Eggs Provençal is a simple, yet amazing fusion of fresh flavors. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or Meatless Monday, this easy eggs with tomatoes and parmesan recipe takes just 15 minutes to make.
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This simple, easy poached egg and tomato dish is made in the style of Provence, France (i.e., Provençal); where garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh herbs are essential ingredients.
Why You Will Love this Recipe
Eggs Provençal is so simple and quick to put together that I hesitate to label this as a recipe: it's really more of an assembly guide. It requires only five simple ingredients (plus seasonings) and about 15 minutes to make.
One of the reasons we like this dish so much is, no matter what time of day, Eggs Provençal makes for a light, satisfying, flavor-packed meal that won't send you into a midday carb-coma.
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
★ Tomatoes: Use sweeter, meatier tomato varieties, like Brandywine or Beefsteak. Slice the tomatoes at least ½-inch thick, and up to
★ Eggs: Use the freshest eggs you have. In fresh eggs, the yolk sits up high, and the white is thick and closely surrounds the yolk. Older eggs have thinner, more watery whites, and a yolk that breaks more easily.
★ Parmesan: For the best results, buy a wedge of Parmesan and shred it yourself. Do not use green can parmesan.
Substitutions: Asiago, Romano, or any cheese that you love.
★ Pesto: We use basil garlic pesto.
★ Fresh basil: For this recipe, always use fresh basil; never dried. It brightens the flavors and lends a fresh element to the finished dish.
How to Make Eggs with Tomatoes & Parmesan
Poach the Eggs
This is my easy method for poaching eggs. If you like to poach your eggs a different way, go for it.
Fill a pot or deep skillet with 2 inches deep with water. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water. (Don't worry; your eggs will not taste like vinegar.)
Bring the water to a rolling boil and then reduce heat so that it is just barely simmering. There should still be bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but the surface of the water should look calm.
Crack egg into small sieve and allow watery albumin to drain off. (Don’t worry; the white and yolk will stay intact inside the sieve.)
Holding the egg in the sieve just above the water, gently roll the egg out of the sieve and into the water.
Leave the egg alone. You can put about four or five eggs into the pan at the same time, but be sure they all have enough room. After about a minute, use a slotted spoon to unstick the egg from the bottom of the pan if necessary.
Allow the egg to cook a minute or two, and then use the slotted spoon to lift it up out of the water and gently poke it with your finger to see if it is done to your liking. If it is, remove it to a plate. If it needs to cook longer, simply lower it back into the water for another minute and check it again.
For more egg-poaching tips, visit How to Make Perfectly Poached Eggs.
Broil the Tomatoes
Position the oven rack to be 6-inches below the heating element. Preheat oven broiler on high.
Spread pesto over the top of each tomato slice, and put the tomato slices on the lined baking sheet. Broil for 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven.
Assembly
A. Start with one or more broiled tomatoes. (You can use one big slice, or stack a few smaller slices.)
B. Top each tomato stack with a poached egg.
C. Top generously with grated cheese.
D. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and season as desired.
Pop the assembled eggs under broiler for about a minute to melt cheese.
Everyone's broiler is a little different: keep an eye on your eggs so they don't get overcooked.
Garnish with fresh basil ribbons and serve immediately.
Serving Suggestion
Eggs Provençal isn't just for breakfast or brunch! We like to serve this for a light dinner with Garlic-Almond Spaghetti Squash. #MeatlessMonday
FAQs & Expert Tips
As applied to cooking, Provençal mean that a dish is cooked in a style of characteristic to Provence, France; where garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh herbs are used prominently.
This is science in action! Vinegar helps the proteins (albumin / egg white) to denature (unwind) more quickly and link up to form a network of proteins, thus setting the egg. The quicker the proteins denature the less feathering there will be. (Want to learn more? Check here.) Just do it - it works.
More Eggy Breakfast Recipes
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Eggs Provençal with Tomatoes
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 small, fine-mesh strainer
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs poached
- 4 tablespoons basil pesto
- 2-3 large meaty tomatoes
- 3 ounces shredded parmesan about a cup
- ⅛ teaspoon sweet paprika
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 handful fresh basil chiffonade (i.e., cut into thin ribbons)
Instructions
Poach the Eggs
- This is my easy method for poaching eggs. If you like to poach your eggs a different way, go for it.Fill a pot or deep skillet with 2 inches deep with water. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water. (Don't worry; your eggs will not taste like vinegar.)Bring the water to a rolling boil and then reduce heat so that it is just barely simmering. There should still be bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but the surface of the water should look calm.
- Crack egg into small sieve and allow watery albumin to drain off. (Don’t worry; the white and yolk will stay intact inside the sieve.)
- Holding the egg in the sieve just above the water, gently roll the egg out of the sieve and into the water.Leave the egg alone. You can put about four or five eggs into the pan at the same time, but be sure they all have enough room. After about a minute, use a slotted spoon to unstick the egg from the bottom of the pan if necessary.
- Allow the egg to cook a minute or two, and then use the slotted spoon to lift it up out of the water and gently poke it with your finger to see if it is done to your liking. If it is, remove it to a plate. If it needs to cook longer, simply lower it back into the water for another minute and check it again.
- For more egg-poaching tips, visit How to Make Perfectly Poached Eggs.
Broil the Tomatoes
- Position the oven rack to be 6-inches below the heating element. Preheat oven broiler on high.
- Spread pesto over the top of each tomato slice, and put the tomato slices on the lined baking sheet. Broil for 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven.
Assembly
- For each serving: A. Start with one or more broiled tomatoes. (You can use one big slice, or stack a few smaller slices.)B. Top tomato(es) with a poached egg.C. Top generously with shredded cheese.D. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Pop the assembled eggs-and-tomatoes under broiler for about a minute to melt cheese.
- Garnish with fresh basil ribbons and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
What a fantastic, healthy spin on my favorite breakfast!!
Bea says
These look absolutely fantastic, Renée. Love the combination of tomato, herbs, poached egg, and cheese. Now I just have to work on my poached egg making skills and they will soon appear at our house.
Renée ♥ says
Thanks so much, Bea! You might want to check out my Poach Egg tutorial. The method I use makes them practically fool-proof!
Melinda says
Mmm, I'm going to send this recipe to my mother-in-law....it looks like something she'd love!
Kirsten says
Renée,
I first had the bliss that is pesto-topped tomatoes more than 10 yrs ago while trying recipes from the South Beach Diet book. I don't much care for faking out mashed potatoes with cauliflower, but the combo of pesto and tomatoes--faking out nothing--is a wonderful one.
To add an egg and cheese on top? Brilliant!
Renée ♥ says
I'm with you on the cauliflower-potato exchange, Kirsten. Not for me! But pesto is great with almost everything!
Catherine says
Thank you for this! I had eggs provencal the last time I went out to brunch and they were seriously amazing. Now I can make them at home!
Pech says
YUM pinned for a future breakfast. These look so impressive, I want to make them to show off when others are having breakfast with me!
Rachel says
These look stunning! Great presentation and photos. makes me very hungry! I will have to try these over the weekend.
kelsey says
yum! i want to eat this right now!
Marlynn [UrbanBlissLife] says
This looks amazing!! I wish I didn't have to jet off for the day or else I would make these for breakfast. Pinning and saving for later. Yum!
Bill Volckening says
Love recipes like this one. Will definitely try it.