Air fryer poached eggs are a new amazing way to cook poached eggs without babysitting the stove or boiling a giant pot of water. I love how they are quick and easy to make plus, there’s no messy water to clean up.
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I adore eggs in any shape or form. They are my favorite breakfast food. I love that I can cook the poached eggs in the air fryer to my preferred level of doneness and that they never make a mess. I simply crack the eggs into 4-oz. ramekins coated in cooking spray and filled with hot water and place them in the air fryer. And let it cook for 5-6 minutes until the yolk is still runny but the white is set. Not only is this method easy, but it also produces a beautifully round poached egg that’s perfect for topping Avocado Toast, breakfast bowls, or just enjoying it on its own.
The ramekins help to keep the eggs from moving around as they cook, and they also make it easy to remove the cooked eggs from the air fryer. More of my favorite egg dishes in the air fryer are Air fryer Fried Eggs, Fluffy Egg Bites, and Egg in a Puff Pastry.
How to Make Poached Eggs in an Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- Oil spray. I use Ghee Butter.
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 6 Tablespoons hot water
- Toast (optional)
Directions
To make air fryer poached eggs, simply crack an egg in an air fryer-safe dish, greased with oil, and filled with hot water. (Pictures 2,3 and 4 above). I’m using ramekins. And cook it at 350 °F (177 °C) for 5 to 7 minutes. The timing will depend on the preferred doneness of the yolk. Please see the poached egg cooking times below.
Once cooked, remove the ramekins from the air fryer. Then, using a rubber spatula or spoon, gently pry the eggs out of the ramekins (Image 5). If the eggs are stuck, you can try running a knife around the edge of the ramekins. Once the eggs are loose, transfer them gently to a plate or a prepared toast. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and enjoy!
How to safely remove ramekins from the air fryer: To remove ramekins from the air fryer, please exercise caution, as the ramekins are hot. I use a potholder or oven mitt to carefully lift them out. If the ramekins are too hot to touch, use tongs or a spatula to gently lift the ramekins and transfer them to a cooling rack. However, you want to release the poached eggs as quickly and carefully as possible from the ramekin. Or else the egg still cooks while it sits inside the ramekin.
The result is a perfectly round and gorgeous poached egg. It has a firm white and a creamy yolk, with a light and fluffy texture. I love that is protein-rich and free of unhealthy fats.
Air Fryer Poached Eggs FAQ’s
How many poached eggs can I cook in the Air Fryer at once?
You can cook multiple poached eggs in an Air Fryer at the same time, making it a quick and easy way to feed a large family or group of friends. Please check how many ramekins your air fryer basket or tray can fit. My Ninja 6-in-1 can comfortably fit 6 ramekins, so it can cook 6 poached eggs at once.
Tip: You don’t need to increase the time or temperature when cooking more than 2 poached eggs in the air fryer.
Do I need to add hot water to ramekins before cooking poached eggs?
Yes! I add 3 tablespoons of hot water to the ramekin. I’m using freshly boiled water. This helps to cook the whites more quickly, resulting in a softer yolk. The times when I didn’t add water to ramekins, it felt that the whites had a more crispy crust around them and it took a bit longer to cook the egg by itself. If you choose not to add hot water, be sure to keep an eye on the eggs while they’re cooking so they don’t overcook.
What other oven-safe dishes besides ramekins can I use in the air fryer?
Small ceramic or glass baking dishes are perfect for individual servings of poached eggs, casseroles, gratins, and other baked dishes. Souffle dishes can also be used to bake individual portions of cakes, pies, and other desserts. Just be sure these dishes are oven-safe up to 450 °F (230 °C).
If you don’t have any small dishes on hand, you can always use muffin tins or even reusable silicone baking cups. They are perfect not only for poached eggs but to make small-sized portions of your favorite recipes.
Do I need to add vinegar to poached eggs?
It depends on personal preferences. Some people find that adding vinegar to the water helps to keep the eggs from dispersing and results in a neater final product. Others find that it gives the eggs an unpleasant flavor. Ultimately, it is up to the cook to decide whether or not to add vinegar to the poaching water. I personally do not add vinegar, I only grease the ramekins with oil and add a little hot water.
Air Fryer Poached Eggs Cooking Times
Preheat the air fryer to 350 °F (177 °C).
- Runny yolk: Soft but cooked whites: 5 minutes
- Medium-runny yolk, nicely cooked whites: 6-7 minutes
- Firmer but still soft yolk: 7-8 minutes
- Hard yolk and fully cooked whites: 8-10 minutes
Remember, all air fryers may cook differently. Please don’t give up on the first try, experiment and see what works best for you. I used my Cuisinart Air Fryer oven and Ninja XL Air fryer grill and they both cooked poached eggs in 5 minutes to my liking of medium-runny yolk. Other air fryers like Fabuletta may take 8-10 minutes. But it does produce gorgeous, not cloudy yellow yolks though. See Jo-Ann’s video of making her beautiful poached eggs in action in the Fabuletta air fryer.
Serving
Serve with your favorite toppings, such as avocado, bacon, or toast.
For a light and healthy option, try air fryer asparagus and serving them on the side. This can be a great way to get your veggies in.
For a heartier, try your poached eggs on top of roasted potatoes or Air fryer Peppers & Mushrooms. Game changer!
More Air Fryer Egg Recipes
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Air Fryer Poached Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- Oil spray
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 6 Tablespoons hot water boiled water, to be exact
- Toast optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 °F (177 °C) for 3 minutes (air fry/air crisp setting)
- When the “ready” timer beeps, spritz some oil into each ramekin and rub the oil with your finger around the edges. You can use the food brush instead.Pour 3-4 tablespoons of hot waterGently crack an egg into each ramekinPlace ramekins directly in the air fryer basket/tray.
