Ina Garten Adds Ricotta to Create Creamy Scrambled Eggs

Ricotta cheese and gentle heat are central to Ina Garten's method for making creamy scrambled eggs, the celebrity chef recently told The Wall Street Journal. Her Italian-inspired approach produces a soft, custard-like texture, while fresh herbs add flavor to the breakfast dish.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Garten's recipe comes from her cookbook Simply Ina and serves four people. It combines eggs, milk, butter, olive oil, and ricotta, with salt and pepper seasoning the mixture.

Garten explained that temperature plays an important role in achieving the desired consistency.

"How you cook the eggs makes such a difference, too. If you cook them at a very low heat and add ricotta to give it creaminess and a little texture, it’s just a whole other thing." Garten said.

She described the resulting texture as distinct from that of conventional scrambled eggs.

"It’s like a custard rather than scrambled eggs." Garten said.

Fresh herbs are another part of her approach, and she recommends using whatever is available in the kitchen.

"I put chives in it," Garten said.

To prepare the dish, Garten heats butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. She whisks the eggs with milk, salt, and pepper, then allows the mixture to set briefly around the edges before stirring continuously until the eggs become soft and creamy.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Garten folds ricotta into the eggs as they cook, leaving small curds visible in the finished dish. She recommends serving the eggs on buttered toast with chives, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes.

Her technique shares one principle with other chefs' approaches to scrambled eggs: gentle cooking helps preserve a soft texture. Gordon Ramsay uses crème fraîche, adding it cold at the end of cooking to introduce richness and stop the eggs from cooking further.

Beyond breakfast, Garten also shared practical ideas for appetizers, snacks, and desserts. For a quick appetizer, she combines blue cheese with mayonnaise to make what she calls an emergency blue-cheese dip, served with vegetables available in the refrigerator.

Her suggested easy snacks include potato chips, olives, salami, and cucumber slices. For dessert, she sometimes purchases a cheesecake from a good bakery and prepares a quick raspberry sauce to accompany it.

Garten described the approach as a way to serve dessert without making the entire dish from scratch.

"Nobody will ever know," Garten said. "You’re relaxed. The dessert is delicious. Everybody has a good time."

Garten shares additional cooking and entertaining advice through her video podcast, Happy Hour With Ina Garten, which she films in her Manhattan apartment.