Sunny Side Up Eggs

Here’s how to make sunny side up eggs with a perfectly runny yolk! Eat them for breakfast, sandwiches, rice bowls, and more.

Want to make anything into a meal? Put an egg on it! Alex and I learned that slogan early on in our cooking journey, and it’s rung true over the past 10 years. Eggs aren’t just for breakfast: they make a rice bowl or sesame noodles into a filling meal. So here’s one of our top kitchen basic skills for you: how to make sunny side up eggs! This easy technique makes perfectly cooked whites and a runny, gooey egg yolk: and it’s perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Ready to get frying?

Grab fresh eggs & non-stick or cast iron

How to make the very best sunny side up eggs? We’ve got your covered. There are a few tips you’ll need to know before you jump into the frying pan, so to speak! Here’s what to know:

• Fresh eggs are best. You can use any eggs here. But take note: if your eggs have been in the fridge for a while, the white will spread a lot when it hits the pan. This doesn’t affect the flavor and you can move it back with a spatula to round out the shape. But the best sunny side up eggs are made with fresh eggs.
• Use a non-stick or cast iron skillet. These pans are the best when it comes to cooking eggs. While you can still cook in an aluminum pan, non-stick is preferable.

How to make sunny side up eggs

Ready to start frying? Remember: you’ll want to cook eggs on medium low or low heat. The slower the better with eggs, since they’re delicate and can easily be overcooked. Here are the basic steps to a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg:

• Heat the butter: Heat ½ tablespoon butter over medium low heat.
• Add the eggs: Add 1 or 2 eggs and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds black pepper. 
• Cook: Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites are firm but the yolk is still runny. Don’t flip them!

The best spatula to use? Try a fish spatula for a cast iron pan, or a nylon spatula for a non-stick pan. And that’s it! It’s simple: but it does require a little finesse and confidence. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. Speaking of that…

Ways to serve sunny side up eggs

There’s not much that doesn’t taste better with an egg on it! You can literally add an egg to anything and it’s a fantastic boost of protein. (See below for more egg nutrition.) And eggs aren’t just for breakfast! Here are our top ways to serve sunny side up eggs:

• With potatoes. Try with Homemade Hash Browns, Oven Hash Browns or Pan Fried Potatoes.
• With toast. Add toast and it’s a quick breakfast.
• Sandwich. Make our Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwich with smoky mayo (yum!).
• Rice bowl: Use it to top Korean Bibimbap or Bibimbap with Quinoa.
• Noodle bowl: Make a meal out of Quick Soba Noodles.
• Salad: Try it on a Caesar Salad or Kale Salad.

Egg nutrition

Eggs are some of the most nutritious foods on the planet, though they sometimes get a bad rap! Recent research has found that instead of avoiding eggs for cholesterol reasons, they can increase the good cholesterol the body needs. Eggs are an affordable and easy-to-eat source of high quality protein. They’re also especially helpful for vegetarian diets as a natural source of B12. One egg has:

• 75 calories
• 7 grams of protein
• Lots of nutrients

More egg basics

Want to know how to cook eggs…every way possible? Here are tutorials on the most popular ways to cook eggs:

• Hard boiled eggs (or Instant Pot)
• Soft boiled eggs (or Instant Pot)
• Poached eggs
• Scrambled eggs or fluffy eggs
• How to fry an egg
• Over easy eggs (here’s the difference vs Sunny Side Up)
• Over medium eggs
• Over hard eggs
• Try all our top 10 egg recipes for breakfast

This sunny side up eggs recipe is…

Vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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