Avocado Toast with Poached Egg

I resisted avocado toast for a long time. It seemed like the sort of thing you pay too much for in a café, when you could make it at home for a fraction of the price, and I was not wrong — but I was also missing out. The first time I made it properly, with a ripe avocado, good sourdough and an egg poached just right, I understood what all the fuss was about. It is simple, it is beautiful, and it is one of the best breakfasts you can make in ten minutes.

This is my version of avocado toast with a poached egg, the way I make it most mornings. The toast is thick and crunchy, the avocado is seasoned simply, and the egg is poached until the white is set and the yolk runs like sauce over everything. There is no special equipment, no fuss, and nothing you cannot find in an ordinary supermarket. Once you have made it once, you will make it every week.

Watch: Avocado Toast with Poached Egg

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes | Servings: 2 slices

Ingredients

• 2 thick slices of sourdough bread
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 2 large eggs, very fresh
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small tomato, diced (or a few cherry tomatoes, halved)
• A pinch of chilli flakes
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• A small handful of fresh herbs — parsley, chives or coriander

Method

1. Start with the avocado. Cut it in half, take out the stone, and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper, and mash it with a fork until it is mostly smooth, with a few chunks left — a little texture is a good thing.
2. Put a small pan of water on to boil for the eggs. When it is simmering gently, not boiling hard, add the vinegar and stir the water into a swirl. A gentle simmer and a swirl are the two things that keep a poached egg together.
3. Crack an egg into a small cup, then slip it gently into the centre of the swirling water. Do the same with the second egg. Fresh eggs hold together best, because the white is firmer, so use the freshest eggs you have.
4. Poach the eggs for exactly three minutes for a runny yolk, or four if you like it a little firmer. While they cook, put the sourdough in the toaster or under the grill, and toast it until it is golden and crisp at the edges.
5. Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon and set them on a clean tea towel or kitchen paper for a moment, to drain. The toast should be ready by now — crisp outside, soft inside — and that contrast is what makes this breakfast work.
6. Spread the mashed avocado generously over each slice of toast, right to the edges, and season it again with a little salt and pepper. Pile the diced tomato on top, and add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of chilli flakes.
7. Place a poached egg carefully on top of each slice. It should sit proudly on the avocado, and when you cut into it, the yolk should run down over the toast in a golden stream — that is the whole point of this breakfast.
8. Finish with your herbs scattered over the top, a last pinch of chilli and a little more pepper. Eat it straight away, with a knife and fork, while the toast is still warm and the egg is still runny.

Serving and Storage

Serve this toast the moment it is made — the egg, the warm toast and the cool avocado are meant to be eaten together, and it will not wait. It is a breakfast for two, but it is easy to scale up: poach the eggs in batches and keep the toast warm in a low oven while you work. Avocado does not keep well once it is cut and mashed, so make only what you will eat, and save the second half of the avocado with the stone still in it, wrapped tightly, for tomorrow.

Tips

A few things I have learned along the way. Use a ripe avocado — it should give a little when you press it gently — and if yours is hard, leave it on the windowsill for a day or two. Do not skip the vinegar; it helps the egg white set, and you will not taste it. And if poaching eggs makes you nervous, a soft-boiled egg, peeled and halved, is a very good substitute — the yolk still runs, and no one will know the difference.

That is avocado toast with a poached egg, made properly, in ten minutes, and it is worth every bit of the fuss the internet makes about it. Make it this weekend, when you have time to enjoy it, and see if it becomes your breakfast too. If you try it, tell us on our Contact page; we love hearing what home cooks do with the recipes here.