Of all of my recipes for baked eggs, this recipe for Swiss baked eggs is the favorite in my house. The caramelized onions and Swiss cheese make the flavor pop. They taste like French onion soup!
They are not difficult to make. In fact, baked eggs are some of the easiest egg dishes to prepare. In general, you just crack an egg into a ramekin and bake it to your liking. You do not have to worry about too high of a skillet temperature, which can lead to burned whites and rubbery eggs. The oven does the work for you.
We love to serve our Swiss baked eggs with hot buttered sourdough toast. You can either scoop or dip the toast into the eggs or, better yet, spread the egg mixture on the toast.
This recipe is featured in our lineup of holiday morning breakfast recipes. Check them out!
Equipment
A simple skillet and 8-oz ramekins are all you need to make this recipe. You can also make them in a larger baking dish, but they look cute served in individual ramekins, most particularly for a brunch party. Serve them with buttered toast strips or toasted French baguette slices for dipping.
Ingredients
This recipe calls for a lot of chopped onion. As most cooks know, chopping onions is NO fun. To make life easier, I used frozen chopped onion and defrosted just enough to use for this recipe.
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped (about 1-1/2 cup)
- 1/2 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced (12 slices)
- 6 large eggs
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp dry white wine. Chardonnay is a good choice.
- chopped chives to use as a garnish
Instructions
Taking the time to caramelize the onions really brings out their flavor and gives this dish its distinctive French onion soup taste.
Step 1. Caramelize the onions. Add oil to medium skillet and heat over medium heat. When oil begins to smoke, add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and they have turned a light amber color (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside. The photo below shows what color they should be when they’re done. They don’t have to be super dark. A light caramel color is just right.
Step 2. Prepare the eggs. Line the bottom of 6 8-oz ramekins with Swiss cheese (2 slices per ramekin). Top each with about 1/4 cup of onion. Crack one egg into each ramekin and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step 3. Prepare the cream mixture. In a medium bowl, add cream and wine. Beat with a wire whisk until well blended (about 1 minute). Pour mixture around eggs, dividing evenly between ramekins.
Step 4. Bake the eggs. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake in a 325°F (162°C) oven uncovered until eggs are set to your liking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve with buttered sourdough toast for dipping or you can use the egg mixture as a spread.
Storage and Reheating
Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover and freeze for up to a month. From frozen, reheat for 3-4 minutes in the microwave on high setting.
Tips for Success
- Cook the onions ahead. Caramelizing the onions does take some time. If you are pressed for time, you can cook the onions the day before and store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- Use frozen chopped onion. To spare your eyes from burning and tearing up while chopping onions, use frozen chopped onion. Measure out about a half cup more than you need of the frozen onion (it will lose volume when it defrosts), and defrost in the microwave at 1/3 power (the #3 setting on your microwave) for a couple of minutes or until defrosted. Pour out the juice that accumulates.
- Buy pre-sliced Swiss cheese. Most Swiss cheese can be purchased as slices to be used in sandwiches. You can also ask your deli to slice it for you.
More Egg Recipes
Love these Swiss baked eggs? There’s more where that came from. Give these delicious egg recipes a try!
- Baked Eggs in Tomato Sauce
- Bacon Egg and Cheese Breakfast Cups
- Breakfast Potato Skins
- Breakfast Pinwheels
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Swiss Baked Eggs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped (about 1-1/2 cup)
- 1/2 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced 12 slices
- 6 large eggs
- salt
- pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp dry white wine like Chardonnay
- chopped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C).Add oil to medium skillet and heat over medium heat. When oil begins to smoke, add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and they have turned a light amber color (about 20 minutes).Remove from heat and set aside.
- Line the bottom of 6 8-oz ramekins with Swiss cheese (2 slices per ramekin). Top each with about 1/4 cup of onion. Crack one egg into each ramekin and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add cream and wine. Beat with a wire whisk until well blended (about 1 minute). Pour mixture around eggs, dividing evenly between ramekins.
- Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake uncovered until eggs are set to your liking using the guide below:runny yolks: 23-25 minutesset yolks: 35-40 minutesRemove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve with buttered sourdough toast for dipping or you can use the egg mixture as a spread.
Nutrition
Further reading: Shirred eggs on Wikipedia
I had some swiss cheese left from another recipe and I was looking for a fairly low carb breakfast casserole and found this. It was so simple to make and so delicious!! I didn’t have wine so I subbed with apple cider vinegar which worked well. Sometimes egg bakes get dry but with the heavy cream and vinegar this had a great moist texture. This will become a regular breakfast/ brunch dish at my house.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Mary!
This looks great but when are the caramelized onions added?
Hi Beth, the onion goes on top of the cheese. I have corrected the recipe. Thank you for catching that!