Tender and juicy steak pan seared and served with perfectly fried sunny-side-up eggs is a hearty breakfast, brunch, or brinner. Done in less than 20 minutes, with a delicious fresh herb sauce? This simple and delicious breakfast just can't be beat.
Love a good steak? Us too. If you've never had a smoked prime rib roast, it's the ultimate holiday main! Or try a reverse seared ribeye for a fancy date night! If you are a complete beginner and really want to impress your boo, this sous vide tomahawk steak is foolproof.
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Jump to:
- Level Up Classic Diner Style Steak and Eggs!
- Why is steak and eggs a thing?
- Ingredients Needed
- What is the best cut of steak for steak and eggs?
- How to Make Steak and Eggs for Breakfast
- Serving Suggestions + Variations
- Pro Tips
- Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Equipment
- FAQs
- More Breakfast Recipes
- Breakfast Steak and Eggs Recipe
Level Up Classic Diner Style Steak and Eggs!
One of my dear internet friends has six kids (yes, six!) and is always asking about recipes for busy families. And for me, nothing makes a busy day easier than having breakfast for dinner.
Forget the cereal, we can obviously do better than that and we don't even have to break the bank. After all, a tender steak and fried eggs is a hearty meal that's fabulous for any occasion, even if that occasion is feeding your flock on a supremely busy night. No fuss, minimal prep, loads of flavor!
This recipe takes at most fifteen minutes to cook and twenty minutes total, and that's if you're using a thick cut steak. We sear the steak until beautiful and medium-rare (or whatever you prefer!) then as the steak rests, we make a perfectly fried egg with ideal runny yolk goodness.
And if you're like me, you're making a punchy herb sauce to drizzle over top with a few dashes of smoky chipotle hot sauce. Ugh, I made myself hungry thinking about it!
Why is steak and eggs a thing?
Steak and eggs is a part of American diner culture, but it's origins actually come from Australia. Steak and eggs has been considered a beloved national dish in Australia since the 19th century, and was brought to the United States by Marines during WW2.
It became a popular dish because of the American economic boom of the 1950's, as a byproduct of marketing to enjoy more animal protein for a then-often malnourished public after the war.
Ingredients Needed
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- A tender, quick cooking steak - not too thick or thin, but more on the steak down below in the What is the best cut of steak section.
- 2-3 fresh eggs - we are making these eggs runny and sunny side up, so we want them fresh!
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Garlic Herb Sauce - this is loosely based on chimichurri sauce, which is my favorite sauce on just about anything. Instead of all the herbs we just used parsley, some red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, red chili flakes, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper. Blitz it all up in the food processor, though it'll be fine if you finely mince it up with a knife too, and let it sit while you make the steak.
- Some high heat oil - fat for the pan is so important when you're cooking steak, so use a good quality high heat oil like avocado oil, grapeseed, or canola oil.
What is the best cut of steak for steak and eggs?
When you're having a classic steak and eggs dish, the steak in question is usually a thin t-bone steak. That's the diner-style way: quick to cook so it's done with the eggs.
But when we're making it at home, you can choose your cut. You want a tender cut of steak that cooks quickly like a New York Strip steak as I did here, a juicy Ribeye Steak, even a little Filet Mignon.
But those are the $$$ cuts, right? So other more affordable options are a hanger steak, a small skirt steak, or flank steak. Talking about around one pound of it, they're going to be much more affordable than a more premium cut, but are still able to become deliciously tender as well, especially when you cut them correctly against the grain!
How to Make Steak and Eggs for Breakfast
Step 1 | Make the Herb Sauce in your food processor. Low blend everything together until the garlic and shallot are well minced with the herbs and oil.
Step 2 | Season steak with salt and black pepper and cook the steak. Heat up a large cast iron skillet or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat with the oil. Once you see wisps of smoke, carefully place your seasoned steak into the pan away from you. You really want to get both sides golden brown and delicious (don't forget the sides of the steak!).
Sear for about 4 minutes on each side, for a total of 8 minutes for medium rare, 10 minutes for medium. Remove the steak from the pan and let rest for about 5 minutes.
Step 3 | Cook the eggs. While the steaks are cooking, get a nonstick skillet and make a decision: are you going to drizzle oil into the pan? Fry the eggs in butter? Or will you venture with me to fry them in the herb sauce? It's really, really good, y'all.
