Until I learned how to poach an egg in the microwave, I’d pretty much given up eating them at home. Since one of my favorite breakfasts is Eggs Benedict, I’d only had it when we’ve gone to a restaurant for breakfast — something that doesn’t happen very often.
Then I found out how easy it is to poach an egg in the microwave. Even though I’m not up to making Hollandaise Sauce very often I’ve still been enjoying poached eggs on toast a couple of times a week — it’s just that easy to make!
If you’ve tried poaching an egg on the stove you know what it’s like: you bring a pan of water to simmer, add a splash of vinegar, crack an egg on a saucer and while swirling the water, slip the egg into the liquid. Three minutes later you scoop the egg out of the water with a slotted spoon.
That’s all there is to it in theory. In reality, my eggs would turn into wispy things with overcooked yolks, so I usually wound up eating oatmeal instead. Not anymore!
How To Poach An Egg In The Microwave
READ THIS FIRST
Please note that you must use a straight-sided mug, not a rounded coffee or teacup. I’ve made poached eggs in the microwave using 6- and 8-oz straight-sided mugs without a problem, both in 900 and 1200 watt microwaves. Here is the exact mug I use. If you have something similar, perfect.
You want enough water to cover the egg by 1 inch. This should leave a couple of empty inches above the water’s surface in your mug. If you don’t have that much room, use a bigger mug! In my mug, filling it halfway works best.
Cover it! Use a saucer or a paper plate, not a paper towel, to keep the heat and liquid in the mug so your egg actually poaches. If you skip this step, or do something else, your egg will explode rather than poach.
SERVING IDEAS
Of course, you don’t have to eat your poached egg on toast. Here are some other ways to enjoy poached eggs:
•Top a green salad with a poached egg to turn it into a meal.
•Serve it on asparagus with bacon crumbles.
•Slide it onto black bean burgers.
•Or top a Baja Sliders with Green Chile Mayo with one.
•Nestle it in a bowl of rice and drizzle on some brown gravy for a Hawaiian treat called “Moco Loco.”
•Serve it alongside homemade breakfast sausage.
•Add it to a bowl of ramen noodles with broccoli florets and diced carrots.
Poached Eggs in the Microwave
Enjoy a hot breakfast even when you're in a hurry with this quick and easy method to make poached eggs in the microwave!
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- water
Instructions
Fill a straight-sided coffee mug halfway with water. Crack an egg and let it slide down the side of the mug to the bottom. (This keeps the yolk intact.) Make sure there's enough water in the mug to cover the egg by 1 inch. This should leave at least 2 inches empty at the top of your mug. You must have that space at the top -- if not, use a bigger mug!
Place a saucer (not a paper plate and not a paper towel) over the top of the mug and microwave it on HIGH for 1 minute. Check the egg for doneness. If needed, microwave again in 15-second bursts, checking after each, until it's done.
Gently tilt the mug and remove the egg carefully with a slotted spoon. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Use a straight-sided mug. Don't forget to use a saucer on top of the mug.
More of my recipes:
Homemade Chocolate Granola Cereal
Pin How to Poach an Egg in the Microwave:
I have a great suggestion for your next post: “How to clean exploded poached eggs from your microwave”
I got a little impatient and put two eggs in for 3 minutes. Oooops.
Oops, indeed! Hope it all came off okay.
I don’t know you, but I feel like I love you and I thank you for running this site for slobs like me. You have much improved my domestic goddess skills, and even made it a little fun. I also wanted to extend my deepest sympathies to you and your family during this time.
Thank you for the kind words, and the condolences, Kimberly!
Mine blew up in my microwave too! Put it in for a min. On high. Maybe because the mug was smaller than most..? BTW it’s not letting me rate this recipe. I love all the ideas for how to eat a poached egg!
I’m sorry that happened. I think you’re right: the mug size matters.
Great idea! I use a bowl and plate cover to microwave an egg for 55 seconds. That gives me a perfect diameter egg for my favorite breakfast sandwich. Tastes way better than McD’s!
Oh, and that Hawaiian treat – it’s “Loco Moco.” =)
That’s it: Loco Moco. Yummy stuff but definitely not diet-friendly.
Thanks for the tip about using a bowl and plate!
Loco Moco is diet friendly if you don’t eat anything else for 2 days. ????
LOL
We eat poached eggs every week and have found that the Nordicware microwave egg poacher works best for us. Each device can poach two eggs and we use two devices at once. In our Panasonic 1200 watt microwave, four eggs cooked to set whites and thick yolks takes about 1:15 for large eggs.
I’ll have to take a look at those, Gerry. I love poached eggs. Thanks!
I never tried poached eggs and was watching a cooking show and thought I wonder if you can make it in a microwave first one came out yolk was to my desire overcooked second one just right . I put it on a chicken fried chicken steak with country white gravy omg my taste buds totally satisfied ?thanks for the tip.
Poached egg on chicken fried steak with gravy? That’s some good eating right there!
My mother used to make a recipe for us that still brings delicious memories. Golden Rod Eggs. She used a white sauce made with butter and toasted flour for a roux. But works as well with milk gravy and serve it over toast then either poached eggs or boiled eggs pushed through a potato ricer served over the white sauce or gravy over the toast. A real tummy warmer.
You just brought back a delicious memory for me, too! We’d make that and add a pinch of dry ground mustard to the roux, sprinkle on paprika, and call them Poor Benedict’s Eggs.
That sounds amazing!
I found semi cooked whites with half the yolk completely cooked. I mean it’s similar to a poached egg, but definitely no substitute. I would do less time to get the yolk right, but then the whites would be inedible. 🙁 I guess I will try buying one of those little devices designed for this.
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you.
I have one of the devices that cooks two eggs…. I find that if I leave it sit after cooking it is more evenly cooked all the way through
Great tip. Thank you!
I found that when i tried it the first time I put it in for 45 seconds and it wasn’t done so put it pack in for another 10 seconds and it still wasn’t done. So 10 more seconds and it was way overdone. So I tried is again a full 60 secs in one shot and let it sit in the cup for about a minute after and it was perfect! Nice and quick!
That’s what my results were, too, which is why the recipe says 1 minute. 😉
Actually, the Hawaiian dish with rice and gravy is called a Loco moco ???? thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for.
That’s right. Good grinds!
Perfect!
Try Julia Child’s recipe for hollandaise! With a mixer, not a whisk.
I’ll give that a go. Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving holiday Katie Berry to you and yours. I had seen this same recipe, however it also called for a (splash) of vinegar.
Also, I guess my microwave is more powerful than others. The reason I say that is because at 1 min. The yoke is closer to hardboiled than poached. I go 45 sec. And bump it up by 10 sec. Till it’s just right.
Thanks for putting this recipe on you re site.
Thank you for leaving the kind review, David!
Hi, I’m a trucker.trying to save money and my stomach, so I have a micro wave in my truck .and am trying new ways to cook good food these suggestions will be quite helpfull!
Hope you found it useful, and thank you for keeping the country moving!
Do you boil the water 1st?
No. That’s the entire point.