8 best egg poachers for easy breakfasts and hard-to-beat brunches

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

These ingenious little silicone cages create perfectly cooked and shaped poached eggs without any hassle or mess. Add the poacher to a pan of boiling water – a marker on the inside takes the guesswork out of how much water is needed – and break an egg into the hole in the top half of the hourglass, which allows the egg to glide in without breaking the yolk. The holes in the bottom half of the hourglass mean water flows around the egg efficiently for an even cook, and the silicone stays cool for safe handling when it is time to remove from the scorching water. They are also incredibly easy to clean, dishwasher safe, and collapse inside themselves and stack for compact storage.

Best: For a good shape

Rating: 9/10

This gadget cooks the eggs inside what could be described as a mini pan with a silicone jacket. Sit it in a pan of boiling water and when the water begins to swirl in the pod, break the egg inside to cook. After a few minutes, depending on how runny a yolk you like, the poacher can be lifted out of the pan, the water drained away and the egg removed. We found the egg came out easily and in a good shape. Washing up is easy because the poacher can be taken apart and it is dishwasher safe.

Best: Investment poacher

Rating: 9/10

This is a fine piece of kitchen kit, with the degree of quality one would expect from Le Creuset. The three-ply stainless steel pan features a poaching insert with four craters into which eggs are cracked once the water below is boiling. Eggs cooked quickly and evenly in a few minutes and came out of the moulds with ease. The saute pan that holds the poaching insert doubles up as a pan for cooking anything you wish, and the use of the moulds is not limited to poaching eggs – they can cook anything small enough to be contained within them. This pan is an investment that will last a lifetime, just like the warranty. 

Best: For fluffy eggs

Rating: 8/10

A funny-looking thing to match the punny name, but it gets serious when it comes to poaching eggs perfectly. This device sits in a pan of boiling water and features a sieve-like basket in which to break the egg. The egg remains submerged throughout cooking, which helps to keep the white fluffy and creates a good shape. We like the hook that clips onto the side of the pan for drainage because it removes all the excess water to prevent soggy bread or a watery plate. We also found it easy to clean, and it is dishwasher safe.

Best: Multi-use pan

Rating: 8/10

Here we have a serious contender to rival the Le Creuset pan. The poaching insert holds four eggs and we found that they slipped out easily from the non-stick cups when cooked to avoid any breakages. Like the pan from the French cookware brand, Lakeland’s offering can also be used as a saute pan with the poaching attachment removed. It is heat resistant to 180C, so a frittata can be started on the hob and finished in the oven, and it is suitable for use on induction hobs. 

Best: For even heat distribution

Rating: 8/10

ProCook’s poacher is another pan that cooks four eggs using an insert. This one is made from coated aluminium, which makes it light and brilliant for distributing heat evenly, and it can be used in the oven up to an incredible 260C. Like the other poacher pans in this round-up, it can be used as a saute pan with the insert removed. The pan is dishwasher safe and comes with a 10-year guarantee.

Best: Budget buy

Rating: 7/10

For those mornings when breakfast is needed in a hurry, this poacher is the answer. Like most microwave cooking, it is rapid and this bit of kit helps take eggs from raw to deliciously poached in less than a couple of minutes. And because it is non-stick, the eggs slide out of the cavities easily to prevent any heartbreaking last-minute yolk breakages.

Best: For the microwave

Rating: 8/10

These silicone boats are the no-frills solution to poaching eggs. They are super straightforward to use, simply add a touch of oil and break the egg inside before floating on top of boiling water in a pan. We found that eggs took a little longer to cook with the Poachpod, but they are safe for microwave use to speed things up a little. As well as poaching eggs, the pods can also be used for a multitude of other kitchen tasks, including baking and as jelly and rice moulds.