Baked Eggs With Ham and Cheese

Sometimes called egg in a hole, baking a tray of Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese in toast in the oven means you can make several servings at once for breakfast, brunch, or brinner. Great way to use up leftover Christmas and Easter ham.

As you’re getting ready for Christmas dinner, you probably think of ham as the centerpiece.

My parents always serve ham for Christmas and Easter alongside au gratin potatoes for two, green bean casserole without canned soup, and small batch dinner rolls.

And much like Thanksgiving, there are usually leftovers the next day.

When you have leftover ham, rather than make ham and cheese soup you can make Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese for breakfast. What goes better with ham than cheese, eggs, and toast?

One of my favorite ways to order eggs is with a runny yolk, whether it’s sunny side up, over easy, or baked in a hash brown bowl.

Rather than cook the eggs and toast separately, I merged them together with Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese in toast.

Traditionally baked eggs and ham are made on the stovetop one at a time in a skillet.

However, when you are feeding multiple people (and/or too lazy to stand at the stove), it makes more sense to bake a tray and serve everyone at the same time.

No more complaints about everyone not eating together or having the first few eggs get cold while you’re finishing up the rest.

Even though this baked eggs with ham and cheese recipe makes 6 servings, the good news is you can easily cut it down to as many as you’re going to eat. The cooking time and directions are the same no matter how many you make.

What is toad in the hole?

This baked eggs and ham recipe has many names – toad in the hole, eggs in a basket, egg in a hole. I decided to go literal with baked eggs in toast.

That way I don’t have to explain the name every single time I mention it (plus toad in the hole sometimes refers to sausage in batter. Seriously who invents this stuff?).

Ingredients For Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese

To make your baked eggs and ham, you’ll need the following easy ingredients:

• Butter: Used to butter your toast
• Bread: I used your typical white sandwich bread, but feel free to make it healthier with whole grain bread.
• Eggs: Use standard large eggs.
• Ham: Make sure your ham is precooked before using.
• Cheese: I used cheddar but you can use any cheese you have on hand.
• Parsley: Adds a bit of freshness to balance the rich egg yolk and butter

If you’re looking for something more substantial, check out my Greek Baked Eggs with lamb and feta.

How To Make Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese

First, butter and bake the bread. This ensures the toast is nice and crunchy when serving because it takes longer than baking the eggs. Who wants to eat soggy toast?

Next, crack an egg into the center of each slice, top with leftover ham and cheese, then finish baking until the egg whites are set but yolks are runny, about 5-8 minutes.

Serve immediately before the yolks overcook and get cold.

More Ham Recipes

Got more ham to use up? Check out these ham brunch recipes:

• Ham and Cheese Waffles
• Ham and Cheese Quiche
• Ham Steak recipe
• Old Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup from Foxes Love Lemons

First published December 1, 2016