How to fry an egg without oil or butter?

Eggs are one of the most common as well as easy to access foods we consume every day. They are nutritious naturally but you can have more benefits out of eggs if you know how to fry an egg without oil. Because of their nutritious value, they can be found in every kitchen around the world and people love to consume them in various ways. Although the food has various health benefits, it will not be a good idea to eat eggs in every meal as it contains more cholesterol than a person needs per day. That is why most of the diets experts recommend not to include more than 4 eggs per week. 

Is frying eggs without oil healthy? 

It has become a tradition or habit in some cases to have a fried egg for breakfast, it enhances our satisfaction in the morning meal but does it bring any good for us? As mentioned earlier eggs are very much nutritious, they are full of protein, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B12. Vitamin D facilitates the absorption of other minerals and calcium, vitamin A helps to build healthy skin and strong bones, vitamin B is vital for our growth and body repair in case of any casualties, and vitamin B2 supports our cognitive function. Eggs also contain a good amount of folate and iodine that assist our body to maintain a steady metabolism. Metabolism is the sum of chemical reactions that take place in a living cell in total and provides energy for life processes and the synthesis of cellular material.

We consume eggs in various ways because it leaves variety in tastes. But whatever the cooking method you follow to get it on your plate as you prefer, it will not impact the nutritional value of the egg, frying it in oil will just increase the fat content in the food. Although it varies, NHS claims that frying eggs with oil or butter increases their fat content by around 50 percent. The overall nutritional value can be impacted depending on what you are serving the eggs with. Combining eggs with vegetables can be a good way to have your meal as this adds extra fiber and vitamins to the meal. 

What are healthy Alternatives to Oil or Butter?

Oil and butter are good to be used for cooking eggs as they spread the heat and make sure that the eggs are cooked evenly. But if you don’t want to intensify the fat profile of your food then it’s better to renounce oil and butter, substitutes are there. You can use margarine instead of butter or use a thin coat of oil spray. Wondering if this will still be considered as frying? Yes, technically it’s not frying but you will add the egg to your meal following the same process. Just you are leaving behind the fats and cholesterol that could be added for oil or butter and add this item to your meal be it in breakfast or other meals of the day. 

So many healthy alternatives to fried eggs are out there that do not require oil or butter and obviously ensuring the original nutritional values of the food. The alternatives are microwaved scrambled eggs, soft or hard-boiled eggs, and poached eggs in water or vinegar. You can grease a small microwave-safe container with a little canola oil pan spray, put the eggs into the container and leave it in the microwave on high for enough to cook properly. Soft and hard-boiled eggs are also another good alternative to frying eggs, just put the egg into simmering water for desired cooking time and simply peel the shell. Fresh eggs work better than older eggs, putting some vinegar helps the proteins in the egg whites coagulate. A good quality non-stick pan can help a lot in this regard. 

Healthy Recipe for Frying Egg without oil or Butter 

Having read the prior discussion, now you know that fried eggs are not that healthy as they add some extra fat to our daily meals. You also know what are the alternatives you can rely on to avoiding extra fat still having the same nutritious value from eggs. It always offers convenience as eggs are an alterable ingredient that can be cooked and consumed in different ways. So, let’s learn different recipes of cooking eggs without oil or butter – 

1. Using a Nonstick Pan to Fry an Egg 

Preparing healthy fried eggs is easy if you have a good nonstick frying pan. Three different technique you can use to do that – 

1. Pan fry without oil on gentle heat: You just need to crack your egg on the pan and cook until the yolk becomes just how you like it to be on medium heat.
2. Pan fry without oil in high heat: This technique is also known as ‘dry fry’. When the frying pan gets hot, crack the egg on the pan and remove the pan from the heat immediately and cover. 
3. Steam the egg: Let some water work as oil, just crack the egg on a hot pan and immediately pour a half teaspoon of water around the egg. Cover the pan and cook it for one minute and that will give you a delicious fried egg without oil or butter.
4. Get some aluminum foil: Don’t have a good nonsticky fry pan? No worries at all, just get some aluminum foil, cover the bottom of your pan and cook the egg on it, foil works great.

2. Try the microwave 

This technique was also discussed earlier. Frying eggs with oil using a microwave is really easy and tricky. Just crack the egg on a bowl and add some dried herbs or salt if you want and put it into the microwave for 45-50 seconds. Greasing your container with a little canola oil pan spray could be a good idea in this regard. Be careful about frying time, overheat can damage its taste, nutritious values, and the rest. 

3. Baked

This is another good option out there for those who love eggs, not extra fat! Baking eggs means cooking them using a muffin tin and an oven. A great example of this is huevos rancheros, where eggs are placed atop a Mexican casserole in a skillet and baked in the oven until done. 

4. Hard-boiled

Let the water get boiled first for enough time, reduce the heat to a gentle extent and add the egg with the spoon. After boiling for five minutes, turn the heat off, cover the pot, and sit for ten minutes. Add some cold water for turning the heat down. It tastes well with a salad for breakfast.

