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Home ► Recipes ► American

How to Scramble an Egg

Updated: 01.16.22 | Marc Matsumoto | 41 Comments

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Learn how to make the best scrambled eggs with a little bit of science. This scrambled egg recipe shows you how to make scrambled eggs like a pro.
Recipe

Scrambled egg is often the first dish we learn how to make, yet for many it’s one of the hardest dishes to master. While everyone has a different ideal of what scrambled eggs should be like, I can’t help but smile when I’m served a plate of tender golden yellow curds that somehow manage to defy contradiction by being light and fluffy, yet rich and decadent.

Over the years, I’ve seen all kinds of tricks suggested to get fluffy scrambled eggs. Some rely on additives such as baking powder, while others tell you to whisk the eggs until they are foamy and full of air. While both these techniques will incorporate air, they work a little too well and make your scrambled eggs spongy rather than fluffy. I don't know about you, but if I wanted to eat spongy eggs I’d go eat a sponge cake!

The trick to getting fluffy eggs isn’t about what you add, or how you beat them; it’s about how you cook them. When the water in eggs come in contact with a hot pan, it heats up and evaporates; this naturally creates tiny bubbles of steam in your egg. Voila! Fluffy eggs! Simple right? Well that’s how it works in theory at least.

In practice there’s a little more to it. The tiny air pockets formed during cooking are fragile and will burst if you don’t treat the eggs properly. Here’s what you need to know to make perfect scrambled eggs:

  1. Be gentle, if you manhandle your eggs by scrambling them vigorously, you burst the bubbles and the steam escapes. You want big smooth curds of egg that look more like chunky ice cream than granola. Scrambling eggs is really more about gently stirring than scrambling, but “gently stirred eggs” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
  2. Temperature also plays a part in whether your eggs turn out light and fluffy or dense and rubbery. When eggs cook, the proteins in the egg form a web of bonds. As the temperature goes up, the bonds tighten and the web becomes denser (think of it like a sweater shrinking in a dryer). A denser web means the eggs will be firmer, and the tighter knit also squeezes out water and air, making the curds dry and dense. That’s why it’s important to cook the eggs gently over a medium low heat so you’re not driving out all the moisture and air.
  3. Time is the last key component to making fluffy scrambled eggs and it goes hand in hand with the temperature. Cooking at a lower temperature allows you to cook the eggs more evenly, but the pan and eggs trap heat and will continue to cook the eggs after you’ve turned the heat off. That’s why it’s important to get the eggs out of the pan just a touch before you think they’re done. I like my eggs on the soft side, so I take them out of the pan when there is no runny liquid left, but the surface of the curds are still glistening and wet.

On adding cheese, many recipes tell you to grate the cheese and add it in with the eggs, but I like having veins of recognizable melted cheese intertwined with my scrambled eggs. That’s why I use a vegetable peeler to thinly slice the cheese and add it in when the eggs are nearly fully cooked.

You can make the sandwich pictured in the photos by cutting a croissant open, toasting it, then adding a layer of smoked salmon, your scrambled eggs, and some thinly sliced avocado. It’s decadent, but makes for a protein packed start to a day.

Other Perfect Eggs

  • Best Eggs Sunny Side Up
  • Perfect Poached Eggs
  • Perfect Boiled Eggs
  • The Perfect Frittata
  • Soft-boiled Eggs In a Cheddar Chive Biscuit

📖 Recipe

How to Scramble an Egg

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Prep Time 3 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 8 minutes mins
Yield 2 people

Units

Ingredients 

  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
  • 14 grams Gruyere (or other cheese that melts, sliced)

Instructions

  • Put the eggs, cream and salt in a bowl and beat with a fork until the whites and yolks have just combined. It's okay if there are some bubbles on the surface but you don't want foam, so avoid using a whisk.
  • Add the butter to a non-stick frying pan and heat over medium low heat and melt the butter evenly around the pan. You want the pan to be evenly heated, but you don't want it to be too hot. You can tell when the pan is ready when the butter starts to sizzle.
  • Pour the egg mixture into the center of the pan, and let it spread out on its own. Don't stir it yet. You'll notice that as the bottom layer of egg cooks, it goes from translucent to opaque. When the bottom layer of egg has firmed up, it's time to stir. Use a heatproof silicone spatula, and gently gather up the curds, allowing the upper layer of uncooked egg to flow under the cooked egg.
  • Wait again for the egg to start looking a little opaque again, then stir and add the cheese, this time continuing to stir. Remove the eggs from the pan just a bit before you feel like it's done. Personally I like my eggs on the soft side, so I take them out of the pan as soon as the cheese melts, the eggs are still glistening, and there is no runny egg left.
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  1. Jacqueline says

    December 16, 2021 at 7:38 am

    My goodness, just looking at the results and photos have made me positively ravenous! I am going to try this way for the next batch I make. Thanks very much!

