Quick Summary: A poached egg on oatmeal with hot pepper jelly is a savory-sweet breakfast that comes together quickly. The runny yolk creates a creamy sauce, while the jelly adds sweetness with a little heat. Use any oats you like, from quick-cooking to steel cut. Prep: 5 min | Cook: 15 min | Serves: 1
Jump To: RECIPE | Pairing hot pepper jelly with oatmeal | Best Type of Oats for Oatmeal | More Toppings for Oatmeal | Perfect Poached Eggs | FAQ
Weekday breakfasts….try as I might, it just seems plain wrong to hop out of bed and start cooking when I don’t even have an appetite yet. Intermittent fasting is more routine for me during the week. For the weekend however, a poached egg atop some oatmeal and enhanced with a bit of hot pepper jelly is a healthy taste treat that I make time for.
Using Hot Pepper Jelly to Sweeten Oatmeal
I used to sell artisan fruit preserves and was always looking for unique ways to use jams and jellies beyond toast. A while back I made a concoction of oatmeal with Raspberry Habanero Jelly and a poached egg on top, and it was wonderful! It was sweet and savory with a lot of creamy full-bodied texture.
I still make this raspberry hot pepper jelly for the family even though I no longer sell them. Your favorite commercial hot pepper jelly will work just fine.
Which Oats Work Best for This Breakfast?
Any oats will work here because the toppings do the heavy lifting. That said, each type has a different texture and cook time.
- Rolled oats (sometimes called old-fashioned oats) are the most common choice. They cook in about 5 minutes on the stovetop and have a soft texture with enough chew to hold up under the egg. This is what most people picture when they think of oatmeal.
- Steel cut oats take longer, usually 20 to 30 minutes, but they have a nuttier flavor and chewier texture. If you like your oatmeal with more bite, steel cut oats stand up well to the richness of the egg yolk. You can also make them ahead and reheat.
- Instant oats are the fastest option, ready in a minute or two with hot water. The texture is softer and more uniform. They work fine here, though they tend to get a bit mushy under the warm egg. If speed matters more than texture, instant is perfectly acceptable.
- Quick oats fall between rolled and instant. They cook in 2 to 3 minutes and have a texture somewhere in the middle.
For this recipe, I most often use rolled oats. The timing works out well: start the oats, then poach the egg while they finish cooking.
The recipe below shows you how I put my new “breakfast of champions” together quickly and easily, with a how-to on poaching eggs also.
More Toppings for Oatmeal
The other way I love oatmeal is with fresh berries and brown sugar. It’s not as unique as using hot pepper jelly and poached eggs, but it is luxurious and homey at the same time.
I love berries and oatmeal in the high Summer season, but if you want a creative breakfast later into the Fall, try these Mexican baked eggs in a chile verde sauce.
How to Make a Perfectly Poached Egg
There are several good photo tutorials on poached eggs, but the recipe below is the process that consistently works well for me.
By the way, the nice thing about poaching eggs is that you can poach a lot of them if you are feeding a crowd, put them aside to drain, heat them slightly when ready to use, and not lose any of the flavor or texture.
FAQ
Yes. Poach the eggs, transfer them to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat, slip them into barely simmering water for 30 seconds to warm through.
The vinegar helps the egg white set faster, which keeps it from spreading out in wispy strands. You won’t taste it in the finished egg. White distilled vinegar works best because it doesn’t add color.
Any jam or jelly with some acidity works. Fig jam, apricot preserves, or even a drizzle of honey with a pinch of cayenne gives you a similar sweet-heat effect. The contrast with the rich yolk is what makes this combination work.
Not as written. Oatmeal is a whole grain and runs about 27 grams of carbs per cooked cup. For a lower-carb version, try the poached egg over sautéed greens or cauliflower rice with the hot pepper jelly on the side.
About 3 minutes for a runny yolk. The white should be fully set and opaque. You can gently touch the yolk with your finger. It should feel soft but not liquid. If you prefer a firmer yolk, go 4 to 5 minutes.
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Perfectly Poached Egg on Oatmeal (with jelly)
Equipment
- Medium sized pot
- small bowl
Ingredients
MAKING YOUR OATMEAL
- 6 Ounces oatmeal Bowl of oatmeal made by your favorite method (keep warm)
POACHING THE EGGS
- 1-2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 egg
- ½ Teaspoon salt pepper if desired
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
- 1 Tablespoon hot pepper jelly
Instructions
- Make a bowl of oatmeal using your favorite method (can be instant or steel cut oats or any kind you like). The nutrition analysis here is for steel cut oats. Keep it warm on a back burner while poaching egg.6 Ounces oatmeal
- Add a splash (1-2 tablespoons) of white distilled vinegar to a medium size pot of water and turn up to medium-high heat1-2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- Keep an eye on the water because one of the most important steps of getting a perfect poached egg is to have the water at the right temperature when you add the egg. It should NOT be boiling. It should be at the stage where you can see bubbles starting to form on the bottom of the pot, but they are not breaking the surface. If the water is boiling when you add the egg, the white part will fly all over the pot and not come together in a pretty, succinct little egg.1 egg
- Break your egg(s) into a small bowl or cup
- When you see the small bubbles starting to form in the pot, turn it to medium to maintain that temperature. Using a spoon, start to swirl the water in the pot in a clockwise direction to form a sort of a swirling eddy. This "eddy" will help to keep the white part of the egg close to the yolk as it forces the white to wrap around the center yolk until everything solidifies a bit.
- Gently pour the egg from the cup into the center of the swirling water. Don't hold the egg up high and pour it in; get it as close to the water as possible and ease it in.Sit back and watch. It takes about 3 minutes
- Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and leave it to drain on a paper towel until ready to use.
- To serve: Place egg on top of warm oatmeal, slit yolk open with a knife and swirl in hot pepper jelly to taste. Add more jelly if you like your breakfast sweeter and then enjoy some wonderful, nutritious comfort food on a cold morning.1/2 Teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon hot pepper jelly
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