Sunnyside Salad isn’t your typical egg salad! Crispy fried eggs on top of salad greens is my favorite go-to Whole30 breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Close up of Sunnyside Salad, crispy fried eggs on top of salad greens.

A non-traditional egg salad!

Not that there’s anything wrong with a classic egg salad. But there are times when I just want a super-fast salad—one that I can whip up at a moment’s notice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And this recipe’s about as simple as it gets.

What’s the best way to fry eggs for this sunnyside salad?

Let’s talk about fried eggs. I know some folks will swear up-and-down that the perfect sunny-side up egg features a runny yolk and whites that are cooked through—but with no brown edges. Me? I say the “right” way is to make eggs however way you like to eat ’em, no matter what Gordon Ramsay thinks. And my favorite way to prepare fried eggs is to make them with crispy, frizzled whites and silky, runny yolks.

Soft yolks are the way to go!

I’ll admit that I didn’t always like soft yolks. As a kid, the texture made me gag. But just as I gradually developed an appreciation for grainy mustard, olives, and anchovies as my tastes matured, I came to deeply love custardy yolks.

These days, it’s my favorite way to have eggs, and I consider it a bad omen for the day if I overcook my morning yolks. My Instagram followers know that I’ve been posting tons and tons and TONS of pictures of my crispy eggs lately. After all, if Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, the folks at Epicurious, and Chinese moms all over the world prefer crispy-fried sunny-side-up eggs, who are we to argue?

A spatula lifting up a crispy fried egg that shows the golden brown frizzled whites.

Eggs are the best emergency protein

And for a busy Paleo eater on a budget, eggs are the ultimate protein: they’re inexpensive, packed with nutrients, easy to make, and satisfying. Plus, when you add an egg to a plate of greens, you automatically turn it into a complete meal, fit for the heartiest eater. Sprinkle your favorite sea salt and drizzle some aged vinegar on top, and you’ve created a restaurant-quality entrée salad that’ll knock your socks off.

Ingredients

How to make Sunnyside Salad

Heat a small cast iron skillet on high. Get it super hot before you start cooking your eggs.

A cast iron skillet on top of a gas range.

In the meantime, pile some salad greens into a bowl. (If you’re feeling fancy, use a vegetable peeler to shred some carrots on top of the lettuce.)

A brown shallow bowl is filled with salad greens and carrot ribbons.

Once the skillet is screaming hot, add a big dollop of ghee. (Ghee is my preferred high temperature cooking fat, with a high smoke point and neutral flavor.)

A spoon filled with ghee is on top of a smoking hot cast iron skillet.

Crack two eggs into a small bowl, and pour them into the hot skillet.

Two eggs in a white bowl are poured into a hot cast iron skillet.

The whites touching the skillet will blister and cook right away, but the raised whites near the yolk need a little extra help to cook through. Tilt the skillet away from you (so the ghee doesn’t splatter on you and your pretty clothes), and use an offset spoon to baste the whites with the hot ghee. Remember to use a towel or wear an oven mitt when you grab the handle of the skillet.

A cast iron skillet filled with two sunnyside up fried eggs is tilted with a spoon ladling hot ghee on the uncooked whites.

Once the whites on top are set, turn off the heat. When you peek underneath, the eggs should be crispy and golden brown.

A thin spatula lifts up the crispy egg to expose the browned whites on the bottom.

Remove the eggs with a fish spatula and place them on top of your salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and drizzle on All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce or your favorite vinegar (e.g. aged sherry or balsamic vinegar).

A close-up view of Sunnyside Salad with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

Ta-da!

A finished Sunnyside Salad in a brown serving bowl.

The slightly sweet zing of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce or aged vinegar ties the dish together—and when combined with the soft yolk, it’ll make an instant salad dressing. (Acid plus fat = dressing!)

A fork is popping the runny yolk in a Sunnyside Salad

Really: there’s no better fast food.

Michelle Tam is happily eating a Sunnyside Salad

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).


PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Sunnyside Salad (Crispy Fried Eggs on Greens)

5 from 8 votes
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Servings 1 serving
This isn’t your typical egg salad! Crispy fried eggs on top of salad greens is my favorite go-to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s Whole30-friendly, too!

Ingredients  

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Instructions 

  • Heat a small cast iron skillet on high. Get it super hot before you start cooking your eggs.
  • In the meantime, pile some salad greens into a bowl.
  • If you’re feeling fancy, use a vegetable peeler to shred some carrots on top of the lettuce.
  • Once the skillet is screaming hot, add a big dollop of ghee. 
  • Crack two eggs into a small bowl and pour them into the hot skillet.
  • The whites touching the skillet will blister and cook right away, but the raised whites near the yolk need a little extra help to cook through. Tilt the skillet away from you (so the ghee doesn’t splatter on you and your pretty clothes), and use an offset spoon to baste the whites with the hot ghee. Remember to use a towel or wear an oven mitt when you grab the handle of the skillet.
  • Once the whites on top are set, turn off the heat.
  • When you peek underneath, the eggs should be crispy and golden brown.
  • Remove the eggs with a fish spatula and place them on top of your salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle on All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce or your favorite aged vinegar.
  • The slightly sweet zing of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce or aged vinegar ties the dish together—and when combined with the soft yolk, it’ll make an instant salad dressing. (Acid plus fat = dressing!)

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 24g | Fiber: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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Recipe Rating




3 Comments

  1. A couple handfuls of prewashed Spring Mix from the bag tossed with salt, pepper & balsamic vinegar. Two sunny side up eggs over the top with yolks pierced. Expected it to be so-so. It was excellent; waaay better than expected. Quick, too. 5 minutes to put together. Thanks Nom Nom for posting this.

  2. 5 stars
    Quick and easy to put together. The egg yolk and balsamic vinegar worked together beautifully to dress the greens. An elegant dish.

  3. 5 stars
    I made this today, but with white balsamic vinegar (to keep the colors from turning weird in the bowl). Would highly recommend. I don’t make my eggs any other way now.0