Baked egg boats are our brainchild from almost a decade ago and has been duplicated by many ever since! We originally posted this recipe for Baked Egg Boats way back in 2012 and it’s been by far our most popular and most made recipe! We love this recipe so much because it results in a truly delicious, eggy breakfast dish!
This breakfast recipe can be scaled up to feed a larger crowd and is also very portable with endless variations and possibilities! We think it’s the perfect, handheld breakfast!
What are Baked Egg Boats?
It’s basically a quiche that uses a hollowed out demi baguette as its base instead of a buttery pie crust. The egg filling is poured into the hollowed out baguette and baked until the eggs have set and the baguette is toasted. We like to think of this as a simplified quiche that is also very portable.
How to Make Baked Egg Boats
Ingredients
Process
- Preheat oven.
- Cut a deep “V” through the tops of each baguette until about a ½ inch to the bottom and remove cut top. Un-stuff demi baguettes as much as possible, while keeping the shell of the baguettes intact. It’s very important not to puncture through the crust while slicing the tops off and while un-stuffing. Set hollowed baguettes aside and discard the tops and removed stuffing.
- Sprinkle some shredded cheese into the bottom of each hollowed baguette.
- Add eggs, cream, cheese, pancetta and green onions to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Whisk together.
- Place baguettes onto a baking sheet and fill each with half the egg mixture. (the egg and cream will pour out faster than the filling “bits” so it’s best to switch off pouring into each baguette to ensure each one get equal parts of everything in the egg mixture)
- Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for 35 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, puffed and eggs have set.
- Remove baked egg boats from oven and cool for about 5 minutes.
- Cut each baguette into pieces and serve.
Tools You Will Need
Make Ahead and Freezing Baked Egg Boats
Make Ahead
Our baked egg boats can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Bake egg boats as per recipe instructions. Cool, then tightly wrap in foil and store in the refrigerator.
To reheat in oven, place foil wrapped egg boat into a 325ËšF preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until egg boat is heated through. Remove from oven, carefully unwrap from foil, slice and serve.
To reheat in microwave, unwrap egg boat from foil and wrap completely in a slightly damp paper towel. Heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes (depending on strength of microwave). Remove from microwave, carefully unwrap, slice, and serve.
Freezing
Our baked egg boats can be made up to 2 months ahead of time. Bake egg boats as per recipe instructions. Cool, then tightly wrap in foil, place into a resealable freezer bag and store in the freezer.
To reheat in oven, place foil wrapped egg boat into a 350ËšF preheated oven and bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until egg boat is heated through. Remove from oven, carefully unwrap from foil, slice and serve.
To reheat in microwave, unwrap egg boat from foil and wrap completely in a slightly damp paper towel. Heat for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes (depending on strength of microwave). Remove from microwave, carefully unwrap, slice, and serve.
Tips and Tricks for Baked Egg Boat Success
- Our preference is to use a sourdough baguette because the crust is usually thicker and heartier, which helps to keep the filling from leaking. If using a French baguette, just make sure it has a nice even crust.
- It’s very important not to puncture through the crust while slicing the tops off and un-stuffing to prevent the filling from leaking out
- It’s also important to evenly and thoroughly unstuff the baguette to ensure all the filling fits (you really just want to use the baguette as a ‘crust’ for the egg filling)
- Don’t replace the cream with milk. Milk contains less fat and more water, and will effect the way the eggs set (sometimes it’ll even prevent the eggs from setting at all). If you really don’t want to add the small amount of cream or you don’t have any, you can omit it all together. The texture of the filling will be not quite as creamy, but it will still be delicious.
- Carefully wrap baguette in foil, if filling hasn’t set after 30 minutes (which really shouldn’t be the case!), leaving the top open. This will prevent the baguette from over toasting and becoming hard.
- Save the baguette discards for later use! They can be dried out, blitzed in a food processor and used as homemade breadcrumbs.
Variations
There are TONS of variations that can be made with this recipe! Some of our favorite variations are below!
- sliced and sautéed mushrooms, diced shallots, and spinach
- caramelized onions, diced ham, sliced green onions or chives, and shredded cheese
- spinach, crumbled turkey breakfast sausage, and crumbled goat cheese
- diced and sautéed bell peppers, crumbled feta, and spinach or kale
- sliced chives, minced thyme, minced parsley, and shredded or crumbled cheese
More Breakfast Recipes You Will Love
- Easy Breakfast Casserole
- Twice Baked Breakfast Potatoes
- Shrimp and Grits
- Easy Chilaquiles
- Croque Madame Toast
- Egg McMuffins
- Chorizo and Fried Egg Breakfast Tacos
Baked Egg Boats
INGREDIENTS
- 2 sourdough demi baguettes (each about 12"x 2.5" in size)
- 6 eggs
- â…“ cup heavy cream
- 2 ounces finely diced pancetta
- 4 ounces grated gruyere cheese divided
- 2 thinly sliced green onions
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut a deep “V” through the tops of each baguette until about a ½ inch to the bottom and remove top. Un-stuff demi baguettes as much as possible, while keeping the shell of the baguettes intact. It's very important not to puncture through the crust while slicing the tops off and while un-stuffing. Set hollowed baguettes aside and discard the tops and removed stuffing.
