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This avocado toast with poached egg recipe is perfect for any weekend brunch or weekday breakfast with lemon zest, smoked paprika, and perfectly poached eggs. One of my favorite dishes in the morning.
I'm not really a morning person but I also kinda am. Like I love to wake up early so I can have my peace and quiet and get my day started on a good foot, but when I wake up I don't want to get out of bed for like...ever.
But I have to, and that means I have to make myself breakfast which is usually a cup of my favorite tea and something easy like an avocado toast with a poached egg. It's basically a whole meal: carbs, healthy fats, and protein. Luckily it's super fast and easy to make and that means I can groggily make myself a healthy little breakfast in ten minutes while I get my morning routine going.
How to Poach an Egg
I learned how to poach an egg in culinary school, and I was really surprised at how easy it was to make. I know a lot of people are terrified of poaching eggs because of three things: the timing, the weird little swirly-vinegar-tornado technique, and those messy wispy egg whites messing up the entire pot.
Every fret you have about poaching eggs can be solved with two tools: a timer and a small fine mesh sieve.
Strain the albumin
Strain the egg through the fine-mesh sieve, and yes it has to be a small one as the large ones have bigger mesh and can mess up your egg.
What you're doing is straining the watery egg white that causes all that problematic wispiness while keeping the firm white and yolk in the strainer untouched.
Now that you got rid of that watery, stringy mess you don't need to do that vinegar-swirly-swirl-tornado, that's to wrap the wispy white around the yolk instead of floating around in the water.
Timer on 2:45
Next is the exact timing. I was eating at a brunch place (a chain that is supposedly all about eggs) and the cook could not make a poached egg to save their life. One egg was basically hard-boiled and the other's whites weren't set yet. The problem? They obviously didn't use a timer!
I put a saucepan of water on a lively simmer, maybe just above medium, but never at a boil! I think when you see those columns of small bubbles rising you're at the perfect temperature to start poaching. Put the timer on for two minutes and 45 seconds, which gives you perfectly poached eggs with a beautifully runny yolk.
Just strain and place the egg gently into the simmering water, pull it out with an Asian spider spoon or slotted spoon, and place onto a paper towel-lined plate.
Other Toppings for Avocado Toast
A simple avocado toast with an egg, sprinkled with a little spice and lemon zest is a full meal but don't let that fool you into thinking you can't add on other delicious toppings. Here are a few of my favorite add ons:
- Feta Cheese
- Prosciutto
- Smoked Salmon
- Lox
- Shavings of parmesan cheese
- Chimichurri Sauce
- Strips of Bacon
- Hot sauce or sriracha
- Greens like baby spinach, arugula, etc.
- Slices of fresh tomato
- Caprese style with slices of fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato
- Sprinkle on some Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Or make it a California Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg!
Looking for more breakfast dishes? Check out:
Recommended Tools
- Small mesh sieve for straining the watery egg whites
- An Asian spider spoon or slotted spoon for retrieving the poached egg
- A medium-sized saucepan for simmering
- A microplane for grating lemon zest
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Avocado Toast with Poached Toast
Avocado toast with lemon zest, spiced with smoked paprika and topped with an easy, creamy poached egg.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe Hass avocado
- 2 slices of preferred bread, I use Italian or Sourdough
- Zest of ½ lemon
- Juice of half lemon
- 2 large, fresh eggs
- Kosher Salt, Freshly Cracked Pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder, optional
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan filled with at least 3 inches of water to a gentle simmer over medium-low to medium heat. The water should only have gentle bubble columns in the water throughout the cooking time, don't let it come to a boil.
- Crack one egg into the small mesh sieve to drain any watery egg white from the firm yolk and whites then place it into a small bowl. Repeat with the other egg, placing it into a separate bowl, then gently pour the eggs into the simmering pot of water one at a time. Set a timer to 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
- Toast your bread, and slice your avocado. When the bread is done, plate them and place avocado slices as you like on the bread. Drizzle with lemon juice and lemon zest, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste as avocado can be bland without seasoning.
- Pull poached eggs out of the water once time is up with an Asian spider or slotted spoon, and let them rest on a paper towel for a minute to absorb the water on them.
- Place them on top of the avocado slices, one egg per toast, and season with garlic powder and paprika on the avocado and eggs.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 786mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 8gSugar: 19gProtein: 15g
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.
"The actual audacity"! LOL. This avocado toast looks awesome! Def $22 worthy though I suppose I'd prefer to recreate it at home for less than that like you did 🙂 🙂
Thank you! I've read articles from restaurants that serve avo toast and they say the high price is from ingredient imports, labor to make it, and utilities. I think I'll stick to making it at home lol.
One of my favourites! 🙂
Mine, too! Thanks for your comment
One of my favourites! 🙂
Mine, too! Thanks for your comment