Step 1: Preheating the Oven and Preparing the Baking Dish Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). While it heats up, lightly grease a small baking dish or line it with parchment paper. You’ll place the avocado halves directly in the dish, and the grease will prevent them from sticking.
Step 2: Halving and Pitting the Avocado Carefully cut the avocado in half lengthwise around the pit. Twist the two halves to separate them. Remove the pit by gently tapping it with your knife blade and twisting it out. Be careful with this step—avocados can be slippery!
Step 3: Scooping Out the Avocado Flesh for the Egg Well Using a spoon, scoop out about one tablespoon of flesh from the center of each avocado half. This creates a slightly larger cavity for the egg. Don’t discard the scooped-out avocado—you can eat it as a snack or mash it into a quick guacamole.
Step 4: Placing the Avocados in the Baking Dish Nestle each avocado half into your prepared baking dish. If they wobble, you can trim a tiny slice off the bottom to help them sit flat. This keeps the eggs from spilling out during baking.
Step 5: Cracking the Eggs into the Avocados Crack one egg into each avocado half. If your egg white starts to overflow, just spoon off a bit of the excess. Try to keep the yolk centered in the avocado.
Step 6: Seasoning the Avocado Egg Cups Sprinkle each avocado egg cup with a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. This is also the time to add any additional seasonings you love, like garlic powder or paprika.
Step 7: Topping with Cheese and Baking Sprinkle one tablespoon of shredded cheese over each avocado egg cup. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. For runny yolks, check at 12 minutes. For firmer yolks, let them bake closer to 15 minutes.
Step 8: Garnishing and Serving Remove the dish from the oven carefully. Let the avocado egg cups cool for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle fresh chives on top and add red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. Serve immediately while the avocado is warm and the egg is perfectly cooked.