If sleeping is Heaven, and the frantic late-morning swirl of looking for

homework, backpacks, umbrellas, lunches and jackets is Hell, then

scrambled eggs for breakfast is the blissful purgatory in between. With dim
lights and good food.

In the mornings, my bleary-eyed children wander from their bedrooms

across our creaky hardwood floors. They wobble into the kitchen where I’m
either standing at the stove or basking in the glowing light of our refrigerator.

One will reach out and slowly click off the light switches, one at a time, to
allow their eyes to adjust to the morning. I hug them and offer them a glass
of milk.

While my daughter is a “toast and sliced fruit for breakfast” kind of girl, my
son is a robust eater. Pancakes and oatmeal are part of the weekly rotation,
but more often than not my son requests scrambled eggs. I’ve made so
many batches in so many ways over the years that I could make them in my
sleep.

0 seconds of 1 minute, 4 secondsVolume 90%

Watch How to Make the Best Scrambled Eggs

French-Style Eggs vs. Fluffy Large-Curd Eggs

While I value the creamy small curds of French-style scrambled eggs, my
son and I both prefer fluffy scrambled eggs rolling with large, pillowy curds.
There is something about the way they look—sturdy, yet soothing—that
helps a person transition into the mad rush of a morning.

Butter + Milk = The Best Scrambled Eggs

I've found that butter and dairy make the fluffiest, most luxurious
scrambled eggs. The fat in the heavy cream coats proteins in the eggs.
This restricts the excess loss of liquid and contributes to fluffier eggs.
Without that extra fat, the proteins can release too much liquid, creating a
denser scramble.

Heavy cream definitely makes the fluffiest eggs, but it leaves a film of fat on
my tongue after eating the eggs that I don't enjoy. Ultimately, I've settled on
whole milk, which makes eggs that are rich and fluffy, but still delicate
enough to please my palate.

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Tips for Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

Apart from adding dairy, the size of your curds has a lot to do with air, heat,
and technique. As long as you keep those three things in mind, your
scrambled eggs will be delicious regardless of whether you mix your eggs
with whole milk, heavy cream, or water, or use butter or oil to cook them.

 Think of Michael Jackson and Just Beat It: Get out a small mixing
bowl (yes, even for two eggs) and a whisk—a cereal bowl and fork
won't cut it. Aggressively whisk the eggs so they are uniform in color
and foamy. This has two functions—color and aeration. Whisking adds
air to the eggs, which helps to make them fluffy when cooked. Second,
it creates a uniformly golden color. You don’t want bits of yolk and bits
of whites in your final product.
 Low and Steady Wins the Race: Start with your pan over medium
heat to melt the butter, but then as soon as you add the eggs, reduce
the pan to medium low. You want the curds to form gently and slowly
in the pan. The same rule applies whether you are cooking two eggs
or ten.
 Get Pushy: To form light fluffy curds, use a rubber spatula to gently
and slowly push the eggs from one edge of the pan to the other.
 Healthy Shimmer: The eggs are ready when they are set, but still
glistening with moisture. If you cook until they're dry, they will
be very dry and rubbery by the time you sit down to eat them.

Don’t overcook your eggs! I once heard a chef say the best scrambled
eggs have the consistency of dog slobber. I understood his point, but the
visual is difficult for me to get around. Your eggs are done when they are no
longer liquid, the curds are large and clumped together, but they still glisten
with moisture.

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Mix-Ins and When to Add Them
Anything goes when it comes to turning your scrambled eggs into a
larger meal. Feel free to add leftover meat, vegetables, herbs or cheeses to
your eggs. If you create something you hate, you aren’t out much so go for
broke and get crazy. It’s a low-risk kitchen experiment; eggs are inexpensive
and require minimal time commitment.

One of my favorite scrambled egg combinations is sweet corn and

chives. (I’m from Nebraska so I’m geographically obligated to work sweet
corn into as many recipes as possible.) Other possible combinations to
consider are sweet peppers and goat cheese; ham, onion, and mushrooms
or spinach and tomatoes. I’ve also been known to add roasted vegetables
like cauliflower leftover from the previous night’s dinner.

There are a few things to consider when adding these ingredients to your
eggs. Certain meats and vegetables can discolor eggs (bacon, ham and
mushrooms are the first to come to mind). Also, cooking your add-ins along
with your eggs could overcook the eggs, making them rubbery and dry, or
weepy and watery.

For the best eggs with extras, follow the tips below:

 Pre-cook your vegetables to release extra moisture.

 Pre-cook meat in a separate pan to prevent discoloring the eggs.
 Fresh herbs help brighten the flavor of eggs, don’t be afraid to add
basil, chives or parsley.
 Add meats, cheese, vegetables and herbs toward the end of
cooking the eggs, just long enough to mix them in and warm them
through. Alternatively, keep them separate and serve them alongside
your eggs on the plate.

The Best Pan for Scrambled Eggs

The very best pan for scrambling eggs is a non-stick skillet because the
eggs will slide easily without sticking to the pan. You can also use a cast-
iron pan as long as it's well-seasoned (otherwise the cast iron can turn your
eggs a greenish shade!). In a pinch, a stainless steel can be used, but use
some extra butter or oil to prevent the eggs from sticking too much.

The 8 Best Nonstick Pans: Home-Cook Tested

READ MORE:

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Make-Ahead or Frozen Scrambled Eggs

According to the American Egg Council, you can crack and mix the eggs
together up to two days in advance and store them in the refrigerator without
quality suffering. Wait to add the salt, cream, or milk until the day you make
them.

When I go camping with my family, I often crack one dozen eggs into a Ball
jar and pack it in the cooler. It makes getting breakfast ready a breeze, and I
don’t have to worry about delicate egg shells jostling around in a cooler.

Once cooked, scrambled eggs are best eaten immediately or at least the
same day, but they will keep in the fridge for three to four days.

 To reheat refrigerated scrambled eggs, melt some butter in a pan

over medium low heat. Add the eggs; they will likely clump together.
After the eggs have been in the pan for a minute, gently press on
them with the back of a rubber spatula so the curds split up into
smaller groups. Turn them around in the pan to coat the curds in
butter and warm them through. Two eggs should take about three
minutes to warm through on the stove top. The texture isn’t quite the
same as freshly made, but they are still delicious.
 You can also freeze scrambled eggs. People do it all the time with
quiche, egg cups, and homemade egg and sausage sandwiches. I
have never personally frozen scrambled eggs on their own, but this
website provides step by step instructions how to freeze and thaw
scrambled eggs.