A poached egg can be served in dozens of ways. You can top your toast or English muffin, serve it over green vegetables, or eat it with bacon and hash. It’s the poaching part that gets tricky, but not with this microwave hack that makes a perfect poached egg in less than a minute.

The perfect poached egg requires only a microwave, a small cup of water, and sixty seconds. It’s the easiest breakfast you’ll ever make, and it’s way better for you than a donut, bagel, or bowl of sugary cereal.

I’m not the only one who enjoys this easy breakfast. After a Deep Dive on Reddit Spotting many microwave egg poachers, I found a tip everyone should know before putting an egg in the radiation box: Avoid explosions of yellow by piercing it with a toothpick.

If you follow the advice in this article, you shouldn’t have to worry about a yellow explosion, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Here’s how to make perfect poached eggs in the microwave in under a minute.

Learn more: Meet your daily protein goals with this simple visual guide

How to make poached eggs in the microwave

Step 1: Fill a ramekin with about half a cup of room temperature salted water. This should be enough to completely submerge the egg.

Step 2: Crack an egg and carefully drop it into the water, trying not to disrupt its structural integrity.

Step 3: Place the ramekin in the microwave and cook on high for about 45 seconds, or longer if you prefer a firmer yolk.

Step 4: Carefully remove the egg from the water using a slotted spoon or metal skimmer.

Step 5: Serve on toast or on a bed of greens with avocado, hot sauce, chili crisp and other sides.

Note: The base temperature of each microwave varies and therefore cooking times may also vary. Try 40 to 45 seconds for your first effort, then add five-second increments for subsequent tries until you achieve the desired doneness.

How to Serve Poached Eggs

Stick this fluffy puff of protein on a piece of toast with some spinach, top it all with flaky salt, hot sauce or a Hollandaise and you get a café-quality breakfast in less time than it takes to make a pot of coffee. You can also use them to top a salad or serve them over rice with pickled vegetables and crispy chili for a light lunch.

Other kitchen tips to save time?

Cooking bacon in the oven is the cleanest method and results in even crispier strips without a greasy baking tray to clean afterwards. Rapid boiling of water with these two pantry ingredients removes stubborn stains from your best kitchen utensils without all the manic friction. Here is nine more kitchen hacks that save time, energy and money.

If you don’t want to cook at all, this is my Favorite prepared food delivery service for 2024.

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