Oh perfect poached egg. No swirling in vinegar water. No standing over the stove worrying about over cooking. And no wispy whites floating in the water. Sous vide poached eggs are simply little miracles, every time. Top them with an easy sous vide hollandaise – yum!

With a few tips and tricks, you’re good to go. We’ve done all the research to make you a pro. And tested a LOT of eggs.

Why sous vide eggs? What to expect

The pros

• Once you figure out the timing for your perfect sous vide egg based on your personal taste, you will get a perfect result – 100% consistent every time.
• All the cooking time is hands-off. And there is no vinegar taste that you sometimes get with the traditional poached egg method.
• There is no frustrating shell peeling required. The poached egg slips right out of the shell, yolk and egg intact. We all know eggs have a mind of their own. I’ve tried many peeling tricks for regular eggs. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.
• You can make sous vide poached eggs for a crowd – up to 16 at once – according to America’s Test Kitchen. That would be a difficult feat with traditional poached eggs.
• Make these eggs up to 5 days ahead and keep them in the fridge. We have several options for reheating.
• You can make a very easy, silky smooth sous vide hollandaise in a minute with one of the sous vide eggs you are cooking. Instructions are in the recipe.

The cons

• Unlike many other sous vide recipes where an extra hour of cooking might not matter, the timing for the eggs is quite precise IF using the quick method. You have to pay attention. If you want a more forgiving method, use the slower, higher temp method.
• A small amount of white will remain stuck in the shell when you turn out the egg. So less white on your egg. Not a big deal for me. The whites may be a little less firm that you’re used to.

Temperature and Timing

Here’s the thing. You will have to experiment to determine the time and temperature for your perfect sous vide poached egg. The two most popular times and temps are as follows. They both have pros and cons.

Tips for perfect sous vide poached eggs

1. Start with fresh eggs, cold out of the fridge. Several experts say starting with cold eggs is best, but I’ve tried room temperature eggs and they work fine too.
2. Make sure there are no cracks in the eggs. And use a (slotted) spoon to lower eggs gently into the water to avoid cracks.
3. DO A TEST to determine the perfect doneness for your poached egg. It’s worth the extra 15 minutes the first time you try sous vide poached eggs.
4. Set a timer if you’re doing a 13 minute egg. (Don’t use the timer on your immersion circulator – it won’t be accurate for this purpose.)
5. Once cooked, place eggs into a bowl of ice water for 60 seconds to allow for easy handling and to tighten up the whites. Even 30 seconds should be ok.
6. To crack the eggs open, tap firmly on the counter (not the side of a bowl), then separate the broken part of the shell with your two thumbs, letting the egg slip out into a bowl
7. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the egg to your toast, English muffin halves or other food. This will allow any loose white to remain in the bowl. Or use a soup spoon and let the loose white part fall way when you lift the egg.

How to make poached eggs sous vide (with hollandaise)

How to use sous vide poached eggs

• on toast or English muffins. Try our homemade English muffins (easy step by step)
• in classic eggs benedict with an English muffin topped with a slice of Canadian bacon (or smoked salmon or spinach), the poached egg and drizzled with hollandaise
• straight out of a bowl with dipping toast
• on avocado toast
• in shakshuka
• as a topping for an Asian noodle bowl like our dynamite noodle bowl recipe
• over a vegetarian sweet potato hash
• over Chinese vegetable fried rice

Make Ahead

• To make the eggs up to 5 days in advance, cool the eggs in their shells in an ice bath for 5 minutes, then place them in the fridge in an airtight container.
• To reheat an egg:
  1. Option 1: Microwave a cup of water for 1 minute, add the egg to the hot water and let it sit there for 12-15 minutes while you make coffee, toast, etc.
  2. Option 2: Simmer water in a small sauce pan on the stove. Add the egg for 60 seconds.
  3. Option 3: Heat sous vide water bath to 140F/60C. Lower egg into water and warm for 15 minutes, up to 60 minutes.
• Hollandaise can be made up to 2 days ahead. See reheating instructions in the recipe notes.

Love sous vide cooking?

Then try our best sous vide recipes (with tips on sous vide cooking)

Other delicious breakfast ideas to check out

• apple French toast casserole
• baked French toast casserole (sinful!)
• Montreal bagel recipe
• lemon blueberry pancakes
• super moist banana bread (no mixer needed)
• ricotta pancake recipe with caramelized bananas
• pumpkin spice pancakes
• make ahead breakfast burritos with caramelized onions
• easy potato skillet breakfast with ham
• Dutch pancake recipe (also called German pancake)
• Instant pot oatmeal recipe (with rolled or steel oats)

Or check out our full list of vegetarian brunch recipes for Mother’s Day.