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Oeufs en cocotte (French baked eggs) are easy, elegant, and flexible. They work equally well for fancy brunch and family dinner. This recipe is perfect as-is, or you can add and customize to your heart’s content.
Why we love this recipe
Baked eggs are so quick and easy to put together, but they feel really special. Baking them in ramekins set in a water bath yields lovely individual servings with a silky, even texture. You can:
- Serve as few or as many as you like
- Make this perfect recipe as-is
- Or go wild with the additions — see the section below for inspiration
I first published this recipe here back in 2016. I’ve since updated the post for clarity and made a some changes to the recipe itself.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Good-quality eggs with beautiful golden yolks will make this recipe the best version of itself.
- A couple of tablespoons of heavy cream create a luxurious base for the eggs and seasonings.
- In this simple version, a little bit of minced garlic, freshly grated parmesan cheese, flat-leaf parsley, and salt and pepper are all you need to take the flavor to the next level.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make French baked eggs. I’ve showed one portion, but you can make as many as you like. You can see the easy steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- In a ramekin, create a luxurious little bed for your eggs. This basic but flavorful version uses cream, parmesan, and garlic.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and then gently pour into the ramekin, leaving the yolks intact.
- Sprinkle with salt (I’ve used truffle salt here), pepper, and parsley.
- Carefully transfer the ramekins to a baking dish and pour in hot water to go about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in the center of a 350° oven for about 12 minutes, until eggs are almost set to your liking. They’ll firm up a bit from the residual heat. That’s it!
Suggested variations
I find the restrained simplicity of the base recipe very appealing, but sometimes it’s fun to go a little rogue, even with baked eggs. Here are some easy and fabulous additions:
- Diced cooked ham, bacon, or sausage (anything from Spanish-style chorizo to sage-flecked breakfast sausage will work)
- A couple of thin slices of prosciutto layered into the ramekin before adding the other ingredients
- Two tablespoons of minced shallot
- Additional minced soft herbs, especially tarragon, chives, chervil, dill, and basil
- Caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, or zucchini and onion nestled underneath the eggs before baking
- Crispy shiitakes sprinkled on top after baking
- Shredded gruyere, crumbled feta, or chèvre swapped in for the parmesan
Expert tips and FAQs
Oeufs en cocotte are all about the dreamy yolks and perfectly set whites, so they need to be baked right before serving. Since they’re quick to assemble, I prefer to do the whole thing from start to finish shortly before mealtime. If you need to get ahead of the game, you can assemble them a few hours in advance, cover and refrigerate until baking. Uncover and bake straight from the fridge, adding a couple of minutes to the cooking time if necessary.
More favorite French-style egg recipes
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Oeufs en Cocotte (French Baked Eggs)
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) grated parmesan cheese
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F with a rack in the center.
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl, ensuring you don't break the yolks.
- Pour the cream into a 6-ounce ramekin.
- Sprinkle in the garlic and the parmesan.
- Carefully pour the eggs into the ramekin.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Carefully place ramekin into a baking dish. Pour in very hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until eggs almost set to your liking. They will continue to firm up a bit from the residual heat.
Notes
- Cooking time will vary based on the size, shape, and material of your ramekins, as well as the initial temperature of your water bath.
- Oeufs en cocotte are all about the dreamy yolks and perfectly set whites, so they need to be baked right before serving. Since they're quick to assemble, I prefer to do the whole thing from start to finish shortly before mealtime. If you need to get ahead of the game, you can assemble them a few hours in advance, cover and refrigerate until baking. Uncover and bake straight from the fridge, adding a couple of minutes to the cooking time if necessary.
Suggested variations
I find the restrained simplicity of the base recipe very appealing, but sometimes it's fun to go a little rogue, even with baked eggs. Here are some easy and fabulous additions:- Diced cooked ham, bacon, or sausage (anything from Spanish-style chorizo to sage-flecked breakfast sausage will work)
- A couple of thin slices of prosciutto layered into the ramekin before adding the other ingredients
- Two tablespoons of minced shallot
- Additional minced soft herbs, especially tarragon, chives, chervil, dill, and basil
- Caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, or zucchini and onion nestled underneath the eggs before baking
- Crispy shiitakes sprinkled on top after baking
- Shredded gruyere, crumbled feta, or chèvre swapped in for the parmesan
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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