- Sprinkle about tablespoon of shredded cheese into the bottom of each hollowed baguette.
- Whisk together eggs and cream, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Place baguettes onto a baking sheet and fill each with half the egg mixture. (the egg and cream will pour out faster than the filling "bits" so it's best to switch off pouring into each baguette to ensure each one get equal parts of everything in the egg mixture)
- Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for 35 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, puffed and eggs have set.
- Remove baked egg boats from oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Cut each baguette into pieces and serve.
NOTES
- Our preference is to use a sourdough baguette because the crust is usually thicker and heartier, which helps to keep the filling from leaking. If using a French baguette, just make sure it has a nice even crust.
- It’s very important not to puncture through the crust while slicing the tops off and un-stuffing to prevent the filling from leaking out
- It’s also important to evenly and thoroughly unstuff the baguette to ensure all the filling fits (you really just want to use the baguette as a ‘crust’ for the egg filling)
- Don’t replace the cream with milk. Milk contains less fat and more water, and will effect the way the eggs set (sometimes it’ll even prevent the eggs from setting at all). If you really don’t want to add the small amount of cream or you don’t have any, you can omit it all together. The texture of the filling will be not quite as creamy, but it will still be delicious.
- Carefully wrap baguette in foil, if filling hasn’t set after 30 minutes (which really shouldn’t be the case!), leaving the top open. This will prevent the baguette from over toasting and becoming hard.
- Save the baguette discards for later use! They can be dried out, blitzed in a food processor and used as homemade breadcrumbs.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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Debbie
Looks awesome, another variation is to hollow out cibatta bread, fill it with bacon or sausage veggies, potatoes or whatever you want and crack an egg on top and bake, works great for company they can put whatever they want in t bread bowl so to speak
dave m
I tried it and it didn’t cook..hmmmmm So I am glad I gave it a test run…will try it one more time tonight and see what is what. Brunch is Sunday and I thought these would be great…lets keep our fingers spoons and forks crossed…
cheers
dave m
Jenny Park
Hi Dave! Can you explain the issue in a bit more detail? Was the egg mixture just still runny? Or was it something else?
Kat
Could this be made a day ahead and heated before serving?
Helena / Rico sin AzĂşcar
I’m in love with these baguettes!!!!!!!!!!
The most beautiful thing I’ve seen on a loaf of bread, well done!
Sara Fiechter
Is the baguettes baked already? Before you pour the egg mix into it?
Teri Lyn Fisher
Yep! They are pre baked!
AIM Soiree
I’ve got to admit, they do look pretty awesome!
sophistimom
These look absolutely perfect. I’ve been wanting to make these for years, now. Thank you for the inspiration.
Meghan
I plan to make this for a breakfast office party. I have to serve about 30 people how many ‘boats’ do you think I should make in all?
Jenny Park
If it’s for apps I’d say make about 12 to 15, if it’s for a meal everyone should get their own :)
Michelle McGuckin
These look fabulous and easy to make! Thanks for sharing.
kara
AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!
dawn
YUM….Mouth Watering
Constantina
i’m so gonna have this .. veggy style :D:D
Lynn Crain
OMG! I am such a breakfast girl! I can’t wait to make this!!!
Auria
Oh my – are these beautiful or what! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and this is going to make it SO much better. Genius to the max! Thank you!
Lyn
Oh, this looks genius. This would be worth waking up early for.
Connie
Wow! These look and sound amazing! I am going to try to make these on my next day off! Thanks for the recipe.
Hyouten
That looks heavenly. I’m definitely trying that out soon. Thanks for the idea!
sushiqueen
Looks so delicious, and good looking images! Mouth watering :)
Demeter
I’m baking these now! I opted for plain milk, cheddar cheese, and bacon :) I hope they turn out well since I didn’t have the best baguettes to start with. I scoured the internet trying to find this recipe after I saw it one day :P
Katherine
I made these this morning. However I used spinach, fat-free feta, scallions, part skim mozzarella cheese, and egg whites. It was delicious.
lorelie
I need to show this to my mother… Thanks…
Kathleen
To get a much nicer texture on the outside of the bread, rub with olive oil before stuffing with egg mixture. Herbs can also be added to the oil rub. PEOPLE, PLEASE DON’T BE AFRAID OF REALLY GOOD CHEESE.
Auria
I was married to a European dude whose love of stinky cheese did me in on the cheese front. My refrigerator always smelled like feet and with my doggie sense of smell, I was in constant hell. Gruyere tests my limits. I’m working on being open to cheese again, but the emotional toll it’s taken on me is hard to recover from. :o)
maryann
this looks so nice and delicious. I want to make it for my son and his girl when they visit this weekend. They live in Brooklyn, and I live in the country.
I try to make some comfort foods for them when they visit as they don’t cook as much as they would like
thanks for the recipe love it
Bibi
This is absolutely heavenly. I need to show this to my teenager when he gets up and I am pretty sure we will be making it very soon,lol
Meghan
Love the idea, these look delicious! Going to test out our own little variation tonight. Check it out, seemegcook.blogspot.com :)