Italian Baked Eggs

These easy, spicy baked eggs are perfect for breakfast or dinner! Spicy Italian Sausage, crushed tomatoes, and plenty of fresh basil. Topped with parmesan cheese and served over toasted French bread.

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I can’t stop with the eggs lately. They just make everything taste so much BETTER, you know? Yeah. You know.

I’ve also been on something of a spicy Italian sausage kick. So it was about time I worked these two obsessions into the same recipe, riiiiiight? Right.

I was dreaming about pasta all day, but torn between good ol’ tomato-sauced spaghetti and some luscious, creamy carbonara (which I’ve also been eating crazy amounts of lately). I wanted spicy tomato sauce, but I also wanted the this-is-what-actual-heaven-feels-like creaminess of a runny egg yolk.

As soon as it occurred to me to bake the eggs I was craving inside the sauce I couldn’t stop thinking about, it was all over. I was so excited about this combo that I abandoned the original pasta idea altogether.

There’s bread, though. I would obviously never leave you without carbs.

Also, shoutout to Kyle for being the world’s greatest hand model. JUST LOOK AT THAT CHEESE SHREDDING ACTION.

This baked egg dish is meant to be sopped up with bread. There’s a ton of delicious, flavorful tomato sauce in that pot, and once the eggs have all been eaten it becomes a super-saucy bread-dippin partaaaaay. If you want to stretch the dish to feed more people, add a few additional eggs to the sauce before you bake it. Just cooking for two? Cut the amount of crushed tomatoes in half and bake just as many eggs as you want to eat – I recommend 1 or 2 eggs per person. This dish would also be great with mozzarella instead of (or, even better, in addition to) parmesan – I’d add the mozzarella before baking so it has time to get niiiiiice and melty.

This meal is surprisingly hearty for how simple it is, and you can tailor it to fit your schedule – let the sauce simmer on the stove for as long as you like, and when you’re ready to eat just crack the eggs, pop it in the oven, toast some bread, and ta-da! Dinner is served. Or does this technically count as breakfast? Whatever. I’ll eat it all day, everyday.

Italian Baked Eggs

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: Serves 4 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ lb. spicy Italian ground sausage
• ½ large yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 28oz. crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup fresh basil, chopped, plus extra for garnish
• 6 large eggs
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 loaf crusty French or sourdough bread, sliced into ½” slices

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat a large, oven-safe pot (I use my Le Creuset) over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and break it up a bit with a wooden spoon. Cook 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until sausage is cooked through and has developed a nice brown color.
3. Remove cooked sausage from the pot and set aside. Leave any rendered fat in the pot over medium heat.
4. Add onion and garlic to pot and sauté 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.
5. Add balsamic vinegar to pot and stir to combine.
6. Add crushed tomatoes and cooked sausage to pot and stir to combine, being sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring mixture to a simmer, taste, and add seasoning as necessary. Don’t be afraid of salt – it helps cut the flavor of the tomato and brings all the flavors together!
7. Stir chopped basil into sauce and remove pot from the heat.
8. Use a spoon to make six small wells on the surface of the sauce. Crack eggs one at a time into each well. I find it’s helpful to crack eggs into a small ramekin first, then gently tip the egg from the ramekin into the sauce.
9. Cover pot and place in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes to cook the eggs. I like my eggs a tad on the runny side, but if you want yours more well-done add another 4-5 minutes to the cook time!
10. While the eggs cook, toast your bread slices. I toasted mine quickly on a grill pan, but you could also toast it on a sheet pan in the oven or use a regular ol’ toaster.
11. Remove pot from the oven. Top eggs with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then follow with parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of basil for garnish. Serve with toasted bread.

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Notes

A wide pot is the best choice here – you want a large surface area so the eggs have room to cook.

You could easily cook the eggs on the stovetop instead of the oven – just reduce the heat to low and cover the pot for 8-10 minutes, then check eggs for doneness.

Let the sauce simmer as long as you like – the more time it cooks, the more developed the flavor will be. Just wait to bake eggs until right before you’re ready to eat – if they sit too long in the hot sauce they’ll overcook.