Pesto Eggs on Toast

Learn how to make the super easy and delicious viral Tik Tok food trend Pesto Eggs on Toast with this simple recipe. Whip up your own fresh basil pesto or use store bought. Recipe doubles easily to make 4 servings.

Disclosure: This post is made possible by Egg Farmers of Alberta. All opinions and experiences are my own.

If you’re here for the eggs like I am, please check out these other egg recipes featuring nature’s perfect protein. Some ‘work from home’ readers have been telling me they love this ‘fix and forget it’ Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole for lunch. Then there’s my family’s favourite card playing snack, Classic Pickled Eggs. It’s not a family games night without them!

Pesto Eggs on Toast

Move over avocado toast, there’s a new(ish) snacking toast in town! I’m sure Pesto Eggs have been around for a while but they became a ‘viral’ Tik Tok food trend back in April 2021. Over a year later this easy egg dish from Amy Wilichowski is still super popular and here’s why…

Pesto eggs are easy. Pesto eggs are delicious. I feel like I could probably end this post after those two sentences. However, there’s more. This versatile dish is great for breakfast, lunch, or even a quick dinner on a busy night. You can use homemade pesto, but if you keep a jar of store bought pesto in the fridge it’s even quicker.

I don’t know of any dish that is easier and more satisfying. Besides, who can resist those radiant sunny side up eggs surrounded by vibrant green pesto? Oh, and if you prefer scrambled eggs over a fried egg, you can still scramble the eggs in the pesto.

Eggs are the perfect protein and I am obsessed with pesto. I love pesto so much I grew my own basil for this post. Check it out!

Ingredients for Pesto Eggs on Toast

The Pesto Eggs in the original Tik Tok video were served on top of melty mozzarella cheese toasts and topped with chili flakes. In this Pesto Eggs recipe I have spread the sourdough toasts with a creamy Macedonian Feta cheese.

• Eggs
• Sourdough Bread
• Macedonian Feta
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and Pepper
• Pesto

Sourdough Bread is merely a suggestion. You can replace the sourdough with your favourite bread, wrap, or eat the pesto eggs on their own.

I always have Macedonian Feta in the fridge because I regularly use it to make Whipped Feta. Spreadable cheeses like mascarpone, goat cheese, ricotta, burrata, or cream cheese will work just as well.

You can buy a jar of pesto or make your own. If you make your own, you will need fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, a lemon, garlic, salt, and olive oil.

How to Make Pesto

Add the fresh basil, pine nuts, salt, garlic, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and half the lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture a few times. Then, with the motor running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil. So easy!

If you have greens you need to use up, feel free to replace up to half of the pesto with baby arugula, kale, spinach, wild ramps, or even the green tops of carrots, radishes, or beets.

How to Make Pesto Eggs on Toast

Just in case you have not seen the original Tik Tok video or other copycat versions, here is the lowdown on how to make Pesto Eggs on Toast. As you can imagine, this recipe doubles easily to make 4 portions.

To make Pesto Eggs heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat then smear 2 Tablespoons of pesto (or more) around the bottom of the pan. Add extra oil if you think it’s needed but there should be enough oil in the pesto to fry the eggs without sticking.

When the pesto is warmed, gently crack the egg onto one side, then repeat with the second egg. Season the eggs with salt and pepper.

Toast the bread, then spread it with creamy Feta cheese (or mascarpone, ricotta, cream cheese, hummus, sliced or mashed avocado to your preference) or melt your favourite cheese on the toast.

Cook the eggs sunny side up in the pesto up for 4-5 minutes or until the egg white become fully opaque. You can flip the eggs over easy and cook further, if you prefer your eggs this way.

Carefully remove each cooked egg from the frying pan and place it on the prepared toasts. Top them with finely grated Parmesan, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, etc. to your preference.

Tasty Substitutions for This Recipe

Changing the Toast Topping

The Pesto Eggs in the original Tik Tok video were served on top of melty mozzarella cheese toasts and topped with chili flakes. In this Pesto Eggs recipe I have spread the sourdough toasts with a creamy Macedonian Feta cheese. However, there are so many great ways to top the toasts.

1. Top them with hummus, white bean dip, or mushy peas for an extra hit of protein.
2. Change up the cheese. Spreadable cheeses like mascarpone, goat cheese, ricotta, burrata, or cream cheese work the best.
3. Slather the toasts with leftover mashed vegetables (sweet potato, carrots, peas) before adding the eggs.
4. Top the toasts with roasted red peppers or charred eggplant, broccolini, or zucchini.
5. Blend two trends into one and prepare the toasts with mashed or sliced avocados.

Changing the Toast

OR you can change up the toast itself. Eat the Pesto Eggs on their own or in a wrap or tortilla. For those with dietary restrictions here are a few options:

• For a gluten-free version you could eat them on sweet potato toasts or simply enjoy them on their own.
• Cheese wraps and egg wraps make excellent keto options. Imagine that….eggs wrapped in even more eggs!

Changing the Pesto

FINALLY, you can change up the pesto. Use up languishing greens such as baby arugula, kale, spinach, wild ramps, or even green carrot tops! This is a great way to follow a trend and be mindful of food waste at the same time. Simply replace up to half of the fresh basil with the green of your choice.

Besides the basic Pesto alla Genovese there’s Pesto alla Trepanese (similar to Genovese but with fresh tomatoes and almonds instead of pine nuts). My favourite substitution is Pesto Rosso with sundried tomatoes (and sometimes red pepper flakes and roasted red peppers).

One pesto version that I really want to try is Pesto Modenese with garlic, rosemary, and sometimes thyme. The main fat is lardo instead of olive oil. Since lardo is essentially cured pig fat, it would be like a decadent version of bacon and eggs.

If you make this Pesto Eggs on Toast recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.