For an essential and versatile ingredient found in nearly every meal you’d think we have better ways of cooking the yolky contents.  But when it comes to eggs, we resort to the mundane poached, scrambled, or pan-fried varieties.  Occasionally we might treat ourselves to an eggs benedict, but few of us have experimented with making truly unique versions of this protein.  Eggs are not solely a breakfast delight, but can be incorporated into every meal for a fast and rich source of protein.  We’ve compiled some of the most creative ways to cook eggs that might add some flavor into your routine student meals.

Baked eggs
The thought of pre-heating just to cook a few eggs may be daunting, but baked eggs in fact take less effort with only slightly longer cooking time.  While the oven heats you can be working on the other half of your meal, whether it’s toast or hash browns.  The advantage of baked eggs doesn’t just stop there.  They are also the easiest to pair with vegetables, as you can easily toss some spinach, potatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini while you’re meal-prepping.

Steamed eggs
Among my favorite ways to cook eggs is steaming.  The texture is so smooth it melts in your mouth.  To add extra flavor to the steamed eggs you can top them with scallions, sesame oil, basil, or any of your favorite herbs.  If you don’t have a steamer basket, sometimes rice cookers come with a steamer tray.  Using the rice cooker lets you prepare your grains and protein in one go, saving time and energy to do more important things, like studying!

Dropped eggs
Dropped eggs add an extra layer of sophistication and flavor to your regular cooking that will create some jaw-dropping responses at your next dinner party.  I know when I first experimented with this cooking style my perspective of meal-prep changed forever.  I no longer had to consume eggs in solid form, but could drink this versatile protein in a rich, delicious soup form.  To prepare dropped eggs, you whisk the eggs in a bowl then slowly drizzle them over boiling water to create the thin wisps of eggs that appear so light they could float away.

Crispy eggs
After a few days of meal prepping with hard-boiled eggs, my taste buds craved something savory and crispy but non-greasy.  Enter, the crispy egg.  The crispy egg is not your average hard-boiled egg, even though it is deceiving on the inside.  Crispy eggs are coated with a layer of breadcrumbs that add texture to plain hard-boiled eggs.  You can also try doing the same to a sunny-side egg and flavor with your favorite spices.

 Tea eggs
For the skeptics, you might be wondering if tea and eggs is even a legitimate combination, but I assure you that it is not only possible but scrumptious.  Contrary to its name, not only will you be adding tea leaves but spices, and herbs that absorb into egg overnight.  While boiling your eggs, add black tea leaves, soy sauce, star anise, a bit of a cinnamon stick, and tangerine zest to flavor the broth.  When the eggs are fully boiled, soak them overnight with the broth to maximize its powerfully complex flavor.  Then, in the morning, you’ll have more than just your hard-boiled eggs to look forward to!