Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs

Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(7,086)
Notes
Read community notes

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
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

337 calories; 31 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 184 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. 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.)

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

Ratings

4 out of 5
7,086 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

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.

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.

Tried this for lunch. Man is there a lot of butter for the amount of eggs it makes. Pros:VERY DECADENT, great taste. Cons: a little too rich for my taste. Verdict: very tasty but probably won't make again unless I'm trying to gain weight for a hypothetical wrestling tournament due to how rich they are.

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.

Making creamy scrambled eggs requires nothing more than a good whisk and... eggs. Zero butter. Even in the pan. If you whisk till foamy, pour into pan and continually move around with a rubber spatula under medium-low heat, things will turn out beautifully.

These were the exact right fluffiness. I think the corn starch and the perfectly hot pan technique is a great idea. If you wanted to use a little less butter, you probably could be ok, but it's really good with the butter. I made two eggs-- cut the recipe in half and it worked. (I also added a few chopped onions at the end if anyone is interested)

Good eggs! I doubled the recipe. Corn starch added no flavor. Served with English muffins to wife and kids. Plates cleaned! I think a lot of reviewers are missing the point; it's a technique to get fluffy eggs, quickly. Like many of the reviewers, my usual eggs use only salt and butter, and turn out nicely, but I need low heat and constant stirring. At larger quantities that can be 15 minutes. This recipe gives me more grace, with quicker cook time.

Just made these and they are *stupid* good 10/10 beautiful

OK, I tried the recipe. I did use a little less butter, but otherwise faithfully followed. I, too, have been making eggs for multiple decades, and in my experience, this technique produces scrambled eggs that are at least a couple of steps above the norm, with less time/effort than the very-low-heat method. For those of you who are set in your egg technique, please move along -- nothing to see here (and no need to comment). But for those open to improvement, I say give this a try.

For some reason this recipe is getting a lot of negative attention about being "too much work" but honestly it took me less than 5 minutes and they were the best scrambled eggs I've ever had. I finished them in the time it took for my bagel to toast!

I add a big splash of sparkling water to my eggs. The carbonation fluffs the eggs nicely.

I made this exactly as written. I love you, Kenji. But these eggs where inedible. Soft and creamy but also slimy. They tasted like eggs cooked in corn starch with too much butter.

This recipe is unnecessarily complicated. I have been making scrambled eggs for 60 years; it was the first thing I learned how to cook by myself when I was 7 years old. Scramble the eggs (now I use chopsticks - they mix the whites and yolks more thoroughly); heat butter in a pan; add eggs and move them gently around the pan with a spatula as they cook. Turn off the heat before the eggs are completely set and slide them onto a plate. They are fluffy and creamy and yummy.

I dip the handle end of a teaspoon into the cornstarch and add that pinch to the eggs while scrambling. It takes all of 1 second, and makes for much creamier, smoother scrambled eggs. There's really no reason to skip this.

This technique is INSANELY GOOD! Ignore the know-it-alls who pan it without even trying it, follow this recipe exactly and you will get the most delicious scrambled eggs ever. I used 8 eggs plus 4 yolks, a full stick of butter and a tbsp. of corn starch to 3 tbsp. of whole milk. Compared to the French/Ramsey method which takes 15-20 minutes, I think these actually taste better. Thank you Kenji!

I rarely leave reviews, but make an exception here. This is such a great recipe as it delivers scrambled eggs exactly how I want them to be. Thank you, Kenji.

The best eggs I have ever cooked! Have shared it with many friends who also agreed.

I made half for myself with great results. Easy, elegant, and satisfying. Thank you Kenji!!

We keep cutting down the butter... The recipe as written is delicious, but unbelievably greasy. Like, 'the eggs slide off your fork because they're sitting on a layer of butter' greasy. Started off at half portion... No loss in quality, less greasy, but still a lot. Somewhere around 1.5 Tbsp of butter (not 4!) is the sweet spot between delicious, fluffy, and not dripping with grease. Maybe it's just me, but I want eggs that don't shine when the light hits them!

This resulted in perfect scrambled eggs. I used potato starch.

Yumalicious! I wasn't sure about the bits of butter left in the egg slurry, but this made unbelievably soft curds. I drizzled with chili crisp.

It was amazing! Cut back slightly in butter and added fresh mushrooms and spinach to the meal. Awesome!!!

I must have done something wrong. I followed the recipe to a T (except cut in half) but my eggs have a weird, hard texture and very little flavor. Will have to try again, maybe with the full four eggs?

I've only recently come to understand that I truly love scrambled eggs. I've always avoided them because they're usually terribly bland and dry. I learned to cook them correctly, and now I eat them all the time. This recipe should be the gold standard. I'll never cook them another way again. I cut back on some of the butter and could reduce it a bit further, but these are out of this world. What a decadent, yet fast and simple breakfast. Thanks!

Cannot go back to low and slow when this is so quick and yields wonderful results. I did half the butter as personal preference.

Used Korean sweet potato starch and reduced the butter a little. Beat eggs I ever made!

Did this and it was amazing. Best scrambled eggs ever.

These eggs were amazing and extremely buttery! Like other reviewers, though, I will make them again, but will decrease the amount of butter until I find the right proportion for me. When you make these the first time, follow the instructions as written before making any adjustments. Also, as a courtesy to others, until you actually make the recipe, save your comments until you do.

In my house we adore scrambled eggs and this recipe is the only way we do it now. The addition of potato starch is genius—the eggs become unbelievably creamy—and these make up part of our regular breakfast-for-dinner meal with crusty bread and a salad. I’ve found that grating the butter produces better results than cubing it—that’s the only change I’ve made to the basic recipe. Such an indulgence!

These eggs are incredible. So creamy and melt in your mouth. Made exactly as written and it was perfect

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