How to Fry Perfect Eggs (4 Ways)

The perfection of a fried egg can’t be overstated. Whether you’re sliding it into a breakfast sandwich with cheese and your favorite sauce (make mine red pepper relish!), eating it alongside home fries and bacon, or using it to top a grain bowl, its versatility makes it an all-around winner.

Frying an egg is a simple method that only requires a good skillet and a little bit of fat in the pan. I prefer a cast iron skillet for its natural nonstick properties and its excellent heat retention.

There are four different levels of egg frying, each working their way up in levels of yolk doneness from runny yolk to fully cooked. It’s simply a question of how long you want to cook it.

As with all stoves and kitchen equipment, the timing will vary slightly based on what you own. Use these instructions as general guidelines — and the more often you fry eggs, the better you’ll get at knowing the exact moment when your eggs are good to go.

Here’s how to fry eggs just how you and everyone else in your house likes them. Play short-order cook this weekend with your new skills.

It depends on how you like your eggs! You can cook eggs in melted salted or unsalted butter. Using butter will make for a well-cooked and flavorful fried egg. The same could be said, however, about using olive oil to fry your eggs. In fact, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has a favorite technique for frying eggs in olive oil in a wok. Additionally, you can use avocado oil or coconut oil.

Each of the types of fried eggs we outline below starts the same way: Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-low to low heat. Add 2 teaspoons butter or oil per egg and swirl until completely melted or shimmering.

Add the egg into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the white is mostly set up to the edges of the yolk.

A sunny-side-up egg is cooked without flipping, so the sunny yolk stays up. Sunny-side-up eggs are usually preferred by people who like a super-runny egg yolk, perfect for dipping buttered toast, sopping with a buttermilk biscuit, or placing on top of a bowl of carbonara-inspired spaghetti. The use of steam and a lid is also an important part of the cooking process when making a sunny-side-up egg.

To make a sunny-side-up egg, heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-low to low heat. Add 2 teaspoons butter or oil per egg and swirl until completely melted or shimmering.

Add the egg into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the white is mostly set up to the edges of the yolk.

Once the white is mostly set, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 20 to 30 seconds longer, just until the white is set but the yolk is still runny.

You can peek after 15 seconds to see if it’s to your liking — I prefer a fully set white, but you can decide when it’s cooked enough for you. Plate and serve!

An over-easy egg is exactly what it sounds like: The egg is cooked directly in the skillet with the yolk facing upwards. After a few minutes, the egg is very gently flipped over without breaking the yolk – the trickiest part of making an over-easy egg. After being flipped, the egg is cooked very briefly. The egg whites are fully set, with the yolk only slightly cooked and still runny.

To make an over-easy egg, heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-low to low heat. Add 2 teaspoons butter or oil per egg and swirl until completely melted or shimmering.

Add the egg into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the white is mostly set up to the edges of the yolk.

Flip the egg with a fish spatula or other thin metal spatula, then cook for 30 seconds more.

Cook just long enough to set the white and the yolk touching the hot pan, but leave it runny in the middle. Plate and serve!

An over-medium egg is a step above an over-easy egg, in terms of doneness. Over-medium eggs are gently flipped after a couple minutes of cooking in a skillet and then fried for a few minutes longer. An over-medium egg has fully set whites with a yolk that is partially set around the edges and slightly runny or unset.

To make an over-medium egg, heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-low to low heat. Add 2 teaspoons butter or oil per egg and swirl until completely melted or shimmering.

Add the egg into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the white is mostly set up to the edges of the yolk.

Flip the egg with a fish spatula or other thin metal spatula, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.

Cook until the yolk is set around the edges with a bit of runniness still at the center. Plate and serve!

Over-hard eggs are cooked the longest, a couple minutes longer than an over-medium egg after being flipped. Both the whites and the yolk are fully cooked and set.

To make an over-hard egg, heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-low to low heat. Add 2 teaspoons butter or oil per egg and swirl until completely melted or shimmering.

Add the egg into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the white is mostly set up to the edges of the yolk.

Flip the egg with a fish spatula or other thin metal spatula, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until the yolk is completely cooked through.

Plate and serve!