5. Poached

To get the best taste out of a poached egg, one should use the fresh egg. Fill a pot with 2-3 inches of water, soup, tomato juice and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat down after boiling. Serve these soft, creamy yolk-filled eggs with atop salads, casseroles, or toasted sandwiches. 

6. Eggs and fruits

Cut 5-6 hard-boiled eggs, put the yolks aside, and cut the white parts into cubes. Cut a fruit, for example, avocado,  into small cubes and add to the eggs with some chopped onions, mashed avocado, dijon mustard, white vinegar, and a small amount of salt and see how great it really tastes. 

How to make sunny side up eggs without oil

It really matters if you can serve your favorite eggs exactly in the way you like without adding extra fat. You can enjoy your egg with a sunny-side-up with soft yellow yolk without using oil using a good pan. Now let’s learn the amazing way to cook sunny side egg without oil:

Step: 01 To cook a perfect sunny side up egg, first of all, you need a good non-stick pan. Read some quality materials online to understand which pan will be a perfect fit to serve your purpose. We will discuss the matter briefly in the next section of this article where you can get an idea and understanding about how to decide on a perfect frying pan for you. 

Step: 02 Have a little water on the pan making sure that the water covers the whole egg except the yolk. Assume the  right amount of water, it is required for a perfect sunny side up egg. 

Step: 03 Put the pan on medium heat, take care of the issue with great importance otherwise you will not get your desired perfect sunny side up egg that you want.

Step: 04 When water begins to bubble slightly, crack the egg into the pan. For better results use eggs that are straight from the refrigerator rather than a room temperature egg.

Step: 05 When the water begins to reduce while cooking, ladle water atop of the egg, using a medium-sized spoon.

Step: 06 Cook until the egg’s white part becomes perfectly thick and the egg is firm as you shake the pan slightly.

Step: 07 Turn the heat off. The yolk is still thin at this point. If you like your yolk hard and fully cooked then leave the egg on the pan for a couple of minutes, on the other hand, if you want soft yolk then take the egg from the pan.

Step: 08 Take the egg from the pan without any water and serve it on the plate carefully.

If you are on a diet then you can only use the white portion of the egg but the procedure is the same. But when your body wants more fat, at least the fat-soluble nutrients that are found in egg yolks, why not having it more. 

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid While Cooking Eggs

It may seem very easy to you to cook eggs, but making mistakes in the process can really mess up everything and damage the nutritional values of this amazing food. There are some common mistakes you should always avoid while cooking your favorite egg recipe. Let’s have a tour and learn how to avoid them – 

1. Not understanding the importance of fresh eggs:

It depends on how you want to cook your egg. Fresh and old eggs work well in different situations. You need to understand first how freshness plays a crucial role to leave a perfectly cooked on your plate. You need a fresh egg for poaching so that the white portion of the egg stays attached to the egg, on the other hand, you do not need the fresh egg for hard-boiled because fresh egg contains a huge amount of moisture causing the white portion to stick to the shell.

2. Overcook or cooking your eggs at a high heat temperature

Eggs take a very short time to be cooked. Cooking an egg over a high-heat temperature increases the risk of overcooking as well as burning or browning. Getting the timing wrong and overcooking them is a very common problem that cooks face while cooking eggs. Remove the egg from the heat just before they are about to set and still soft. The rest of the cooking will be done by the heat of the pan.  

3. Choosing the wrong pan

It’s very important to choose the right pan for the perfect cooking of eggs. You need to know how many eggs you need to cook at a time and how frequently you need to do that.For example, there is no need to use a large pan while you are supposed to two eggs for your breakfast because using a large pan increase the chance of overcooking and possibly burning the eggs, on the contrary, you can’t use a small pan if you want to cook a half-dozen eggs as they will not cook perfectly in a small pan. 

4. Do not whisk your eggs enough

Whisking eggs is a crucial step in cooking eggs, take care of it to avoid finding any white flecks in your cooked eggs later. It also helps to cook the eggs soft and smooth. It might not be unknown to you that how important it is when you are to prepare scrambled eggs or omelets as it helps to blend both white portions and yolks into a temporary mixture. 

Health Benefits of Eggs

The prior discussion covers various health benefits of eating eggs. This part will take the discussion further. This common food has been recognized as superfoods by many people just because of its nutritional values and the flexibility it offers to serve with various other food items. This incredible nutritious food contains vitamin A, folate, vitamin B5, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, phosphorus, selenium, etc. Although it provides cholesterol but not the one which affects blood adversely. 

5 Final Thoughts

Eggs are a great source of high protein if you want this nutrition at a less cost, nutritionists often said that one egg a day will not harm your heart.  Knowing the effective ways of cooking eggs will help you to get your expected nutrition out of it. If you don’t want more fat, the aforementioned discussion will help you out. You can add variety in taste following the technique with the same nutrition.  Try the technique you loved the most and have your favorite dish with egg.