8 Genius Egg Shortcuts to Make Any Meal Easier and More Delicious

Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, if you have a carton of eggs in the fridge then you have a meal. And it’s a healthy one to boot! You might think you know everything there is to know about the various ways to cook eggs, but we found eight genius ways to make eggs even easier and more delicious. From proper preparation to time-saving tricks and make-ahead recipes, these ideas will take your eggs from ordinary to eggs-traordinary.

1. Crack eggs on a flat surface.

Instead of cracking an egg on the edge of a bowl, crack on the counter or other flat surface. “This will prevent eggshells from landing in your food,” Claudia Sidoti, Head Chef and Recipe Developer at HelloFresh, told Simplemost.

Additionally, crack eggs into a small bowl before adding them to whatever you’re cooking in order to more easily scoop out any misplaced shell.

2. Whip eggs with water.

To make sure your omelet is as light and fluffy as possible, Sidoti recommended adding a bit of water as you beat the eggs. And while you’re at it, don’t overbeat them, either!

3. Cook with nonstick pans.

“Nonstick pans are the ultimate cooking tool when making eggs in order to avoid the egg sticking to the pan,” said Sidoti. If you use other cookware, the eggs are more likely to burn or brown too quickly.

4. Warm up your eggs to room temperature.

Yes, eggs need to be refrigerated long-term. But if you let eggs sit at room temperature before adding them to recipes, they will disperse more evenly into the batter. According to Sidoti, the batter will also cook more evenly, which leads to a lighter texture in cakes.

5. Bake your hard-boiled eggs instead of boiling them.

If you’re feeding a crowd, or planning ahead for the week, it’s easier to prep hard-boiled eggs by baking them in the oven. Zested Lemon shared her fool-proof technique for making batches of hard-boiled eggs in a cupcake or individual brownie pan.

6. Great creative with your omelets by cooking them in bread.

Why make toast and eggs separately when you can bake them together in one delicious dish? This recipe for Baked Egg Boats from Spoon Fork Bacon is a perfect way to switch up how you usually eat eggs. The finished product is like an omelet tucked into crunchy bread.

7. Or use veggies as your vessel!

This quick recipe from Brooklyn Supper packs a balanced meal into an adorable fresh tomato. It’s equally delicious as an afternoon snack or a breakfast side dish.

For another tasty recipe, try baking your eggs in acorn squash.

8. Make the world’s easiest pancake recipe.

If you have one egg and one banana, then you have a recipe for pancakes. Yes, seriously. There are many variations on this simple theme — some add a little flour, protein powder, or other ingredients — but this basic recipe from Gimme Delicious is hard to beat.

Time to get cracking!