Baked Cheddar Eggs & Potatoes
I love breakfast for dinner, especially this combo of eggs with potatoes and cheese started in a skillet and then popped in the oven to bake. It’s a perfect meal-in-one. Of course it works for breakfast, too.
I love breakfast for dinner, especially this combo of eggs with potatoes and cheese started in a skillet and then popped in the oven to bake. It’s a perfect meal-in-one. Of course it works for breakfast, too.
- Carbohydrate 42.4260054917926 g
- Cholesterol 50.0023437598107 mg
- Fat 16.4463472368996 g
- Fiber 3.90740595537617 g
- Protein 15.9561295902784 g
- Saturated Fat 10.3395417970598 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (448g)
- Sodium 660.342032239621 mg
- Sugar 38.5185995364164 g
- Trans Fat 1.04110938343985 g
- Calories 375 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400°. In a 10-in. ovenproof skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add potatoes; cook and stir until golden brown and tender. Stir in parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. With back of a spoon, make four wells in the potato mixture; break two eggs into each well.
- Bake 9-11 minutes or until egg whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 1 minute or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.
Why are the potatoes sticking to the pan, and how do I prevent the egg yolks from turning chalky before the whites fully set? Achieving a crisp exterior on potatoes requires a heavy-bottomed ten-inch ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron or well-seasoned stainless steel, which retains the medium-high heat necessary to brown starches rather than steaming them. When cutting the red potatoes into uniform pieces, aim for half-inch cubes to ensure they cook through at the same rate the butter begins to foam and brown. If the heat is too aggressive, the minced garlic will burn and turn acrid before the potato interiors soften.
The critical failure point in this style of baked egg dish happens in the oven, where residual heat easily overcooks delicate proteins. Pull the skillet from the 400 degree oven precisely when the whites lose their translucency and wobble slightly, allowing the carryover heat to finish firming the whites while leaving the yolks liquid and glossy. Sharp cheddar cheese contains low moisture relative to melting cheeses like mozzarella, meaning it requires only sixty seconds of direct oven exposure to melt without oiling off. Shred the cheese from a block rather than buying pre-bagged varieties coated in cellulose, which hinders proper emulsification.
Multiplying this skillet formula for larger groups requires transitioning from a stovetop start to multiple baking dishes rather than crowding a single pan, because overlapping potatoes trap steam and prevent browning. Conversely, halving the ingredients works well in a six-inch skillet while keeping the baking time remarkably consistent.
