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Sunnyside Salad (Crispy Fried Eggs on Greens)

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.

This clearly ain’t your 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.

It’s so easy, in fact, that if you don’t feel like reading through the recipe, you can just feast your eyes on this short cooking video we made, and you’ll get the gist:

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.

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.

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.

Makes one serving

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups salad mix
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1 heaping tablespoon ghee
  • 2 large eggs
  • Flake sea salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Aged sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Equipment:

  • 8-inch seasoned cast iron skillet
  • Salad bowl
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Small bowl
  • Ove glove oven mitt
  • Offset spoon
  • Fish spatula

Steps:

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 your favorite 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 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 on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

Recipe IndexNom Nom Paleo CookbooksNom Nom Paleo App

PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Sunnyside Salad by Michelle Tam / Nom Nom Paleo https://nomnompaleo.com
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Sunnyside Salad (Crispy Fried Eggs on Greens)

Prep 5 mins

Cook 5 mins

Total 10 mins

Author Michelle Tam

Yield 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

  • 2 cups salad mix
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1 heaping tablespoon ghee
  • 2 large eggs
  • Flake sea salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Aged sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  1. Heat a small cast iron skillet on high. Get it super hot before you start cooking your eggs.
  2. In the meantime, pile some salad greens into a bowl.
  3. If you’re feeling fancy, use a vegetable peeler to shred some carrots on top of the lettuce.
  4. Once the skillet is screaming hot, add a big dollop of ghee. 
  5. Crack two eggs into a small bowl and pour them into the hot skillet.
  6. 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.
  7. Once the whites on top are set, turn off the heat.
  8. When you peek underneath, the eggs should be crispy and golden brown.
  9. 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 your favorite aged sherry or balsamic vinegar.

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

Courses Breakfast

Cuisine Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-free, Salad

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