11 Easy Hacks to Instantly Upgrade Fried Eggs

Justine Lee
Justine LeeRecipe Production Coordinator
Justine Lee is Kitchn's Recipe Production Coordinator and a food writer and recipe developer based in NYC. Her writing frequently appears in Food52, Bon Appetit, Food Network, The Infatuation, among others. She has also been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In her past, Justine has worked in various professional kitchens and food companies. This, along with her Korean-American culinary identity and a lifelong passion for baking, often informs her work. You will find Justine drinking iced coffees year-round, even in a snowstorm with gloves on.
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published Aug 8, 2023
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two sunny side up eggs with chili crisp on a white plate with red concentric circles, garnished with sesame seeds and scallions
Credit: Photo: Lucy Schaeffer; Food Styling: James Park
Chili Crisp Fried Eggs

  

A simple fried egg cooked in melted butter or a neutral oil is a classic for a reason: It adds crispy-edged oomph without interrupting the flavor of whatever’s already on the plate.

While we love a good basic egg for its satisfying familiarity, why not expand your horizons? We now live in a time when there are endless ingredients you can use to fry your eggs to infuse it with different flavors, personality, and crispiness every time. The best part of getting creative with how you make fried eggs? It all hinges on pantry and fridge ingredients you likely already have in the kitchen. From fiery condiment additions to garlic and even crumbly cheese, here are 11 ways to instantly elevate your fried eggs for toast, rice bowls, noodles, and so much more. 

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Chili Crisp Fried Eggs

Savory, crispy, and slightly spicy, these fried eggs are mesmerizing to watch as they cook in the bright-red chili crisp oil. Adding toasted sesame oil brings a subtle, delicious nutty flavor that makes the fried eggs taste incredible.

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Harissa Fried Eggs

Harissa paste, an aromatic North African chile paste blended with peppers, citrus, cumin, coriander, and caraway, takes your fried eggs to an 11.

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Credit: Kitchn
Sesame Fried Eggs

The simple twist of adding sesame oil and sesame seeds to fried eggs stopped us in our tracks.

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Credit: Kitchn
Spicy, Cheesy Buffalo Fried Eggs

Forget dousing your fried egg in hot sauce once it's been cooked — instead, try frying your egg in Buffalo sauce and thank us later. To a hot pan, add a tablespoon or two of Buffalo sauce to make a circular nest. Immediately crack in your eggs, followed by a sprinkling of cheese around the whites.

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Credit: Andrea Kaufman
Feta Fried Eggs

This fried egg hack comes together in about five minutes, and you end up with a reliably quick breakfast that is a nice mixture of crispy, creamy textures and well-balanced salty, spicy flavors. When cooking, stick to the lower end of the heat scale so that you can achieve a proper crisp, rather than unwanted char.

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Credit: Kitchn
Pickle Juice Fried Egg

Adding pickle brine during the cooking process permeates the eggs, seasoning them throughout. The flavor of these eggs is gentle, so you could drizzle a little more onto your eggs right before serving if you want another boost of pickle brine flavor, .

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Credit: Kitchn
Fried Garlic Fried Egg

Cooking fried eggs with thinly sliced garlic is only a tiny bit harder than cooking your run-of-the-mill fried eggs in a neutral cooking fat. If you can concentrate for six minutes while you focus on nothing but garlic and eggs, we recommend you give this one a try.

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Butter-Basted Eggs
Basting an egg in butter results in a set white, a runny yolk, and plenty of delicuous brown butter to serve it with.
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Crispy Fried Eggs with Yogurt, Greens, and Smoked Herb Butter
This twist on Turkish eggs features crispy fried eggs and garlicky wilted kale on a bed of Greek yogurt, all topped with a smoky sage butter sauce.
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Credit: Kitchn
Pesto Eggs

Inspired by the viral TikTok trend, pesto fried eggs deliver herby, cheesy, creamy, spicy, and sweet flavors all in one bite.

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Credit: Kitchn
Spanish Fried Eggs

Instead of using just a little bit of olive oil or butter, these eggs are fried in a very generous amount of olive oil. The result is a fried egg with seriously crispy, lacy edges and a just-set yolk that practically melts in your mouth.

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