Italian baked eggs with tomato sauce or eggs in Purgatory are a delicious, but easy way to enjoy breakfast and brunch. These saucy baked eggs feel fancy but are effortless to get on the table!
I am not a morning person.
Hard pass on anything that requires me to do lots of work before I’ve had my coffee.
These Italian style baked eggs are as easy as spreading some marinara sauce out in a dish and cracking eggs.
There’s nothing hard about them!
And the result is a rich dish absolutely loaded with flavor you’ll love.
What are Italian Baked Eggs?
Italian baked eggs in tomato sauce are exactly what they sound like: eggs baked in wells of tomato sauce.
Sometimes they are called eggs in Purgatory, a name that has its roots in the Catholic faith, with the eggs representing souls and the surrounding sauce representing Purgatory, or the space between heaven and hell.
All religious philosophy aside, anyway you slice it tomato sauce and eggs make one delicious combination!
Ingredients
To make these you’ll need:
- Marinara sauce– Store-bought is fine or you could use leftover homemade marinara.
- Spices– Crushed red pepper flakes, dried parsley, dried basil, salt and pepper
- Eggs
- Cheese– Grated pecorino romano. Can’t find romano cheese? Use a decent quality grated Parmesan.
- Extra virgin olive oil– Don’t substitutes.
- Heavy cream– Don’t substitute a lower fat product. You want maximum richness.
How to Make
To make these Italian baked eggs, start by lightly spraying a 9×13″ baking dish with nonstick spray.
Then spread the marinara sauce out into the dish in an even layer.
Sprinkle the seasonings evenly out overtop of the sauce.
Using the back of a spoon, make 6 wells in the sauce.
Then, crack each egg into one of the wells.
Spoon the cheese, olive oil, and cream evenly out overtop of the eggs and season them with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes, just until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are set to your desired preference.
Serve the eggs over slices of toast, and enjoy!
How long does it take to bake eggs?
It takes 10 to 12 minutes to bake the eggs in this recipe.
If you like your yolk set and not runny you can cook them for longer.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover baked eggs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat them in the oven until warmed through.
Tips and Tricks
- This is a fantastic way to use up leftover sauce!
- Serve them with pieces of toast or even griddled pieces of Italian bread so you can sop up all the sauce.
- Jazz up the sauce even more with some crushed garlic if you desire.
Other Easy Egg Dishes
Italian baked eggs in sauce or eggs in Purgatory are delicious but easy breakfast.
Make them and enjoy!
Looking for other easy egg dishes?
Try these:
If you’ve tried this ITALIAN BAKED EGGS IN SAUCE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Italian Style Baked Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- salt & pepper to taste
- toast for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Lightly spray a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick spray. Add the marinara sauce to the dish, and spread it out in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the seasonings evenly out overtop of the sauce.
- Using the back of a spoon, make 6 wells/divets in the sauce. Crack each egg into one of the wells.
- Spoon the cheese, olive oil, and cream evenly out overtop of the eggs. Season them with salt & pepper, to taste.
- Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes, just until the whites are cooked through & the yolks are set to your desired preference.
- Serve the eggs over slices of toast, and enjoy!
Notes
- This is a fantastic way to use up leftover sauce!
- Serve them with pieces of toast or even griddled pieces of Italian bread so you can sop up all the sauce.
- Jazz up the sauce even more with some crushed garlic if you desire.
Nutrition
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