How to Make Sunny Side Up Eggs with Less Oil

What better way to celebrate a sunshine life than with sunny side up eggs for breakfast! I know this isn’t the way everyone likes their eggs, and for some people it’s cringe worthy. For many other people, myself included, this is the best way to enjoy morning eggs, it just takes a little bit of technique to get it right.

When I was learning how to make sunny side up eggs I kept running into instructions that required you to put a lot of oil in the skillet so you can spoon it over the eggs to cook the top of them. This is not necessary. You don’t need a lot of oil at all. In fact, I only use a nonstick skillet and a couple of quick sprays of cooking oil. 

How to Make Sunny Side Up Eggs with Less Oil

Here’s the quick instructions for sunny side up eggs.

Heat a nonstick skillet to medium low heat and spray with a couple of bursts of cooking oil. The low cooking temperature is important here. You don’t want a higher heat or you’ll either burn the bottom of your eggs or not cook the top of the egg. Medium low is the key. It took me a few attempts to find my sweet spot temperature on my stove, so don’t get disheartened if they don’t turn out the first time. Give it another try after adjusting the temperature.

Crack your egg into the skillet (or into a bowl first, then pour it into the skillet. Whichever works for you). Go ahead and season your egg how you want. If you want those cute white and yellow eggs that almost look fake don’t add seasoning. It’s that simple. Let the egg cook like this for about one minute.

After one minute cover the egg and you’ll finish cooking this way for about four minutes, give or take pending your heat. I prefer a clear lid so I can monitor the egg while it cooks. Lifting the lid to check the egg will result in a loss of the built up heat that is cooking the top of the egg.

If you cook your egg too long the albumen will turn white over the top of the yellow of the egg. I’ve found that when this happens the yellow cooks solid or almost solid so you lose the runny yolk. In my experience, the whole point of the sunny side up egg is to achieve that classic look with the runny yolk.

That’s it, no more spooning grease over the top of your eggs. Once the white of the egg is cooked it’s time to serve the egg and enjoy.

What’s your favorite way to eat eggs? I’d love to hear your favorites in the comments below.