Sous Vide Egg and Mashed Potato Breakfast Jars Recipe

When you need a hands-off brunch, these sous vide egg and mashed potato jars are the answer.

By
Sasha Marx
Sasha Marx
Senior Culinary Editor
Sasha is a senior culinary editor at Serious Eats. He has over a decade of professional cooking experience, having worked his way up through a number of highly regarded and award-winning restaurant kitchens, followed by years spent in test kitchens for food publications.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated January 05, 2023
20191024-leftover-mashed-potato-egg-jars-vicky-wasik-22
Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • The precise temperature control of sous vide cooking allows you to cook perfect poached eggs and reheat leftover mashed potatoes at the same time.
  • This hands-off breakfast combines leftovers and kitchen staples in single-serving Mason jars, making it easy to scale the recipe up or down depending on how many hungry mouths you need to feed.

Cooking brunch shouldn't be stressful. Busting out the griddle to take breakfast orders like a short-order cook in your own home is the last thing you want to be doing first thing in the morning. These egg-and-potato breakfast jars, inspired by one of the signature dishes at Eggslut, are perfect for a low-effort, hands- and brains-off brunch. Layer leftover mashed potatoes and freshly cracked eggs in Mason jars, plunk them in a sous vide water bath, and one hour later you'll have perfect custardy poached eggs and warm, comforting mashed potatoes, ready to be dipped into with a piece of crunchy toast. If you're feeling ambitious, jazz these jars up with a gravy-on-the-bottom twist, or a sprinkling of chopped crispy bacon. Who's to say yogurt is the only parfait-able breakfast food?

November 2019

This recipe was cross-tested in 2022 and lightly updated with more accurate timing to guarantee best results.

Recipe Details

Sous Vide Egg and Mashed Potato Breakfast Jars Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 60 mins
Active 15 mins
Resting Time: 10 mins
Total 80 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (400g; 14 ounces) leftover mashed potatoes, see notes

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 large eggs

  • Coarse sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon, for serving (optional)

  • Finely sliced chives, for serving

  • Toasted bread, for serving

Directions

  1. Set up a sous vide immersion circulator and bring water bath to 145°F (63°C).

  2. Check consistency of leftover mashed potatoes; if they seem too stiff, adjust with a splash of milk or cream. Taste potatoes and adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. Divide potatoes evenly among four 8-ounce wide mouth Mason jars, gently pressing and smoothing out potatoes into an even layer.

  3. Crack an egg into each jar, then seal jars until just finger-tight (if lids are screwed on too tightly, the jars may crack during cooking). Gently lower jars into water bath until fully submerged, and cook until egg whites are very soft and jammy,  about 1 hour. The internal temperature of egg white should be 145ºF (63ºC).

  4. Transfer jars to counter. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes to allow the egg whites to slightly set, but not firm. Unscrew lids, taking care not to let any residual water leak into the jars when opening. Season eggs with sea salt (if using) and pepper, and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately with toasted bread for dipping.

Special equipment

Immersion circulator, 8-ounce widemouthed Mason jars

Notes

Both our ultra-fluffy and rich and creamy mashed potatoes will work for this recipe.

If you also have leftover gravy on-hand from a holiday meal, you can up the savory richness of this dish by spooning one tablespoon of gravy into each jar before adding the mashed potatoes in step 2.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The potato-egg jars are best enjoyed immediately, but they can be cooked in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat jars in a sous vide water bath set to 140°F (60°C) until heated through, 30 minutes.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
201Calories
9gFat
20gCarbs
9gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories201
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g12%
Saturated Fat 2g12%
Cholesterol 187mg62%
Sodium 487mg21%
Total Carbohydrate 20g7%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 11mg55%
Calcium 56mg4%
Iron 1mg7%
Potassium 404mg9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes