We tried the viral method of grating hard-boiled eggs onto avocado toast

At first, it looks like a mountain of grated cheese, the fluffy kind that might top a dish at a fancy restaurant. But then, on closer inspection, you will spot the tell-tale layers: white, then yellow and white again. If you’re seeing grated eggs all over your TikTok lately, you have Sarah Thomas-Drawbaugh, creator of "Healthyish Foods," to thank.

For the Colorado-based recipe developer and food blogger, inspiration struck one day while she was tinkering in the kitchen and her eyes landed on an unlikely tool. "I always like to reinvent classic recipes, and what’s more classic for breakfast than egg and avocado?" Thomas-Drawbaugh told TODAY Food. "I happened to glance at my Microplane and thought of running my hard-boiled egg over it. I was like, 'Huh, I wonder if this will work.' And it did!"

Over 3 million views later, Thomas-Drawbaugh is sitting pretty on top of a viral hit. "Before this one, I had a spicy cooked salmon bowl that took off, so you never know what’s going to go viral. But that’s what keeps it fun. I think part of the reason people love this one is that it’s easy and approachable," she said, noting that the ingredients are ones many families normally keep on-hand so they may even be able to get in on the trend without making a trip to the grocery store.

The technique may already be familiar to Russian families who grate their eggs over salads like the fabulously-named "herring under a fur coat," or French folks who enjoy leeks vinaigrette with shaved eggs as a light springtime dish.

Thomas-Drawbaugh shared some tips for making your own picture-perfect egg toast: "I see some people using bigger cheese graters, which is fine, but a Microplane keeps it really light and fluffy. Also, make sure the yolk is fully set and the egg is cold. If it’s still warm from hard-boiling, it won’t work as well."

(By the way, here's how to hard-boil eggs the traditional way, but many on TikTok prefer to use an air fryer to make hard-boiled eggs, so here's how to do that, too.)

As a loyal six-and-a-half minute egg gal, I thought I was committed to my preferred egg style for life. Hard-boiled eggs are never going to tempt me over a soft and runny situation. Plus, I usually use my Microplane for grating enormous, serving-size-be-damned portions of cheese on top of my meals, and I was worried the grated egg would just make me wish I were eating cheese instead. But if #FoodTok has taught me anything, it’s that recipes go viral for a reason.

Armed with Thomas-Drawbaugh’s tips, I gave her creation a shot. I have to admit, it’s pretty fun turning a hard-boiled egg into snow. It instantly transformed my avocado toast into something I might pay $16 for at brunch in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Trust me when I say this is the fanciest-looking hard-boiled egg you will ever eat. But the differences aren’t all cosmetic. Finely grating the egg means you get a perfectly light, airy blend of white and yolk with every bite, with no slimy bits to be found. The texture turns out to be a taste game-changer.

Drawbaugh-Thomas recommended using the technique as a jumping-off point for other creations, like as a topping for potato salad. For the holidays, she even made a version of her now-famous egg toast using lox and caviar. "It was kinda bougie but so fun," she said. "It was the holidays, so why not? Food brings people together and lets you be creative."

Grated Egg Avocado Toast Recipe

By Sarah Thomas-Drawbaugh, Healthyish Foods

Ingredients

1 slice crusty bread, toasted

1 tablespoon Kewpie mayonnaise

1/2 small avocado, sliced thin

1 hard-boiled egg, grated

pinch salt

pinch black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

Instructions

1. Toast one slice of crusty bread.
2. Add a layer of Kewpie mayo.
3. Add the sliced avocado on top of the Kewpie mayo.
4. Use your Microplane to shave the egg on top of the avocado.
5. Season with salt, pepper and a few dots of Sriracha.