How To Make An Egg Patty [6 Quick & Easy Ways]

If you could only have one breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Mine would be a sausage and egg McMuffin.

I LOVE them.

In this article I’m going to teach you how to make a round egg patty that’ll fit perfectly inside your muffin.

So, how do you make an egg patty?

The best way to make an egg patty is to use an egg ring. You can buy one, use a cookie cutter, or make your own with foil. You can also bake or microwave the eggs in a round container. Or cheat and make a scrambled egg patty.

Use an egg ring (or a makeshift one)

An egg ring is what Mcdonald’s use to shape their patties. You can’t get much more authentic than this.

They consist of a metal or silicone ring and a handle. The ring contains the egg while it’s cooking, and you end up with a perfect circle.

Egg rings are best for people who don’t need to cook too many eggs in one go. It’s a cheap but effective solution.

How to make an egg patty with an egg ring:

1. Spray the inside of your egg ring with non-stick cooking spray or rub it with butter
2. Put it in your pan and put some oil/cooking spray inside the ring
3. Heat up the pan
4. Crack the egg into the ring
5. Break the yolk with a fork and gently mix it around for a few seconds. This step is crucial because it ensures the egg cooks evenly
6. Put a few tablespoons of water in the pan (outside the ring)
7. Cover the pan with a lid and let the egg cook for 2-3 minutes
8. Remove the egg ring (it should slide off easily) when the egg is cooked

Psst… this recipe is exactly the same as the McDonalds recipe. 

The water in the pan allows the top of the egg to steam while the bottom fries. This gives the egg it’s unique texture and prevents it from overcooking.

What’s can I use as an egg ring?

There are a few things you can use to make an egg ring.

You can buy one, or you can opt for a makeshift alternative.

• Regular egg ring – I like the Meidong egg rings (Amazon link).You get a pack of 4, and they come with an oil brush. The brush makes it easy for you to coat the whole ring evenly, so there’s no chance of the egg sticking. Buying an egg ring is the easiest and safest option. You know it’s going to work.
• A mason jar lid/canning jar rings – the quart-sized ones are the perfect size for an English muffin. And you can buy them in bulk for cheap. If you have a flat grill and want to cook up lots of eggs in one go, these will come in very handy.
• One made from foil – a DIY aluminum ring is a good option if you don’t have any other alternatives, but I wouldn’t recommend it as your go-to method. The rings will be very light, so you’ll have to hold it down while the egg is cooking.
• A cookie-cutter – cookie cutters come in all shapes and sizes. If you fancy deviating from the traditional round shape, this is the way to go. The cutters tend to be relatively light, so I would advise holding the cutter down when you crack the egg into it. Otherwise, you risk the egg leaking out the bottom and ruining your shape. 
• An empty tuna tin – make sure you’ve thoroughly cleaned the tin before you use it. Otherwise, you might end up with a tuna flavored egg (ew). Remove both ends from the tin, then spray the inside with a lubricant before using it.

How to make an aluminum egg ring:

1. Cut a sheet of aluminum foil, slightly larger than an A4 sheet of paper. Put the dull side face down (so the shiny side will be touching the egg).
2. Place a ruler lengthways across the foil and fold the foil around the ruler. The ruler makes sure the edges are straight so there are no gaps when you put the ring in the pan.
3. Once all the foil is folded slide the ruler out.
4. Cut the corners off one end of the foil strip.
5. Use something circular to shape the strip (an English muffin is perfect but you can also use a water bottle, a jar of sauce, a cookie-cutter, or a cup). Make sure the inside of the ring is smooth.
6. Slide the cut end into the other end of the strip to secure the ring. Adjust the size if you need.

Use a frying pan with egg-shaped holes 

If you can’t be bothered faffing around with egg rings, the next best thing is a dedicated egg frying pan.

The MyLife unit (amazon link) has four separate holes measuring 3 ⅞” across each. 

The sides are slightly slanted, so you won’t get the straight edges an egg ring will give you, but that’s only a minor cosmetic issue. But they do help the eggs slide out nice and smoothly when they’re done.

If you don’t need to use all the holes for eggs, you can also fry your bacon or sausage patty in the pan. That way everything will be ready at the same time!

Bake the eggs in a round tray

What’s got perfectly shaped round holes?

A muffin tray (or better yet, a muffin top tray, but more on that later)!

Oven baking the eggs is an excellent method for fast and easy batch cooking. All you need to do is crack the eggs into your tray and leave them to cook.

Once cooked, the baked eggs will last up to 5 days in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.