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      December 18, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      Thanks Jacqueline, I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  2. Marc Matsumoto says

    November 02, 2015 at 11:30 am

    Hi Mark, yes these instructions are for a non-stick pan.

    Reply
  3. Mark says

    November 02, 2015 at 11:04 am

    Hi. I received an expensive pan for cooking my eggs. It is not nonstick. Do I still cook the eggs the same way?

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth says

    July 28, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    Me too. I think I read years ago that James Beard suggested a touch of water to make them the fluffiest, so I've been doing that ever since.

    Reply
  5. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 05, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    Hi Miss Ody, you can substitute for the same quantity of milk for lighter scrambled eggs.

    Reply
  6. miss ody says

    August 05, 2013 at 5:49 pm

    Hi marc
    If I want to substitute cream with milk how much milk should I use?

    Reply
  7. T. L. Hicks says

    May 06, 2013 at 11:04 pm

    My Grandfather, who was a short order cook taught me to slightly undercook eggs. He'd say "If they're done in the pan, they're overdone on the plate"

    Reply
  8. Marilia says

    January 24, 2013 at 4:06 pm

    One word... induction. I just got an induction cooktop and I freakin love it!

    Reply
  9. kathleenditommaso says

    September 27, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    Yep, I could never make scrambled eggs, figured it just wasn't my thing. Hubby could always whip up a decent batch & for years I've regulated the task to him. Never really thought much about it until I read your "how to" this morning. Having all ingredients on hand (including those for the lovely sandwich), I put your instructions to the test. Viola! I can make fluffy scrambled eggs! Many thanks, Marc!

    Reply
  10. kathleenditommaso says

    September 27, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    Yep, I could never make scrambled eggs, figured it just wasn't my thing. Hubby could always whip up a decent batch & for years I've regulated the task to him. Never really thought much about it until I read your "how to" this morning. Having all ingredients on hand (including those for the lovely sandwich), I put your instructions to the test. Viola! I can make fluffy scrambled eggs! Many thanks, Marc!

    Reply
  11. cow says

    August 18, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    I thought for sure it would be an excuse to unearth the ol' double boiler. KISS, with egg breath!

    Reply
  12. cow says

    August 18, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    I thought for sure it would be an excuse to unearth the ol' double boiler. KISS, with egg breath!

    Reply
  13. writingbee says

    March 31, 2012 at 2:18 pm

    mmmm...yummy!

    Reply
  14. Marilia says

    March 18, 2012 at 8:08 am

    Ever tried the Nero Wolfe method?  40 minutes in a double boiler?

    Reply
  15. Gina (Gluten-free Gourmand) says

    March 16, 2012 at 5:35 am

    I've recently abandoned the non-stick pan for a ceramic-coated cast-iron pan, which I love for scrambled eggs.  I've been playing with starting out with a very hot pan and turning off the burner right after adding the eggs.  I've been enjoying the results, but then again I like my eggs a little more cooked than you.  I am looking forward to trying your method for a softer egg.  Thanks for another thoroughly explained recipe!

    Reply
  16. carla says

    March 14, 2012 at 12:36 am

    Thanks for sharing this! My scrambled egg always fail!:P

    Reply
  17. Ejacks18 says

    March 09, 2012 at 6:21 am

    I'm looking forward to trying this way of cooking eggs in the morning.  Sounds delicious!

    Reply
  18. Ejacks18 says

    March 09, 2012 at 2:21 am

    I'm looking forward to trying this way of cooking eggs in the morning.  Sounds delicious!

    Reply
  19. adel says

    March 08, 2012 at 5:03 am

    great tips! thanks!

    Reply
  20. adel says

    March 08, 2012 at 1:03 am

    great tips! thanks!

    Reply
  21. susan says

    March 06, 2012 at 9:57 am

    What a great post. Going to pass this along to my husband. He makes eggs a few times per week and always offers some to me. His eggs are not pretty, nor tasty and I hope he follows your fabulous advice.

