Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Updated May 15, 2025

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(8,199)
Comments
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Adding a small amount of a starchy slurry to scrambled eggs — a technique learned from Mandy Lee of the food blog Lady & Pups — prevents them from setting up too firmly, resulting in eggs that stay tender and moist, whether you like them soft-, medium- or hard-scrambled. Potato or tapioca starch is active at slightly lower temperatures than cornstarch and will produce a slightly more tender scramble, but cornstarch works just fine if it’s what you’ve got on hand. Make sure your skillet is at just the right temperature by heating a tablespoon of water in the skillet and waiting for it to evaporate. For creamier eggs, you can replace the water with milk or half-and-half.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings

  • 2 teaspoons potato starch, tapioca starch or cornstarch

  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes

  • 4 eggs (see Tip)

  • Pinch of kosher salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

3 grams carbs; 381 milligrams cholesterol; 337 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 31 grams fat; 184 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, whisk together starch with 1 ½ tablespoons water until no lumps remain. Add half the butter cubes to starch mixture. Add eggs and salt, and whisk, breaking up any cubes of butter that have stuck together, until the eggs are frothy and homogenous. (There will still be solid chunks of butter in the eggs.)

  2. Step 2

    Set your serving plate near the stovetop. Heat 1 tablespoon water in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, swirling gently until the water evaporates, leaving behind only a few small droplets. Immediately add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and swirl vigorously until the butter is mostly melted and foamy but not brown, about 10 seconds.

  3. Step 3

    Immediately add the egg mixture and cook, pushing and folding the eggs with a spatula, until they are slightly less cooked than you’d like them, about 1 to 2 minutes, depending on doneness. More vigorous stirring will result in finer, softer curds, while more leisurely stirring will result in larger, fluffier curds. Immediately transfer to the serving plate, and serve.

Tip

  • If cooking fewer eggs or more, adjust pan size accordingly, and note that cooking time in Step 3 can vary significantly, needing as little as 15 to 30 seconds for 2 eggs, or as long as 3 to 4 minutes for 8 eggs.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
8,199 user ratings
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Comments

malahat

Tried this technique, and the result was as advertised — beautiful scrambled eggs. And it’s not complicated or fussy. I find myself wishing this website could screen out comments from people who didn’t actually try the recipes.

Michael

Kenji does it again. These eggs are incredible. I cooked them without telling my wife and tried to play it off like it was just a good batch. They are so good, she caught on. If you don’t want to use this much butter, use less butter.

Margie

Like so many NYT Food recipes where I have all the ingredients on hand, I had to try it this morning. I believe in respecting the recipe and making it as described before I make adjustments. I made it as described but halved it for just me. I used a well seasoned cast iron pan. The eggs were fluffy, creamy and delicious, just like I imagine royalty get from their 5-Star chefs. I'll play with it now to reduce the amount of butter to protect my arteries like a Weight Watchers chef.

Mary

Delicious! I added snipped chives, making an already wonderful recipe even better

Candiecadabra

I don’t usually have something to say but I feel compelled with this one. I have made scrambled eggs a thousand times, I think I’m pretty good at it! If you like scrambled eggs and this recipe is intriguing to you I suggest you try it, just as it says. I would also recommend you do it on a Sunday, maybe when you slept in because you went out last night, throwing health and conscience to the wind because you already are in reboot mode. You will not only enjoy these eggs immensely, but you will get a good laugh out of it, it’s hilarious how rich these are! Then going forward you can just know that adding the starch to your normal scrambled egg wheelhouse really is nice and makes them better, maybe I’ll even add the tiniest little scrap of butter to my favorite breakfast staple in the future if I’m feeling dangerous. These are the egg version of triple chocolate mouse cake with heavy cream and an opioid garnish. I even put cheese on mine, probably took a year off of my life, ha ha. Enjoy!

Michael

I get it… and I’m no “healthy cooking person” but it’s more like having eggs with your butter! Maybe I’ll try duck fat next time:)!

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