The Best Way to Scramble Eggs (I Tested 6 Methods!)
Table of Contents
Is there anything more delightful than a well-scrambled egg in the morning? Don’t get me wrong — I’m open to other egg preparations (like fried eggs, for example), but a good scrambled egg is by far my favorite. A scrambled egg can do so many things. You can add cheese to it, add chopped tortillas and make migas, spread them thin in the pan for an egg sandwich, or roll them up for a filling omelette.
That said, for any of those iterations to work, the scramble itself should be solid. You might think, “How many ways could there be to scramble an egg?” Well, I’m here to tell you, quite a few — and when we’re talking about such a foundational breakfast item, I want to get it right. My ideal scrambled eggs are moist (but not wet) and creamy — without being overly rich. They have large, fluffy curds, and have no browning at all.
But what’s the best way to achieve that? Should there be a splash of milk added? Do you need to pre-salt the eggs? Would an extra yolk help? With these questions in mind I set about testing six methods for scrambling eggs and I discovered the only way I’ll ever scramble eggs again.
For the fluffiest scrambled eggs, pre-salt them. Adding a pinch of salt to the eggs when scrambling and letting them sit for 15 minutes before cooking is the most reliable way to get a tender, fluffy scramble every single time.
A Few Notes on Methodology
The eggs. I tested with large eggs from the same brand (Vital Farms) bought from the same store on the same day.
The scrambling. I scrambled two large eggs per method with a metal balloon whisk. Unless otherwise indicated, I added 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt when scrambling, and whisked until the whites and yolks were well-combined and the eggs were a bit frothy.
The cooking. I cooked all of the eggs in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over low heat. Unless specified by the method, they were all cooked in 1 tablespoon of melted unsalted butter. I stirred the eggs occasionally in the skillet with a silicone spatula, opting to stir less frequently to preserve larger curds. I cooked the eggs until they were just set (about 2 minutes for most methods), then moved the skillet off the hot burner and covered it to let the eggs finish cooking for 1 minute in the residual heat.
The ratings. I rated the scrambled eggs on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being soft, creamy, fluffy eggs that were moist but not wet with no browning. I tasted the eggs just after cooking and side by side.
Method #1: Cornstarch
Rating: 4/10
About this method: I whisked together 3 tablespoons of water and 4 teaspoons of cornstarch until combined. I then added 2 large eggs and a 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and whisked to combine. I cooked the eggs as outlined above.
Results: These were … not my favorite. In my research I came across the claim that cornstarch helps scrambled eggs cook up silky smooth; however, I found these to be gluey. They tasted just fine, with no graininess or off flavor coming through from the cornstarch, but I couldn’t get over the fact that if I were served these eggs at say, a diner, my reaction would be, “These are weird … but I don’t know why.” Overall, I wasn’t a fan.
Method #2: Milk
Rating: 6/10
About this method: For this method, I added 3 tablespoons of whole milk to the bowl with the eggs and salt before scrambling everything together and cooking per the method described above.
Results: These eggs took high marks for fluffiness — they were quite possibly the fluffiest scramble in the lineup. That said, some flavor was sacrificed for texture in my opinion. The difference was subtle enough that had I not been testing multiple versions of scrambled eggs back-to-back, it’s not something that would have stuck out to me. But because I was, I was able to notice that this scramble had the most watered-down flavor of any among my testing. Adding milk sacrificed a bit of the eggy, buttery flavor in favor of moisture and a slight bump in creaminess. I’m not mad at it, but it’s not my number-one choice.
Method #3: Extra Yolk
Rating: 8/10
About this method: This time I added 1 extra large egg yolk to the 2 large eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl before whisking until combined and proceeding with the same cooking method as the previous two tests.
Results: Now we’re getting somewhere. These eggs came out pleasantly fluffy and slightly yellower than the others in the lineup. They had a nice, smooth texture and were moist without being damp. The extra yolk made them taste notably rich, which I liked. I would be more than happy to have these eggs served to me any time.
Method #4: Cold Butter
Rating: 9/10
About this method: This is the first method that deviated slightly in the cooking process from the others. After scrambling the eggs with salt, I preheated the skillet over low heat for 1 min — the same amount of time it took to melt the butter for the other tests — then added the whisked eggs along with 1 tablespoon of cold unsalted butter, which I had cut into 4 pieces. I then cooked the eggs following the same procedure as the previous tests.
Results: These eggs just edged out the ones with an extra yolk. Cold butter does a lot of work here towards achieving my ideal scramble, helping to regulate the temperature of the eggs so that they cook more slowly, yielding creamier, smoother eggs. They had a slightly fluffier texture and were, dare I say, a bit more balanced. The buttery flavor came through, but so did the eggy-ness. A very solid scramble.
Method #5: Pre-Salted
Rating: 10/10
About this method: For this method, I added the eggs and salt to a bowl, whisked them together, and then let them sit for 15 minutes before proceeding with the same cooking method outlined above.
Results: I learned this science-y trick from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Food Lab. It turns out that when you add salt to scrambled eggs has a big effect on their final texture. Adding salt to eggs well before cooking “prevents their proteins from bonding too tightly … resulting in a more tender curd.” The salt helps the eggs retain moisture, making for a delicious, fluffy scramble.
These eggs were the best of both worlds. The texture was what I was looking for — smooth but firm, moist but not damp — and the flavor was salty, buttery, creamy, and eggy, without sacrificing richness. These are my dream scrambled eggs.
Method #6: Cold Skillet
Rating: 7/10
About this method: As a bonus second tier of testing, I took my favorite method — the pre-salted eggs above — and tried cooking them in a skillet that had not been pre-heated. I did not use butter for this test, as melting it in the skillet wouldn’t work, and instead opted to spray the skillet lightly with vegetable oil spray before adding the eggs to prevent sticking.
Results: These eggs were the clingiest of any of the methods — even with the help of pan spray. While I noticed the eggs clinging to the pan a bit when testing a couple of other methods (cornstarch and milk), this one was by far the most dramatic.
It took about 3 1/2 minutes to cook these — as opposed to the 2 minutes for the other methods — although that’s to be expected, as additional time was necessary for the pan to heat up enough to cook the eggs. The main difference here was the size of the curds. Because I started in a cold pan, the eggs clung to the interior more, which in turn necessitated moving them more frequently than I had in every other test. As a result, the curds came out much smaller, which is not to my liking. I also lost noticeably more egg to the skillet itself, because it was sticking. My skillet is good, but it’s not brand new, so it’s no longer as perfectly nonstick as it once was.
Overall I prefer a hot start for scrambled eggs, but if you’re a person who prefers smaller curds, a cold start would be fine I suppose (although keep in mind it also takes longer to cook).
Overall Key Takeaway
If you’re after fluffy eggs with a flavor that’s balanced between eggy and creamy, pre-salting them is the way to go. Although it takes a little bit longer, it’s worth the extra time for the best eggs you can serve. I recommend scrambling your eggs as the very first step in breakfast prep, and then cooking them last, which should fill the 15-minute rest time nicely.
Further Reading
The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can’t Stop Talking About
Tuscan Chicken Is the "Most Delicious" Dinner of All Time, Says Everyone Who's Tried It
Ball Just Dropped the Most Beautiful Mason Jars for Its 140th Anniversary ("So Iconic!")
