Are you ready to go beyond pressure-cooked hard-boiled eggs? The next breakfast to try in your Instant Pot or multicooker is eggs en cocotte, French for "in pot" or ramekins more specifically. Traditionally, raw eggs are cracked into a buttered ramekin along with a splash of cream and, optionally, your choice of cheese, veggies, and herbs. The ramekins are then placed in a pot filled with a little bit of water. The lid goes on the pot, and the pot goes on the stovetop to boil the water and steam the contents of the ramekins until the egg whites set. It tastes like a cross between poached eggs and an omelette and is heavenly when scooped and spread onto fresh toast. A multicooker makes this process less than five minutes compared to the traditional method, which can take eight minutes to bring the water to boil and another six to seven minutes for the eggs to steam.
You will need an electric multicooker like Instant Pot or Crock-Pot Express, as pictured, as well as a trivet that will fit in the base of the multicooker's bowl and three small ceramic ramekins. We sautéed mushrooms and chives for our pressure-cooked eggs in cocotte, but you can also add in sautéed leek or shallot if you have them on hand. Just keep the overall veggie ingredients about the same so everything fits below the lipped rim of the ramekins.
If you have slightly larger ramekins, try cracking in an additional egg to fill it to just below the rim. A bigger vessel may affect your overall cook time, so be patient as you fiddle with what settings yield eggs the way you like them.
Consider this recipe a loose guideline to introduce the technique. The most important thing to remember is the multicooker will set those egg yolks FAST. So, if you love a runny yolk, start with setting it on a low pressure cook for one minute. Medium eggs, as pictured, will take two minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee, plus more for greasing
- 2 cups mushrooms, chopped (or other veggies of your choosing)
- salt
- 1 tablespoon chives, chopped
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions
Using the sauté setting of a multicooker, melt ghee, then sauté mushrooms together, until tender, caramelized, and reduced to 3/4 cup. Season with salt to taste.
Meanwhile, grease the ramekins. When mushrooms are cooked, divide into ramekins. Top each with a teaspoon of chives, a freshly cracked egg, and a tablespoon of cream.
The multicooker pots are nonstick, and so you shouldn’t need to wash them. Simply add 2 cups of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Add the trivet, and place the egg-filled ramekins on top. Secure and lock the lid of the multicooker. Pressure cook on low for 1-2 minutes. Quick release and immediately remove the top when the pressure has normalized. Carefully remove the ramekins. They’ll be hot, so use heatproof oven mitts or mason jar lifters (if you have them).
Serve with freshly toasted bread, like walnut levain as pictured.
(Photos via Brittany Griffin / Brit + Co)
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
From Your Site Articles
- 10 Egg Recipes That Will Make You Skip the Snooze Button - Brit + Co ›
- 56 Easy Pressure-Cooker Recipes Even a Beginner Can Make - Brit + Co ›
- You Never Knew You Could Cook Eggs in Your Instant Pot Like This - Brit + Co ›
- You Never Knew You Could Cook Eggs in Your Instant Pot Like This - Brit + Co ›
- This Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe Is Practically Magic - Brit + Co ›
- Doing the 21-Day Fix? Here Are 21 Recipes You NEED to Know - Brit + Co ›
- The Most Pinned Instant Pot French Dip Sandwich Recipe - Brit + Co ›
- Easy Instant Pot Tuscan White Bean Soup Recipe - Brit + Co ›
Anna Monette Roberts
As Brit + Co's Food Editor, Anna Monette Roberts has an insatiable appetite for developing tasty dishes. When she's not dreaming about her next meal, she's . . . well, probably cooking up her creations. Her favorite foods include chewy chocolate chip cookies, Rosé Champagne, and gooey French cheeses — in no particular order.
FAQs
Place the trivet in the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker and pour in 1 1/2 cups water. Arrange three ramekins on top of the trivet and carefully stack the remaining three ramekins on top of the first three. (If you have an additional rack, use it for stacking the ramekins.)
What happens if you put an egg in a pressure cooker? ›
Well, if you eat hard- or soft-boiled eggs daily, as I like to do, it's a great way to make a big batch at once. But even more importantly, given the steam pressure applied to the eggs, the cooked eggs peel really easily!
Why do eggs crack in pressure cooker? ›
Eggs can be added directly to a pot of water on the stovetop, but the same rules don't apply with the electric pressure cooker. Placing the eggs directly in the pressure-cooker insert, partially covered in water, leaves them prone to being jostled and cracked during cooking.
Can I use a cup instead of a ramekin? ›
Traditionally, however, a ramekin was used as a baking dish, so the circular shape and ridged exterior were designed to assist in baking individual desserts. While most of the time a ramekin and a small cup are interchangeable, it's highly recommended to use a ramekin for baking small soufflés or crème brûlée.
How long to boil eggs? ›
Put the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is at a rolling boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot with the lid. Allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for the following times according to the desired doneness: 3 minutes for SOFT boiled; 6 minutes for MEDIUM boiled; 12 minutes for HARD boiled.
How long are hard-boiled eggs good for? ›
Hard cooked eggs can be stored in the refrigerator up to seven days, either left in their shells or peeled. Make sure eggs are refrigerated within two hours after cooking, and don't leave refrigerated cooked eggs out at room temperature for more than two hours.
Can I put raw egg in a pressure cooker? ›
The answer is they'll turn out great! Pressure cookers cook foods with steam and pressure, and both are very good for hard-boiling eggs since the whites will come out tender and not rubbery, and the shells will come off more easily than cooking them in any other way.
Can you overcook hard-boiled eggs in pressure cooker? ›
Yes. By the time your hard boiled egg develops this greenish ring around the yolk, you've over boiled them. While still edible, over boiled eggs tend to have a slightly sulfuric taste to them, which some people find unappealing.
How do you know if an egg is bad? ›
Simply fill a bowl with cold tap water and place your eggs in it. If they sink to the bottom and lay flat on one side, they are fresh and good to eat. A bad egg will float because of the large air cell that forms at its base. Any floating eggs should be thrown out.
Why does vinegar stop eggs cracking? ›
Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster. Running the hard-boiled eggs under cold running water as you're peeling, meanwhile, helps the shell separate from the membrane.
“The reason eggs, particularly poached eggs, explode in the microwave is due to the buildup of steam inside the egg,” says Trey Braswell, president of Eggland's Best franchisee Braswell Farms. “The water inside the egg heats up rapidly, turning into steam, but this steam doesn't have an easy way to escape.
Can you put a ramekin in the crockpot? ›
You can fit four or five 3-inch (6-ounce) ramekins into a 6-quart oval slow cooker without having them touch each other. You use ramekins for baking muffins, cupcakes, and individual custards.
Can you put anything in a pressure cooker? ›
Just about any ingredient that can be steamed, or is cooked with liquids, can be cooked in a pressure cooker.
Can I use ramekins for steaming? ›
Cover with foil and place the ramekin into the boiling water. Cover and steam for 12 minutes. Uncover, carefully remove the ramekin, and take off the foil. Top with chives if you like.
Can you put a Pyrex bowl in a pressure cooker? ›
One is about using Pyrex® inside the electric pressure cooker. According to Corelle Brands, makers of Pyrex®, it is not recommended to put this glassware in these appliances. The glass is not made to be put under pressure and it could crack or explode.
