My original breakfast plans for this morning fell through, so I needed a last-minute replacement. It needed to be something quick and easy to throw together and something that didn't require toast or bread. I was also looking for something hot -- no cold cereals or smoothies please!

I turned up a few plausible options, but these "Italian baked eggs" won out. They looked the quickest to throw together, would used up a few eggs, and would be a good use of some of the extra meat sauce we had left in the fridge. The original recipe calls for marinara sauce, but I figured that using a bit of meat-y tomato sauce would work just fine (and add a bit of extra protein and veg to boot). I also swapped out the gruyère for cheddar, since that's what we had on hand. And I used a splash of cream in place of the milk since I already had the cream for another recipe and knew I wouldn't need the whole carton. I also baked the eggs in individual custard cups rather than doing two each in larger ramekins.

These eggs came out great! The Kidlet loved them just as they were with a 10-minute bake at 220°C (425°F). I am going through a phase where I like my eggs a little more well-done, so I popped mine back in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for another 10 minutes. I think if I were doing them again, I'd try baking at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes and see how they looked.

Italian Baked Eggs

Adapted from Damn Delicious

Ingredients

For Each Egg You Will Need:

• 1/4 c. marinara or Meat Sauce
• 1 Tbsp. milk or cream
• 1 Tbsp. grated cheese¹
• 1/2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Place the sauce in the bottom of an oven-safe custard cup or ramekin.
2. Break an egg and add it to the cup over the sauce.
3. Add milk (or cream), both kinds of cheese, and pepper on top of the egg.
4. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes. (Adjust time depending on how soft or hard you like your eggs.
5. Sprinkle with basil and serve with warm Garlic Knots or toast.

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¹ The original recipe calls for gruyère. I used cheddar. I think you could use just about any reasonably firm cheese here. I think low-moisture/pizza mozzarella or provolone would be my top choice. Something like Colby or jack would probably work as well. Gouda or Edam might also work, but they wouldn't be my first pick for this recipe. I'd steer clear of things like emmenthal, havarti, or feta as they are too strong, too creamy, and too salty and crumbly respectively. You definitely have some flexibility and leeway when it comes to cheese choices though! ^Back