I recently found my new favorite weekend breakfast and I could not wait to show it to you! Eggs in a nest has been a favorite for many years but I was never brave enough to try making it until recently, and I honestly had no reason to be so scared. It is super easy to make (especially if you have a cast iron pan) and the ingredients are fairly simple and can be purchased a few days in advance to make your morning simpler. You can make adjustments as needed to the ingredients for your dietary needs and personal preferences.
Gather Your Ingredients
So first off, I got super excited to make it and forgot to take a good picture of the ingredients, sorry about that. The basic ingredients needed for Eggs in a Nest are hash browns, oil of some sort, and eggs. I also like to use cheddar jack cheese, avocado, and bananas on the side. As I mentioned in the intro, you can switch out these extra ingredients for your own needs, but I would not recommend switching up the hashbrowns as they would be the easiest to make the nests out of. As for amounts, it really depends on who you are feeding and how much they will want to eat, but for our family of four I used: a bag of hashbrowns, two eggs each, one 16 oz bag of cheese and a few avocados. For oil I used vegetable oil but butter would work well too.
One Pan Wonder
Once you have all your ingredients ready you need an oven safe frying pan with your chosen oil heated in the pan. Then, pour your hashbrowns in and put the heat to medium low and top with some salt and pepper. This will allow you to slowly heat and cook the potatoes and not burn them before the inside cooks. Once you feel like the middle of the potatoes has had a good chance to cook but before the bottom layer gets too crispy, take a spoon and make indents for each of your eggs. You will want to make them pretty sizeable to hold the eggs without them flowing together. If you plan to add cheese, now is a good time to put down a first thin layer to help seal the top. Make sure you can still see the egg indent or re-create them with the spoon as needed. Now, you will crack an egg in each indent and add some more salt and pepper. With your broiler pre-heated to low, add the pan to the top rack and keep a close eye on it. You will want to see the potatoes start to crisp (now that the insides are mostly cooked) and the eggs will get a sheen on them similar to the way a sunny side up egg looks. The white will no longer be translucent and the yokes will be firm but not hard. Once you think its about ready to go, add a bit more cheese to the top to crisp up. If you are concerned that you are getting it right, you can take a small spatula or flipper and just gently raise up one side to see how crispy the bottom is.
Preparing to Serve
Once you feel it is done cooking, you can pull it out of the oven and allow it to cool for a bit. Then using a large serving spoon you can scoop each nest out and onto a plate. I like to add some sliced avocado to the side with salt and pepper but you could add some tomato or any other type of breakfast side you like, just keep it light as the hashbrowns can be a bit heavy. I also like to serve a banana on the side because my family loves them and I know they will get eaten! This dish would also work on a larger breakfast buffet if you are serving multiple dishes and need something a bit different. You can also make these individually by using the same ingredients but putting them in muffin tins and into an oven set to something more like 350 degrees Fahrenheit rather then using the broiler, just watch them like a hawk!
I Make This All The Time Now!
I truly love this dish and how easy it is to make. You have a bit of watching to do but it is not labor intensive and can be done while chatting with someone or enjoying your morning coffee (or cheeky mimosa.) It is something we really like to have on a weekend and makes a great brunch on a sleepy weekend morning. I really hope you like it as much as we (I) do and that you take the opportunity to make it your own! Let me know in the comments below what your favorite customizations are!
