Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs

Name: Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons potato starch, tapioca starch or cornstarch; 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes; 4 eggs (see Tip); Pinch of kosher salt

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Updated April 21, 2022

Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Total Time: 5 minutes
Rating: 4(7,369)
Comments: Read comments

Adding a small amount of a starchy slurry to scrambled eggs — a technique learned from Mandy Lee of the food blog Lady & Pups — prevents them from setting up too firmly, resulting in eggs that stay tender and moist, whether you like them soft-, medium- or hard-scrambled. Potato or tapioca starch is active at slightly lower temperatures than cornstarch and will produce a slightly more tender scramble, but cornstarch works just fine if it’s what you’ve got on hand. Make sure your skillet is at just the right temperature by heating a tablespoon of water in the skillet and waiting for it to evaporate. For creamier eggs, you can replace the water with milk or half-and-half.

Featured in: This Is How You Get the Best Scrambled Eggs

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings

2teaspoons potato starch, tapioca starch or cornstarch
4tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
4eggs (see Tip)
Pinch of kosher salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
In a medium bowl, whisk together starch with 1½ tablespoons water until no lumps remain. Add half the butter cubes to starch mixture. Add eggs and salt, and whisk, breaking up any cubes of butter that have stuck together, until the eggs are frothy and homogenous. (There will still be solid chunks of butter in the eggs.)
Step 2
Set your serving plate near the stovetop. Heat 1 tablespoon water in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, swirling gently until the water evaporates, leaving behind only a few small droplets. Immediately add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and swirl vigorously until the butter is mostly melted and foamy but not brown, about 10 seconds.
Step 3
Immediately add the egg mixture and cook, pushing and folding the eggs with a spatula, until they are slightly less cooked than you’d like them, about 1 to 2 minutes, depending on doneness. More vigorous stirring will result in finer, softer curds, while more leisurely stirring will result in larger, fluffier curds. Immediately transfer to the serving plate, and serve.

Tip

If cooking fewer eggs or more, adjust pan size accordingly, and note that cooking time in Step 3 can vary significantly, needing as little as 15 to 30 seconds for 2 eggs, or as long as 3 to 4 minutes for 8 eggs.

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Ratings

4 out of 5

7,369 user ratings

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Comments

malahat4 years ago

Tried this technique, and the result was as advertised — beautiful scrambled eggs. And it’s not complicated or fussy. I find myself wishing this website could screen out comments from people who didn’t actually try the recipes.

Michael4 years ago

Kenji does it again. These eggs are incredible. I cooked them without telling my wife and tried to play it off like it was just a good batch. They are so good, she caught on. If you don’t want to use this much butter, use less butter.

Margie4 years ago

Like so many NYT Food recipes where I have all the ingredients on hand, I had to try it this morning. I believe in respecting the recipe and making it as described before I make adjustments. I made it as described but halved it for just me. I used a well seasoned cast iron pan. The eggs were fluffy, creamy and delicious, just like I imagine royalty get from their 5-Star chefs. I'll play with it now to reduce the amount of butter to protect my arteries like a Weight Watchers chef.

Maya2 weeks ago

Scaled back to two eggs and it was still so easy. These are PERFECT eggs for breakfast burritos!

Sara1 month ago

Easy and fast and excellent, first try.

GreenSageSJ1 month ago

So good, but, as frequently noted, way, way, way toooooooo much butter (she said, having subbed ½&½ for 1 tbls of water in the slurry). Having made this recipe to raves a couple times before, this time, I set the eggs atop two ramekins ½ filled w/ leftover scalloped potatoes (warmed for 2 mins in microwave) & baked them at 325º for 15 minutes. The eggs rose up majestically as fluffy, scrumptious crowns on the golden potato base. Chef's kiss.

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