How to Make Eggs in the Microwave: Several Different Ways

Eggs are incredibly versatile. You can use them for various meals, and they are a great source of protein with few calories. Egg on toast? Egg-fried rice? Fried egg with an English breakfast? Delicious!

However, cooking eggs isn’t always easy. It can be difficult to get the timings right and get the desired consistency of the yolk. However, we can make this process easier as we look at how to make eggs in the microwave below.

How to Make Microwave Scrambled Eggs

You can make fantastic scrambled eggs with relative ease. These make a brilliant source of protein and can fit with many different meals. For example, you could add them to a stir fry. They are also excellent for egg-fried rice or simply on a slice of toast with lashings of butter.

Steps for Making Quick Scrambled Eggs in the Microwave

1. Prepare a microwave-safe bowl by coating it with a light layer of cooking spray or vegetable oil.
2. Crack one or two eggs into your bowl and completely remove the shell.
3. Add some salt, freshly ground black pepper and milk into the egg mixture – you can also add some spinach or shredded cheese for extra flavour.
4. Whisk the mixture until it is completely combined and turns a thicker yellow consistency.
5. Set your microwave for a cooking time of 1m30 to 1m45 seconds and start microwaving.
6. Several times, stop the microwaves, take out the microwave-safe container, and stir the mixture.
7. Once the timer has finished and the eggs are fully cooked, remove them from the microwave, cover the container, and let them stand for up to a minute.
8. Serve immediately. Once they have stood for a minute, garnish with chopped fresh herbs and enjoy!

Other Things to Remember

There are a few pointers to remember for making microwave scrambled eggs. Firstly, we advise using a rounded microwave-safe container. This helps the cooking process, and they generally work better in a microwave.

Also that the eggs cook rapidly compared to boiling on a stove. As a result, it is better to slightly undercook the scrambled microwave eggs.

Once the microwave stops and you allow the scrambled eggs to stand, this should complete the cooking process and prevent them from being overcooked.

Lastly, the times listed above are suitable for large eggs and for a microwave with a wattage of 1000. If you are cooking smaller eggs or have a less-powerful microwave, you should reduce the cooking time accordingly.

How to Make Boiled Eggs in the Microwave

Cooking eggs in the microwave is easy, even when it comes to boiled eggs! You can easily create different consistencies of boiled eggs by adjusting the timing and the amount of time the eggs stand for.

Process for Boiling Fresh Eggs in the Microwave

1. Place your eggs in a microwave-safe bowl and fill the bowl with hot water. The water should ideally be approximately 1/2 an inch above the eggs.
2. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt for each egg in the water, or prick a hole in the eggshell.
3. Microwave for 4 minutes and let stand for 1 minute.
4. Microwave for an additional 3-4 minutes.
5. Allow the eggs to stand in hot water, depending on the consistency you want.
6. Fill a separate bowl with cold water.
7. Remove the boiled eggs from the microwave and add them to the cold water.
8. Allow the eggs to stand depending on the consistency you want.

Things to Consider

As you can see, this is a little more complex cooking process. The key here is the time you allow the egg to stand both in hot water in the microwave and cold water outside the microwave.

If you want to leave the shell on the egg, it is vital that you either add salt to the water or prick a hole in the bottom of each egg. Adding salt to the water generally works better and is a more reliable explosion prevention method.

The great thing about boiled eggs is that you can also store them for later use. For example, you can store hard-boiled eggs in paper towels for up to one week. However, it is only advised to store soft-boiled eggs for 1-2 days.

For storage, never remove the shell – the shell protects the inside of the egg and improves its longevity.

Different Standing Times for Soft, Medium, or Hard-Boiled Eggs

Soft-Boiled Eggs

• Let the egg sit in hot water in the microwave after cooking for 2-3 minutes.
• Let the egg sit in the cold water outside the microwave for 1 minute.

Pro-Tip:

Soft-boiled eggs should have a deliciously runny yolk that can be used to make a dippy egg with soldiers!

Medium-Boiled Eggs

• Let the egg sit in hot water in the microwave after cooking for 6-7 minutes.
• Let the egg sit in the cold water outside the microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

• Let the egg sit in hot water in the microwave after cooking for 8-10 minutes.
• Let the egg sit in the cold water outside the microwave for 5 minutes.

Pro-Tip:

Hard-boiled eggs are perfect for things like salads or simply eating as a snack with some fresh herbs and pepper.

How to Make Fried Eggs in the Microwave

It is possible to make fried eggs in the microwave too! These are also known as sunny side up eggs – basically, the egg cooked out of its shell, but without the yolk being whisked into the white part of the egg.

This type of egg is fantastic for breakfast cuisine as part of a fried breakfast or for something like an egg on toast. This type of egg is also a brilliant partner with cooked bacon.

Steps to Make Fried Eggs in a Microwave

1. Prepare a microwave-safe plate and cover it with a thin layer of cooking spray or vegetable oil.
2. Crack one egg onto the plate and completely remove the shell.
3. Add seasoning like pepper and salt or fresh herbs if you wish.
4. Pierce the egg yolk with the pointed end of a knife.
5. For one egg, microwave on full heat for 30 seconds.
6. After 30 seconds, check the consistency of the egg.
7. If it is still undercooked, microwave for a further 20-30 seconds.
8. Remove the plate and allow it to cool for 30 seconds.
9. Serve the egg, and enjoy!

What You Should Know

There are several nuances with this cooking method. Firstly, successfully cracking the egg requires a little practice. Ideally, you want the yolk to sit perfectly in the centre, surrounded by the white parts.

Secondly, it is important to prick the yolk. By making a small prick in the yolk, you can relieve the potential pressure and heat. As a result, this should help prevent the egg from exploding.

Lastly, cooking times will vary depending on the wattage of your microwave. Always cook eggs for a smaller amount of time first. By doing so, you can easily check on the egg and prevent overcooking.

Microwave Eggs FAQs

What do eggs go with?

Eggs are incredibly versatile! You can create many different meals for breakfast or for a simple snack. Dippy egg with soldiers (slices of toast) is a simple and effective breakfast.

Alternatively, you could use fired or scrambled eggs in the microwave as part of a full English breakfast complete with bacon, beans, black pudding, sausage, and tomato!

Microwave scrambled eggs can also be used in stir fry or egg-fried rice. You could even add hard-boiled eggs into salads. Make sure you put a dashing of salt and pepper on your microwave eggs for added flavour!

Why does salt help stop egg explosions?

Salt or sodium chloride is considered the best way of preventing microwave egg recipes from exploding. Firstly, the salt ions block some of the microwaves and prevent them from entering the egg.

Secondly, salted water typically takes longer to heat up. As a result, the microwaving process is more gradual and results in a steadier cooking process.

An Eggcellent Meal

We hope you have found this guide on how to microwave eggs useful. It’s a very straightforward process, regardless of what method you are using. The most important part is to remember to either prick a hole in the egg or microwave them in salted water.

If you do not do these, there is a far greater chance the egg will explode. And no one wants to clean up the dreadful mess of an exploded egg from the inside of their microwave. But we assure you that once you have learned how to make eggs in your microwave, you’ll be able to enjoy them mess-free all the time.

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