Perfectly Poached Eggs: How to Make & Serve Them Dairy-Free

In the past, unless it was worked into a baked good, I avoided eggs like the plague. I despised their taste and texture. Yet, in just the last few years, they have begun to grow on me a bit. I still have my limitations. In an omelet packed with veggies or poached is just about the only way I like’em. And even then they have to be prepared just right. Luckily, after years of trying broken, watery, or even vinegary eggs, I’ve learned the secrets to perfectly poached eggs.

How to Make Perfectly Poached Eggs

Below are some more tips and FAQs, followed by my quick and easy recipe for perfectly poached eggs!

Dairy-Free Serving Ideas for these Perfectly Poached Eggs

These are some of our favorite savory ways to enjoy perfectly poached eggs in the morning.

Over Sprouted Whole Grain Toast with Salt and Pepper
With Bacon or Homemade Sausage
On Mushroom Patties or Other Veggie Cakes
With Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and/or Parsnips
Atop Spinach (blanched in the egg poaching water) with Smoked Salmon
Atop Dairy-Free Eggs Benedict
On Potato and Pepper Hash

Which Eggs Should You Use?

Really, this is personal preference, but we like organic eggs with omega added best for taste. I was allergic to eggs as a child, and still have tolerance issues sometimes with conventional eggs. I’ve never had tolerance issues with organic eggs, so I stick to them.

But Aren’t Eggs Dairy?

Fortunately, they’re not! Which is great since eggs are a helpful food for people who need gluten-free, are on a paleo diet, follow a keto regimen, or who are simply having trouble finding savory dairy-free breakfast options. For more information, see this post: Are Eggs Dairy?

Special Diet Notes: Perfectly Poached Eggs

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegetarian, paleo, and keto friendly.

Perfectly Poached Eggs

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

This is the easiest, oil-free way to make eggs. See my post above for delicious dairy-free ways to serve them.

Author: Alisa Fleming

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Serves: As many as you like

Ingredients

Eggs (as many as you like)

Instructions

Fill a saucepan about ⅔ full with water and bring it to a boil.
Crack an egg into a bowl. Reduce the heat to medium (you want the water simmering, but not boiling for the best cooked eggs). Give the water in the pot a quick swirl, and gently slide/pour the egg into the simmering water. Repeat with additional eggs. I usually do no more than three eggs at a time.
Allow the eggs to cook for 3 to 5 minutes – 3 if you like the yolk runny, 4 if you like it partially cooked but still a bit runny, 5 or more if you like those eggs solid!
Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, sifting out any excess water, and serve while still hot / warm.

Notes

Vinegar Note: Some recipes recommend adding a splash of vinegar to the boiling water before adding the eggs. This helps the whites to firm up quicker so they don't spread as much. You can certainly do this, but honestly, I can't stand the taste of the eggs when vinegar is used. Even a tiny amount seems to permeate their mild and delicate flavor. I'm also not a fan of firmer egg whites. But you can certainly use this technique.