Oeufs en Cocotte (French Baked Eggs)

5 from 2 votes

Oeufs en Cocotte (French Baked Eggs)

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. This recipe is calibrated for one serving, and you can scale it up as needed. I've used three eggs, but you can use two instead without changing the amounts of the other ingredients.

Prep Time5

Cook Time12

Total Time17

Course: Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: french baked eggs, oeufs en cocotte

Calories: 471kcal

Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

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