The Insanely Delicious Way to Make Steamed Eggs

It’s been an egg-centric week at Real Simple, and I’ve learned a lot, from how to make perfectly poached eggs to what we're going to cover here—an amazingly simple (and insanely good) technique for making steamed eggs.

Steaming eggs is just another way to cook them in their shell. It takes the exact same amount of time as boiling them, except instead of lowering them into boiling water, you cook them in a steamer basket set over an inch of simmering water. I tried it, curious as to whether it would result in a better-tasting or easier-to-peel egg. It didn’t (they were identical to my boiled eggs). So what’s all the hype about?

Turns out, I just hadn't tried the best cooking method for steaming eggs: making them in the oven (it’s the same technique used to make a cheesecake). In this version, you whisk the eggs with milk and steam it in a water bath, resulting in fluffy baked eggs begging for a brioche bun. Plus, you don’t even need a steamer basket.

Ready to try it? Here’s a step-by-step guide to making the best steamed eggs of your life:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat an 8x8-inch glass baking with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk 12 large eggs in a large bowl until just combined. Add ½ cup whole milk, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, several grinds black pepper, and a handful of chopped chives (optional) and whisk until just combined.

3. Pour egg mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Set the dish inside a 9x13-inch baking dish, and pour water into the larger baking dish until it comes up just to the top of the egg mixture. (This water bath will create steam inside the oven, resulting in light, fluffy, and supremely tender eggs that almost melt in your mouth).

4. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are just set, 35-40 minutes. Top with slices of American cheese and return to the oven until melted, about 5 minutes. Slice into 4 squares and serve warm on toasted, buttered brioche buns.

RELATED: Sheet Pan Egg Sandwiches

A third way to steam eggs? In a mason jar! Try your hand at it with our Grilled Cheese Mason Jar Eggs.