after cooking the eggs for a few minutes I put the pan under the broiler to get the whites to set. Delicious and easy to

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.