Equipment
Ingredients
Base
- 100 g sourdough bread, thickly sliced
Avocado Mash
- 1 avocado, ripe, halved and pitted
- 10 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 g sea salt, flaky or coarse
- 1 g black pepper, freshly cracked
- 1 g chili flakes
Poached Eggs
- 2 large eggs, cold, whole
- 15 ml white vinegar
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 365 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbohydrates
- 34 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fiber
- 8 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 1014 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 4 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 12 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Cholesterol
- 186 mg
- Potassium
- 566 mg
- Calcium
- 45 mg
- Iron
- 2.0 mg
- Magnesium
- 36 mg
- Phosphorus
- 152 mg
- Zinc
- 1.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 87 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 12 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.0 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 2.6 mg
- Vitamin K
- 22 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.5 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.09 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.36 mg
- Niacin
- 1.8 mg
- Folate
- 106 mcg
- Water
- 116 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a gentle simmer at 85 C or 185 F. Stir in the white vinegar.
Toast the sourdough slices in a toaster or skillet until deeply golden brown and crisp.
Scoop the avocado flesh into a small mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, and chili flakes. Mash with a fork until thoroughly combined but still retaining some chunky texture.
Using a slotted spoon, stir the simmering water to create a gentle vortex. Carefully crack the eggs directly into the center of the vortex. Cook for 3 minutes until the whites are fully set but the yolks remain fluid.
Divide the mashed avocado evenly over the toasted sourdough slices, spreading it to the edges. Gently lift the poached eggs from the water, dab briefly on a paper towel to remove excess moisture, and place one egg on top of each toast.
Garnish with an extra pinch of sea salt, black pepper, and a few more chili flakes. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Always use thick, crusty bread like a rustic sourdough. The hearty crumb provides structural integrity to hold up the dense avocado mash and liquid egg yolk.
- For the neatest poached eggs, crack your egg into a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl before dropping it into the water. This strains away the thin, watery albumen that causes messy wisps.
- Do not over-mash your avocado. Leaving slightly larger chunks creates a better textural contrast against the crisp toast and silky egg.
- Adjust the chili flakes based on your heat tolerance, or substitute them with a drizzle of chili crisp or hot sauce for a different flavor profile.
Storage
Troubleshooting
Egg whites disperse and create a messy web in the water instead of forming a neat pouch.
Cause: The eggs were not fresh enough, or the water was boiling too vigorously.
Fix: Trim the wispy edges with a knife before serving to improve the appearance. Next time, try cracking the egg into a fine-mesh sieve first to drain the watery part of the egg white.
Prevention: Use farm-fresh eggs, as their whites hold together better. Ensure the water is at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, and use vinegar to aid coagulation.
Avocado turns brown quickly before serving.
Cause: Exposure to oxygen without sufficient acid.
Fix: Scrape off the top oxidized layer of the mash; the avocado underneath should still be green and perfectly safe to eat.
Prevention: Do not cut the avocado until you are ready to assemble the dish, and ensure it is mixed thoroughly with the lemon juice.
Cultural Context
While smashed avocado on toast originated as an Australian café staple in the early 1990s, the addition of a poached egg, chili flakes, and citrus has become an iconic emblem of modern American brunch culture over the last decade. It elegantly combines healthy fats, carbohydrates, and protein into a universally beloved dish.
