Cooking With Heinen’s | Egg in a Hole

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3 mins read

I am often captivated by the wild popularity of dishes with such simplicity. Perhaps life is so complicated that we are searching for ways to enjoy simple dishes. Egg in a Hole is a great example of this. Like avocado toast, Egg in a Hole takes just a few simple ingredients and an effortless process to deliver a delicious unpretentious dish. Easy and unpretentious, perhaps, but I did just see it on a menu for $13. WOW, you can make this at home for your whole family for far less than that!

Although it has regained popularity with Instagram fame, this dish is not new. An official recipe called “Egg with a Hat” first made an appearance in the Boston Cooking School Cookbook by Fannie Farmer in the 1890s. It called for a two-and-a-half-inch cookie cutter to remove the bread’s center which, served atop the cooked egg, becomes the “hat.” Over the years the cookbook’s 13 print editions passed the recipe down through generations. Fannie Farmer was one of the first cookbooks I ever used and I still use it today.

This recipe shows up by many names: Egg in a Hole, Egg with a Hat, Egg in a Basket, Bull’s Eye Eggs, Eggs in a Grame. The 1941 film Moon Over Miami with Betty Grable uses the term “Gashouse Eggs”. What ever you call it, it is easy and delicious. Traditionally it starts with bread or toast with a “hole” cut out of the center. It is pan fried with an egg cracked into the opening and cooked to sunny side up.

Today we’re making sheet pan Egg in a Hole. The frying pan is great if you are cooking for one or two. If you have a crowd like I do, preparing 6 at a time on a cookie sheet just makes more sense. And it’s even EASIER! yeah!!!

Egg In A Hole

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 slices bacon
  • 6 slices bread, 1/2-inch thick
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 6 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

METHOD:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Place bacon in a single layer onto a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until par-cooked, about for 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  • Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
  • Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, make a hole in the center of each bread slice.
  • Butter one side of the bread slices. Place the bread onto the prepared baking sheet, buttered side down.
  • Add bacon slices and eggs, gently cracking the eggs into each hole and keeping the yolk intact. 
  • Use a pastry brush to add a little butter to the edges of the top side of the bread if desired.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan and thyme; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Place into oven and bake until the egg whites have set, about 12-15 minutes.
  • Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.

About the Author

Photographer Sally Roeckell specializes in contemporary lifestyle portraiture with an emphasis on food photography. Her Blog, Table and Dish is a website devoted to celebrating and curating the many ways that food binds us. Sally hopes that her recipes and images will inspire you to gather your friends and family in the kitchen to make memories, use the time to connect with busy kids, chat over mixing bowls, get messy, laugh, sing, set the table, clear the table, pass the salt, debate the days topics and pray. You can follow her here as a weekly contributor to 365Barrington and Heinen’s as well as via Table and Dish on Instagram and on her website at TableAndDish.com.


Have you heard about Heinen’s Tasteful Rewards™ program? Sign up for free to receive exclusive weekly specials via email and earn Heinen’s rewards. As a Tasteful Rewards™ membership benefit, Heinen’s will donate up to 1% of your qualified purchases made between September and April to a local school of your choice through their Teaming Up for Education Program. CLICK HERE to sign up for Heinen’s Tasteful Rewards™ and, trust me, this is one email that will always please your palate!


Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 (next to Meatheads) in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Heinens.com.

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