Either way, get your fat in the pan on medium heat, carefully crack the eggs into the hot skillet, cover the skillet with a fitted lid and cook the eggs for 3 minutes or until the egg whites are set and not liquidy, but the yolks are nice and runny.
Step 4 | Slice the steak and serve with the eggs, some toasted bread, and the herb sauce. If you're using a flank, skirt, or bavette steak: cut against the grain (perpendicular to the lines on the steak).
Serving Suggestions + Variations
- Scrambled eggs instead of sunny side up eggs! Add in some cheddar and cook low and slow for the best cheesy eggs.
- Season the steak in umami seasoning for even more of an impact!
- Make hash browns to go along with your breakfast, just like at a diner!
- Caramelized onions are so, so good with this. Top the steak with some caramelized onions on crusty bread with the oozy egg? OMG, yummmm.
- Forego the herb sauce for salsa verde or avocado crema!
Pro Tips
- Use paper towels to pat the steak dry before you season with salt and pepper. A dry steak will gain better color while a wet steak will steam.
- A bone in steak (like bone-in ribeye or porterhouse) will take longer to cook. I suggest using a meat thermometer to cook the steak to your desired temperature.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Keep leftover steak in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and rewarm the steak in a microwave (fast but will overcook) or in the oven (slow and less likely to overcook).
Fried eggs aren't exactly great as leftovers, unless you have scrambled them. I suggest frying them up fresh, it only takes a couple of minutes!
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Food Processor - for whipping up the herb sauce.
- Stainless steel or cast iron skillet
- Tongs - for flipping the steak, always use tongs for the most control. I've seen many people burn their hands using spatulas instead of tongs.
- Nonstick skillet - this is the best thing for making eggs. Never have to worry about them sticking to the bottom.
- Fish spatula - this is the best spatula type to ever spatula. Use it for lifting up your eggs, just be careful not to scrape the nonstick coating or get a silicone coated spatula.
FAQs
A tender, quick cooking steak is best for steak and eggs since it's originally a breakfast meal. Premium cuts like NY strip, ribeye, and filet mignon work but more affordable cuts like skirt steak, hanger steak, and bavette are great, too.
More Breakfast Recipes
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Breakfast Steak and Eggs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Herb Sauce
- ½ cup parsley, fresh
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- ¼ small shallot
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Steak and Eggs
- 2 2 inch thick New York strip steaks, patted dry
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, or other high heat oil
- 2 tablespoon butter, or use the herb sauce
- 4 large eggs
- crusty bread, toasted
Instructions
Make the Herb Sauce
- Place the parsley, red pepper flakes, shallot, garlic, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to break down the herbs, garlic, and shallot a little, then add the olive oil. Run the food processor on low until the garlic and shallot are finely minced. It should look like a broken sauce. Pour into a bowl and set aside.½ cup parsley, ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 pinch red pepper flakes, ¼ small shallot, 4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Cook the Steak
- Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan with grapeseed oil over medium high heat until oil is shimmering (extremely hot). Making sure steaks are patted dry, season both sides of each steak generously with salt and pepper. Sear on each side for about 4-5 minutes, or until preferred temperature. See Notes for temperatures.2 2 inch thick New York strip steaks, kosher salt and black pepper, 1 tablespoon canola oil
- Transfer to a cutting board to rest for at least 5-10 minutes.
Sunny Side Up Eggs
- While the steak is resting, melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan so the butter is well distributed across the pan. *This is the same if you're using the herb sauce instead.2 tablespoon butter
- Crack the eggs separately into bowls before placing into the pan, and season lightly with salt once all eggs are in the pan, no more than about ½ tsp.4 large eggs
- Cook over medium heat until the whites are just set and the yolks are still very runny, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer the eggs to a plate and season with pepper and more salt if needed.
Serve
- Serve steak and eggs together immediately, two eggs per steak. Drizzle the herb sauce over the steak and eggs. Serve with toasted crusty bread.crusty bread
Recipe Notes
Temperatures to check for:
Medium-rare: 130°-135°, Medium: 135°-145°, Medium-well:145-155°Pro Tips
- Use paper towels to pat the steak dry before you season with salt and pepper. A dry steak will gain better color while a wet steak will steam.
- A bone in steak (like bone-in ribeye or porterhouse) will take longer to cook. I suggest using a meat thermometer to cook the steak to your desired temperature.
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