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Oeufs Cocotte (French Baked Eggs)

5 of 20 votes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
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Zoom on an oeuf cocotte or French Baked Egg

Oeuf cocotte is one of my favourite egg dishes to make when I have friends over. It’s usually served as a first course, but I think it’s a great way to wow them with a fancy hotel-style breakfast or brunch.

I decided to use a shallot and mushrooms for the filling of this recipe. The sweet flavor of the shallot will complement the earthy flavors of the mushrooms. 

What are Oeufs Cocotte?

Oeufs means eggs and cocotte means enameled cast-iron cooking pot used for braising but it is also the little nickname for a chicken. 

The oeufs cocotte is a classic French recipe that is simple and quick to make. It is an individual dish prepared with eggs, crème fraîche, and additional ingredients such as mushrooms, cheese, ham, or herbs.

Top view of four oeufs cocotte or French Baked Eggs

The principle of the preparation consists in breaking one or two eggs in a small ramekin or casserole dish, then adding crème fraîche or cream and ingredients of your choice. The eggs are then cooked in the ramekin or casserole in the oven or in a pan of hot water (bain-marie cooking) until the white is set and the yolk remains runny.

Zoom on an oeuf cocotte or French Baked Egg

Why I love Oeufs Cocotte

  • Quick to prepare: This recipe is quick and easy to prepare.
  • Looks super cute: These French baked eggs look super cute and are sure to impress the guests.
  • Versatile: You can vary it as much as you want. You can add mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, ham, cheese, goat cheese or even foie gras for a festive meal. 

List of ingredients

  • Eggs: When baking and cooking, picking the right eggs does matter. For example, when baking, use non-prime eggs. Use the finest and freshest eggs you can find when making sauces, puddings, ice cream, and other dishes that call for eggs, such as sunny side up, poached, fried, omelets, hard-boiled, and so on. Eggs from healthy hens are healthier and more nutrient-rich. As opposed to the bright yellow hue of regular eggs, those eggs have a richer, orange tone. 
  • Crème fraĂ®che: Crème fraiche is a French dairy product with min 30% fat. It can be replaced with sour cream or heavy cream.  
  • Mushrooms: I like button mushrooms because it’s easy to find but you can add other types of mushrooms such as chanterelle. You can even replace them with spinach, ham, or cheese. 
  • Chives: Chives gives a nice punch to these baked eggs.  It can be replaced with parsley.
  • Shallot: I love to sautĂ© mushrooms with shallot. You can replace it with a yellow onion or garlic.
  • Butter: For getting a more rich flavor. I use unsalted butter but salted butter works too!
  • Olive oil: I prefer using olive oil because it is super healthy and has a nice taste. You may substitute it with any other type of oil like avocado, canola, palm, etc.
  • Seasoning: Season with salt & black pepper as per your liking.

You will find the exact quantities in the recipe card.

How to make Oeufs Cocotte?

  • Clean the mushrooms and cut them into strips. Slice the shallot. 
  • SautĂ© shallots and mushrooms in olive oil. Add butter and season with salt & pepper. 
  • Divide the mushrooms in individual ramekins or casseroles. Add a spoonful of crème fraĂ®che to each ramekin.
  • Break an egg into each ramekin.
  • Place ramekins in a water bath and bake in the oven.
  • Add fresh chives or parsley. Serve and enjoy!

How long do I need to bake oeufs cocotte?

the cooking time depends on how you like your eggs. The egg yolk by oeufs cocotte is supposed to be runny but you can bake it so that it is almost hard. Bake the eggs for:

  • 10-12 minutes: If you want the white to be set but a runny yolk.
  • 13-15 minutes: If you want the white to be set but the egg yolk to be creamy.
  • 15-17 minutes: If you want both the white and egg yolk to be set.

How to serve Oeufs Cocotte?

Oeufs cocotte is often served with toasted bread or mouillettes for dipping in the yolk.

What we call mouillettes are simply slices of bread 1 to 2 cm thick, usually grilled to make them crispy and dipped with eggs whose yolk is still runny.

Zoom on an oeuf cocotte or French Baked Egg

Variation ideas

You can replace the mushrooms and shallots with the following ingredients.

  • Spinach and feta: Brown the spinach and add pieces of feta cheese.
  • Asparagus and parmesan: Pre-cooked white or green asparagus and grated parmesan cheese.
  • Smoked salmon and dill: Smoked salmon cut into small pieces and dill mixed with cream or crème fraĂ®che.
  • Ham and Emmental cheese: Small cubes of ham and Emmental cheese
  • Caramelized onions: Onions caramelized in a pan with sugar or honey

GĂ©raldine’s tips

  • While breaking the egg into each ramekin be careful not to pierce the yolk.
  • To avoid cracked yolks I suggest breaking the eggs into a cup or glass first, then carefully transferring them into each ramekin. 
  • These French baked eggs taste the best right from the oven so I don’t suggest making them ahead or storing them in the refrigerator. 

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Print Recipe

Oeufs Cocotte (French Baked Eggs)

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5 of 20 votes
One of my favorite egg recipes. This is a classic French recipe for Oeufs cocotte that is super easy and quick to make. It looks super cute and perfect for a starter, breakfast, or brunch.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Side dish
Cuisine French
Servings 4
Calories 190 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 eggs
  • 250 g button mushrooms
  • 200 g crème fraiche
  • 1 shallot
  • 15 g butter
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Chives

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven).
  • Clean and slice the mushrooms.
  • Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and add the sliced shallot. SautĂ© until golden brown. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, add the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Divide the mushrooms between the individual ramekins. Place a spoonful of crème fraĂ®che in each ramekin. Crack an egg into each ramekin, taking care not to break the yolk. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Place the ramekins in an ovenproof baking dish filled with hot water halfway up the ramekins to create a bain-marie or water bath.
  • Place the ramekins in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whites are cooked and the yolks are still slightly runny.
  • Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped chives. Serve warm with toasted bread.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 9gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 172mgSodium: 140mgPotassium: 281mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 332IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Thank you for your wonderful French breakfast recipes! We became addicted to these ouefs en cocotte with my kids 🙂

  2. 5 stars
    This has often been a go to for me to whip up for the kids in a hurry – I also do a baked “Latin” version with refried beans & passata / chopped tomatoes mixed, fresh herbs / spices at hand, a dash of hot sauce with grated mozzarella and my egg in a depression in the centre and pepper/salt ! Not delicate as Oeufs Cocotte (which remains my childhood fav!) but robust for a winter brunch. Like your site! Thank you.