Easy Florentine Egg Cups

Our easy take on eggs Florentine is perfect for feeding a crowd and couldn’t be simpler to pull together. While the original dish calls for building stacks of poached eggs and spinach on English muffin halves, this streamlined recipe is conveniently built in a muffin tin. You’ll pop a piece of bread and some thawed frozen spinach in each cup, then crack in an egg and throw the whole thing in the oven. They're ready when the bread is golden, and the yolks are perfectly runny. Serve them as is or accompanied by a quick Hollandaise sauce for the most delicious and stress-free brunch ever.

What Is Eggs Florentine?

Similar to eggs Benedict, eggs Florentine features poached eggs perched on English muffin halves and draped with Hollandaise sauce. In place of the Canadian bacon essential for Benedict, eggs Florentine is a vegetarian version made with sautéed spinach. While the exact origins of the dish are unknown, its name nods back to Catherine de Medici of Florence, who became the wife of France's Henry II in the 16th century. It is said that the young queen was so fond of spinach that she brought it with her from Italy and had it incorporated into her meals in her new home. (Other notable dishes that feature spinach also bear the Florentine moniker, like sole Florentine and quiche Florentine.)

The 4 Ingredients for Florentine Egg Cups

Our streamlined take on the brunch favorite calls for only four simple ingredients:

Bread: Instead of English muffin halves, you'll use white sandwich bread for our easy recipe. Cutting the crusts off helps the slices fit in the muffin cups and keeps the edges from becoming too dark in the oven. You can use whole wheat or potato bread instead of white if you'd prefer.

Spinach: Frozen spinach helps these egg cups come together in a flash. To thaw it, place spinach in a colander and run it under cool water. You can also microwave it on 50 percent power for a few minutes, stirring once or twice. No matter how you defrost it, it's crucial to squeeze out as much liquid as possible to keep the egg cups from becoming soggy. If you'd rather use fresh spinach, plan to sauté three-quarters of a pound until tender, then squeeze out excess liquid.

Eggs: You'll crack one egg into each muffin cup. To help keep any bits of shell from making it into the cups, we recommend cracking each egg individually into a small bowl and then tipping it into the muffin cup.

Butter: Spreading a little butter onto each piece of bread helps it become deliciously golden in the oven and adds a touch of richness to the dish.