cacio e pepe fried "egg in a basket"

Whatever you call this egg-and-toast preparation — bull's eye, toad in a hole, egg in a basket, eggs in the basket, egg with a hat, etc. etc. — it gets a serious, simple upgrade inspired by cheesy, peppery cacio e pepe pasta.

This cacio e pepe "egg in a basket" recipe started with an idea I had for a very simple cacio e pepe fried egg. But, as I started testing different techniques and preparations, I realized a crucial flavor and texture was missing: carbs!

Cacio e pepe is nothing without the pasta. And a cacio e pepe fried egg is nothing without toast.

Naturally, I had to take it one step further and put the cacio e pepe egg inside the toast.

And, omg, I'm never going back to plain eggs in a basket again. These are so good.

Why this recipe works

The cheese helps the bread crisp up and brown beautifully in the buttery skillet with lots of fresh cracked pepper. And the layer of crispy cheese helps hold the egg in place without sticking or making a mess.

The thickness of the bread contains the egg in the center allowing it to cook slowly over low heat. So, unless the yolk breaks when you flip it, you get a perfectly set egg white and perfectly runny egg yolk every dang time.

My favorite part, of course, is that it takes just a few minutes to make cacio e pepe eggs in a basket! They're just such a fun way to be a little bit fancy at breakfast time.

how to make cacio e pepe eggs in a basket

Making eggs in a basket with a cacio e pepe twist is super easy! Use low and slow heat so that the egg cooks through, but the bread doesn't burn.

First, cut a hole in the center of a piece of bread. Then, melt butter over low heat in a cast iron or non-stick skillet. As soon as the butter melts, sprinkle a layer of finely grated pecorino romano cheese down in the pan — cover an area about as big as your piece of bread. Press the bread into the cheese, then crack an egg into the hole in the center of the bread.

Then, season the egg with additional pepper. You don't need to add salt, because the cheese is super salty! Sprinkle another layer of cheese on top so that it has time to start melting before you need to flip the bread.

Once the egg white has mostly set, flip your egg in a basket to brown the cheese on the other side of the bread. If you aren't sure if the egg white is set or not, try sliding a spatula under the toast. If the egg white is still pretty loose, it will "squish" together. If the egg white is set, the hole in the center shouldn't move too much when you try to slide your spatula under.

Once you flip the egg in a basket, how long you cook it for depends on how done you want your yolk to be! It will likely still be runny after a minute or two. The best way to check is to gently press down on the egg in the hole — if it seems liquid inside, your yolk is still runny.

Ingredient notes

You only need a few simple ingredients to make cacio e pepe eggs in a basket.

• Bread - I used a classic slice of my homemade white sandwich bread here, but you can use whatever bread you like. Just avoid anything with a large, open crumb and lots of air holes because that won't contain the egg and cheese as well.
• Eggs - I used large eggs, but any egg will work as long as the hole in the bread is big enough to contain it.
• Pecorino Romano cheese - This is the classic, traditional cacio e pepe cheese. It's a harder grated cheese than parmesan and takes a little longer to melt. I like it freshly grated.
• Black pepper - I use freshly cracked black peppercorns.
• Butter - Butter helps you get nice browning on the outside and brings a lot of flavor to the toast.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• I use these round cutters to cut out the center of the bread. If you're just cooking for yourself, you can fold the bread in half and take bite out of the center. Otherwise, look for a cutter that's about 2½-3" across, it should take up most of the center of the bread with about ¼" at the top and bottom still connected.
• A thin, flexible fish turner spatula is the best way to get your egg in a basket cleanly off your skillet without making a mess. (Read more about my favorite spatulas).
• I tested these in a few different pans and the best experience, by far, was my well-seasoned 12" Lodge cast iron skillet. They actually worked so well in the cast iron that they actually helped season the pan and left it shinier and sleeker than it was when I started cooking.
• If you don't have a well-seasoned cast iron pan, the next best pan to use would be a non-stick one. Carbon steel would also work well, if you've got one. Avoid stainless steel pans, as the cheese tends to stick.
• Let the pan heat up before you add the butter. You don't want the butter to brown!
• Don't add too much salt to your egg. You might not even need any. The cheese has lots of salt in it, and it's very easy to over do it.
• How much cheese you use is really up to you! I found a very thin layer was best — a thicker layer insulates the egg from the heat of the pan and slows down the cooking time. But if you want to use even twice as much cheese you can. It will work.
• Yes, you can use parmesan cheese instead of Pecorino Romano. Even though parmesan isn't traditional to cacio e pepe, there are lots of cacio e pepe recipes (including my one pot cacio e pepe rigatoni) that use a blend of parmesan and Pecorino cheeses. Again, you'll get the best melting experience grating it yourself, but pre-shredded or ground parmesan will work too.
• If you use the finely powdered Pecorino Romano you'll want a very, very, very thin layer of it in the pan — that stuff tends to have a much stronger flavor and be very salty. Both pre-grated and powdered cheeses don't melt as well on top of the bread before you flip it so just be careful when you flip the bread so the cheese doesn't go flying everywhere.

📖 Recipe