    Reply
  22. TheNomNomFoodie says

    March 06, 2012 at 7:32 am

    Great! Looking forward to that post 🙂

    Reply
  23. Marc Matsumoto says

    March 06, 2012 at 3:28 am

    While I've never done it this way, I imagine using a bain-marie would yield amazing eggs (similar to sous vide scrambled eggs). That said, the beauty of scrambled eggs for me is that they're a quick breakfast when you don't have a lot of time, which is why I still prefer to do mine in a frying pan. 

    Reply
  24. Marc Matsumoto says

    March 06, 2012 at 3:26 am

    I know exactly what you mean. I used to dread scrambled egg day because they were always like eating plastic. Poached eggs are my favorite too. I've got a post coming up on getting perfect poached eggs every time. 

    Reply
  25. TheNomNomFoodie says

    March 05, 2012 at 11:06 pm

    Love the post! I grew up eating eggs that were much more cooked, which is why I favored "sunny side up" instead of scrambled. Nowadays when I make scrambled eggs I shoot for the same consistency that you have in the post. But as much as I love scrambled eggs my favorite is still cutting into a perfectly cooked soft poached egg, letting all the golden yolk run on the plate (like in your polenta and egg recipe)!

    Reply
  26. Marilia says

    March 05, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Love this post! Starting from its title 🙂 The more a dish is simple, the more every single step matters. Thanks for sharing your tips!

    Reply
  27. Darren says

    March 05, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    In the Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe detective mysteries Wolfe says that proper scrambled eggs take 45 minutes. I don't think it goes into detail about how he makes them, but in the cookbook Stout wrote he cooks them in a double boiler.

    Reply
  28. Ellja says

    March 05, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    eggs are the new black, i guess 🙂

    Reply
  29. Daniel Zaccariello says

    March 05, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    Yeah, I've read about doing it sous vide.  Thinking I should pick up a used thermocirculator.  
    I've done slow poaching with a stock pot and ice cubes, but it really demands too much attention.  It would be great just to see with my own eyes the different coagulation temps for each of the different proteins in the egg.   

    Reply
  30. Marc Matsumoto says

    March 05, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    I've never tried it in a bain-marie, but I've done them sous-vide which gets similar results.

    Reply
  31. Darren says

    March 05, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    In the Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe detective mysteries Wolfe says that proper scrambled eggs take 45 minutes. I don't think it goes into detail about how he makes them, but in the cookbook Stout wrote he cooks them in a double boiler.

    Reply
  32. Ellja says

    March 05, 2012 at 2:17 pm

    eggs are the new black, i guess 🙂

    Reply
  33. the indolent cook says

    March 05, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    Very timely post - I just recently had a discussion with friends about making good scrambled eggs.  And that sandwich looks amazing.

    Reply
  34. Daniel Zaccariello says

    March 05, 2012 at 12:24 pm

    Have you tried making them in a bain-marie?  I just use a steel bowl and medium sauce pan.  Works well because the temperatures of the bowl are more gentle on the proteins than using a saute pan.  When I've done this, I always ended up with a very light texture and fluffy creamy eggs.

    Reply
  35. sweet road says

    March 05, 2012 at 12:13 pm

    It took me awhile to figure out how to make perfect fluffy eggs as well. I found that keeping it simple - eggs and a bit of water scrambled together and gentle cooking works every time!

    Reply
  36. Thekitchenwitchblog says

    March 05, 2012 at 11:25 am

    So basic but seriously, it's a skill.  I like my scrambled eggs with that "wet" look.  I just ca't stand dried up scrambled eggs (which is why I never order them in a restaurant).

    Reply
  37. the indolent cook says

    March 05, 2012 at 10:10 am

    Very timely post - I just recently had a discussion with friends about making good scrambled eggs.  And that sandwich looks amazing.

    Reply
  38. Jennifer Cui says

    March 04, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    I love your website regardless of how it looks for the content, but I loved the old page design. Why the change? :T

    Reply
  39. Yi @ Yi Reservation says

    March 04, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    wow these scrambled eggs look so fluffy and creamy. I prefer to add cream instead of milk because milk doesn't give you that creamy soft result. I sometimes use half and half to make a "healthier version".
    Thanks for sharing the detailed tips. 

    Reply
  40. Yi @ Yi Reservation says

    March 04, 2012 at 10:07 am

    wow these scrambled eggs look so fluffy and creamy. I prefer to add cream instead of milk because milk doesn't give you that creamy soft result. I sometimes use half and half to make a "healthier version".
    Thanks for sharing the detailed tips.

    Reply
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