How to make egg rings in the oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray your muffin top tray with non-stick spray
3. Crack the eggs into each hole
4. Cut the yolk with a fork and swirl it around a bit. Splitting the yolk helps the egg cook evenly
5. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper (optional)
6. Cook until the eggs and yolk are set (around 13-18 minutes depending on how soft you want your yolk)

What’s the best tray for making egg patties?

Traditional English muffins are 3-4 inches in diameter, so you want your egg to be the same size.

Standard muffin trays are 2 inches in diameter. 

Muffin top (or whoopie pie pans) are 3 inches – the perfect size!

Side note: If you’re not American, a whoopie pie is two small chocolate cakes filled with vanilla frosting and marshmallow fluff

You can get a great muffin top tray on Amazon if you don’t have one already (linked here).

Microwave the eggs in a round container

This is the quickest method, but it can take a few goes before you get the timing right. I would have a few eggs handy in case the first one doesn’t go right.

You’ll need a dedicated egg cooker (this one’s my favorite). Most are between 4-4.5 inches in diameter, so your eggs might overhang your muffin a tiny bit, but nothing major.

How to use a microwave egg cooker for cooking egg patties

1. Spray the inside of the container with some non-stick cooking spray (this is optional as most of the cookers are already non-stick, but I like to make sure)
2. Crack the egg into the container
3. Break the yolk with a fork (if you don’t, you risk it exploding)
4. Sprinkle a little bit of water on top of the egg and close the lid. The water will help cook the top of the egg
5. Microwave the egg in intervals of 15 seconds until it reaches your desired consistency 

15 seconds is quite cautious, but it’s pretty much impossible to give an exact time because it depends on how cold your egg is, how big your egg is and how powerful your microwave is.

Once you know roughly how long it takes to cook the egg, you can stop checking it so often.

I like the oxo egg cooker because it has a removable bottom that makes it really easy to slide the egg out. Its 4.25 inches in diameter and has a slight curve to help center the yolk.

The handle always stays cool, so you won’t burn yourself taking it out of the microwave.

Make an omlete egg patty

If you don’t mind a slightly in-authentic McMuffin you can use a folded up omlete as your egg patty.

1. Whisk your egg in a small bowl and add in a pinch of salt and pepper for flavor
2. Grease the smallest frying pan you can find with oil or butter
3. Heat the pan on medium heat
4. Pour the egg into the pan and cook until the top is no longer runny
5. Fold the omlete four times inwards (see the video for exactly how) to make the patty

The patty wont be circular (it will be square), so it won’t fit exactly into your muffin. But it will be neat.

And this method is quick and easy, and doesn’t involve buying or making any new equipment.

Use a McMuffin maker

This is one for your gadget lovers / McMuffin enthusiasts. 

You can make your ENTIRE breakfast muffin in one device – the Hamiton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker (amazon link).

The bottom slice of bread goes in the bottom compartment. Then you add any pre-cooked meat (it can’t cook meat) and cheese. Next, crack a fresh egg in the middle chamber and then lay the next slice of bread on top (don’t worry, it doesn’t touch the egg).

Then you close the whole thing and leave it for 3-4 minutes. 

When you open it up again, the egg patty will be cooked, the meat will be warmed through, the bread will be toasted, and the cheese will be melted. You can slide the bottom of the egg plate out to complete the sandwich.

Easy peasy!

It would make a fantastic gift for the McMuffin fan in your life. Any birthdays coming up?

The sandwich maker is really easy to take apart, and you can put all the removable bits in the dishwasher. 

You can get all fancy with the sandwich combinations. Think goats cheese, spinach, and tomatoes. Or eggs with avocado, a sweetcorn hash, and bacon.

The point is it’s not just limited to making egg McMuffins.

Read Next: How To Reheat An Omelette

How To Make An Egg Patty [6 Methods]

In this recipe, I’m going to teach you how to make a round egg patty. One that’ll fit perfectly inside your muffin.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: egg mcmuffin, egg patty, round egg

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 person

Calories: 60kcal

Cost: $1

Equipment

• Egg ring (optional)

Ingredients

• 1 piece egg

Instructions

Use an egg ring (or a makeshift one)

• Spray the inside of your egg ring with non-stick cooking spray or rub it with butter.
• Put it in your pan and put some oil/cooking spray inside the ring.
• Heat up the pan to a medium-high heat.
• Crack the egg into the ring.
• Break the yolk with a fork and gently mix it around for a few seconds. This step is crucial because it ensures the egg cooks evenly.
• Put a few tablespoons of water in the pan (outside the ring).
• Cover the pan with a lid and let the egg cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the egg ring (it should slide off easily) when the egg is cooked

Nutrition

Serving: 1patty | Calories: 60kcal