- Cook for 5-7 minutes. The timing will depend on the preferred doneness of the yolk. Please refer to the poached eggs cooking chart below.
- Once cooked, remove the ramekins from the air fryer. Then, using a rubber spatula, gently pry the eggs out of the ramekins. If the eggs are stuck, you can try running a knife around the edge of the ramekins.
- Once the eggs are loose, transfer them gently to a plate, or put them on prepared toast. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and enjoy!
Notes
- Runny yolk: Soft but cooked whites 5 minutes
- Medium-runny yolk, nicely cooked whites: 6-7 minutes
- Firmer but still soft yolk: 7-8 minutes
- Hard yolk and fully cooked whites: 8-10 minutes
I am only leaning how to use my air fryer and this is really helpful
Yay! Glad this is helpful. Any questions – please ask away!
CAN I do brazing steak in just the drawers
Iam very glad to learn more air fyer recipes, very happy to join with Daily Yum
Where do you add the water? How much?
your method of poached eggs in air fryer worked amazing. Thank you for the recipe
My air fryers lowest temp is 400
Do you think that would work? Shorter time?
Yes, it could work. But definitely a shorter time. Try 4 minutes and see how it comes out. If the yolk is not done yet, increase by 1 minute.
Thank you love your recipes they are so helpful
On my way to pick up my Ninja (2 drawer) air fryer today. I’m so glad you’re here for recipes. 🙂 Thank you.
Welcome! Congrats on your new Ninja 2-drawer
Can I cook the poached egg by putting a ramekin which has been brushed with oil into another dish with hot water and then let it cook in the Airfryer like in a double boiler ? This will prevent the egg from becoming watery
Didnt work, 17 minutes later and still not cooked. Stuck to ramekin. Easier with a pan of boiling water and so much quicker, plus more control of how cooked your eggs are.
Steven – I am up to 11 minutes at 180C and will try 12 mins next time.
Philips air fryer + ramekin.. I will add the vinegar next time for better whites. By the way would not cook in a glass bowl. Ramekins are essential.
I’m currently in my fourth 5 min stunt and eggs still not cooked. I’m using a Lakeland twin drawer 1700 kW AF. Help
Please Make sure it is preheated. Also make sure you add eggs to hot water (boiled) then follow the directions.
And as they are cooking the top of the yolk is going hard but white still not cooked. Could my ramekin be too large – only ones I have.
I use 4-oz ramekins. It is optimal size. Make sure the egg is fully covered in water
Ah, maybe not enough water?? Should there be water in the top to drain off at the end of cooking?
When done cooking, you simply free the egg and gently lift it out from the ramekin
Turned out great – Ninja Foodi Deluxe took longer plus our eggs are local and huge and because they are fresh from the chickens they are not all the same size/shape. 🙂
Yummy! Glad you made it work.
I have a Gowiseusa air fry oven with no bottom basket but racks inside, bottom, middle and top. Which position rack should I use. I find I run into this question with alot of recipes. thank you!!!
I have Cuisinart Air fryer oven, which also has 2 position middle and bottom. I cook 99% of all my foods in the middle rack.
You cannot cook poached eggs in an air fryer. This does not work.
This doesn’t make sense to me. The whole point of an air fryer is that it’s meant to use less energy and be healthier.
We add oil – yes to stop the egg sticking to the ramekin but I don’t need to do that when I use a pan. So these don’t work from a healthiness perspective.
You’re pre-heating for 3 minutes, cooking for 6 minutes and using boiled/hot water (presumably from a kettle). Poached eggs in a pan are quicker. Energy use of electric hob vs air fryer is typically lower with a hob between 750W and 1.5kW vs Air Fryer 800W to 1.8kW.
No brainer – just poach them in the pan
I adjusted the quantities to suit 1 egg. Maybe this is where it all went wrong. The yolk cooked hard and the white became a slurry with the water. After 8 minutes, I took out the yolk and put my piece of toast (which had by now gone cold and hard) into the egg slurry and cooked again for 2 minutes. The final result was an edible eggy bread. Quite nice but not what I had intended to have for breakfast.
Excellent, perfectly cooked, first time!
Perfection! Thanks for your feedback
Didn’t work, followed instructions as is and I am currently adding more time as they were no where near done in the 6 minutes at 350.
Didn’t work very well, the timings were well out (the white wasn’t even white after the suggested cook time) and when they did eventually cook they were not very. Will stick to poaching eggs in a pan moving forwards.
My experience exactly
While I haven’t tried your recipe yet, I am so looking forward to tomorrow morning to try it. My question is…Since I live alone, I have a Vortex Mini and use it quite often..usually successfully. Is there any adjustment to your receipe I need. I will follow up once I try the poached eggs.
Hi Ellen. You are good to go with poached eggs in your Vortex mini. Be sure to preheat it and follow the rest of directions. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Good luck
Yolk cooked completely and the whites un cooked. Fail.
I gave my 2 eggs 5 minutes on 180 degrees and one had a lovely runny yoke and the other one was a bit firmer, but will definitely make again. Thank you 🙂
Sorry, meant yolk (auto correct is annoying sometimes 😉 )
Followed instructions exactly, eggs are barely cooked, basically raw. Double the timing, AT LEAST.
Thanks for the feedback! Air fryer models can vary quite a bit, so cook time sometimes needs adjusting. I recommend adding a couple more minutes and checking for doneness until it’s just right for your preference.