Air Fryer Egg Toast

Try this yummy recipe for air fryer egg toast! Make quick work of a weekday breakfast for the whole family with this fun protein-rich brunch classic!

Man on a Raft is one of the cute names for this classic egg dish made with a slice of toasted bread with a small hole cut in the center. Maybe in your part of the world, this is called Toad in a Hole or Egg in a Hole! 

So the conundrum here was how to keep sloppy egg goo from leaking out the bottom of said “hole.” Let’s just say we made a lot of breakfast that day to make sure we could perfect this in the air fryer!

The best option was to make a dent with the bottom of a juice glass or mason jar to hold the runny egg while it cooked. It is a simple and delicious breakfast that will soon become your favorite lunch and snack, too!

Supplies to gather

We encourage home chefs to gather all of their tools and ingredients before committing to any recipe. This helps to ensure you have everything you need. 

Tools:

• Air fryer
• 8 oz mason jar or juice glass, clean and dry
• Measuring spoon
• Butter knife
• Turner or tongs

Ingredients:

• Fresh, raw egg
• Soft bread (we like white the best for this recipe, but any kind will do)
• Butter or your preferred plant-based spread, softened
• Salt and pepper
• Optional toppings and garnish, as desired

Tips to make Air Fryer Egg Toast

• Press the bottom of your juice glass or mason jar gently but firmly into the bread slice so it doesn’t tear or cut through. While regular egg toast cooking in a frying pan creates a hole all the way through, you don’t want to do that for this air fryer method.
• For a very small slice of bread (like Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free bread, for example), use a round-bottom measuring spoon to make the dent. Just know that the egg will probably spill over quite a bit on smaller pieces of bread.
• Add your favorite toppings to the finished egg toast, such as crumbled bacon or sausage, avocado slices, or diced green onion.
• Serve the air fryer egg toast with your favorite breakfast or brunch dishes like yogurt parfait or fruit salad.
• Make it cheesy: Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top of the egg halfway through air frying.
• Make it spicy: Crushed red pepper adds lots of flavor without too much heat (see photos).

Alternate air fryer cooking method

If denting the bread isn’t working very well, if you have foil or parchment, you can cook the egg toast flat on this surface. Because the egg is runny when fresh, you need to be able to contain it while it cooks. 

1. Line the tray or surface with foil or parchment. 
2. Spray lined surface with cooking spray.
3. Toast the bread, then butter generously.
4. On a cutting board, cut a hole in the center of the toast. Set aside the toast “hole.”
5. Lay the buttered toast flat on the parchment or foil.
6. Crack an egg into the hole.
7. Set the air fryer to 325F.
8. Place the tray with toast and egg into the air fryer and cook for 3 minutes to get a jammy yolk.
9. Remove the tray with hot pads and season or garnish as desired.

The bottom line

Yes, it IS possible to make this delicious piece of breakfast Americana in the air fryer! Here you’ll find two different methods for using the air fryer to make egg toast (aka Toad in a Hole or where I’m from Man on a Raft).