I have so much time in the morning before work. I’m always looking for something else to do in those hours before I start my day, and I always have a delicious, hot breakfast.
– No one, ever.
I may be one for hyperbole, but the quality of my life has literally improved a million-fold since perfecting this recipe and process. With less than a half-hour investment on a Sunday, I have a week’s worth of delicious and healthy breakfast, that keeps me full until lunch time.
Egg sandwiches on English muffins. This batch has chicken sausage, spinach, and a little mozzarella cheese. {Incidentally, all ingredients left over from a One-Pot Stovetop Lasagna Ragu binge! Love the efficiency of using the same ingredients on several very different dishes…}
Sure, I can spend $4 at Starbucks (and probably $4 on a latte while I’m there, and 15 minutes in line), but this ain’t bad either:
I was skeptical about freezing and microwaving scrambled eggs {and to be fair I haven’t left these in the freezer for more than a week or so, mostly because when I know I have them, I want to eat them ASAP}, but it works! Sandwich cooled to room temp, tight saran wrap, sealed freezer bag; when ready to eat, swap the saran wrap for a paper towel wrap; 2 minutes in the micro (some micro’s only need about 1:45).
I like to grab one on my way out the door in the morning, either heating it for my walk to work, or tossing it in my purse (it’s fine for the half hour commute) to nuke at work and have at my desk as I get rolling in the morning. Works great for car commutes as well, on the days that’s my path. Although I usually have more time for breakfast on the weekend, I have more than once enjoyed a Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwich as I head out for a Saturday morning dog walk. And said dog being walked appreciates the streamlining of my morning as well. More time for rolling on the Mall, his new favorite pastime.
Cooking and Assembly:
I like to use a large non-stick saute pan for this endeavor. Once it’s heated over medium-high heat, cook your mix-ins. If using bacon or sausage, cook those first, then any hard veggies like onions or red peppers. Once any meat is cooked through, and the veggies are tender, toss in your spinach to wilt (if using), which should take a minute. Move the sandwich guts to the side, reduce the heat to medium for the incoming eggs and cheese, and spray the bottom of the pan. Enter: eggs and cheese. Try to evenly distribute the mix-ins throughout the eggs.
Don’t over-scramble the eggs. You want the ginormous egg-scramble in the pan to stay in just a few large pieces, so when you transfer it to the English muffins, it stays together and doesn’t topple off the muffin – that’s precisely what you would not want for an on-the-go breakfast! I slowly drag a spatula around the edges, sometimes through the middle, letting the still-liquid eggs touch the pan and brown, turning the eggs over in as large of a piece as I can, while making sure it all gets cooked through.
See what I mean? Just try to keep it together as much as possible.
Once your eggs are set (I like mine just a little brown), remove them from the heat and let them cool.
I know. Cold eggs. Gross.
But this is a make-ahead meal, and you aren’t eating the eggs cold. What you’re doing with this step is saving your English muffins from getting soggy before their time. It doesn’t take long for eggs to cool, so while that’s happening, you can prep the muffins. You want at least 5 (for the week!) but you will probably be able to make the whole package of 6.
Set up your assembly station.
Figure out which part of the English muffins are the bottoms (if it’s really hard to tell, choose the larger/wider half), and line those up. I like to use a 1/3 cup measuring cup as my scooper. It’s an approximate measurement for how much I want on the sandwich, and it’s also the right shape. Just be careful to not scrape the pan if you are using a scooper with a strong edge and a coated non-stick pan. I scoop the scrambled egg mixture out, lay it onto the muffin, and then press it down a little bit with the bottom of the scooper.
(That guy needs a little more scrambled egg – this is just a process example!)
Some days are more orderly than others…
When you are done assembling, top them off with their matching lids.
Wrap each sandwich tightly with saran wrap, and into a gallon-sized freezer bag they go!
A few more notes:
- I have tried to use “100 calorie” English muffins – I had the post language about them all written in my head, who doesn’t love 100 calorie things?! – but I have to say, even though a “regular” whole wheat English muffin is only about 120 calories, those 20 calories of bread made a difference with respect to how the sandwich held up to freezing and microwaving. It wasn’t terrible, but I recommend a more robust muffin.
I haven’t tried it yet, but gluten free English muffins look pretty hearty, I bet they would do well with this process. This post has photos from two different sandwich-making parties; the 100-cal muffins are the “holier” muffins. - You can keep a 6-pack of English muffins in the freezer for this recipe. Just toss it in the fridge the night before you want to use it so it can defrost. Don’t use frozen muffins when you are prepping – make sure they are defrosted!
- Chicken sausage I have tried and loved: Whole Foods Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage, Trader Joe’s Sundried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage.
- You don’t want to microwave the saran wrap. Just swap it out for a paper towel when it’s time to heat your sandwich, wrapping the paper towel just as tightly. You can use the paper towel as your sandwich holder and napkin as you eat, too. BONUS.
- Mix up your mix-ins! I find a little breakfast meat is filling, but you can go all veggie. Or just egg, I won’t judge. But I would add a little cheese, see below.
- As mentioned numerous times over the years, I like cheese, I don’t love cheese. To get just a little cheesy taste, and (I think) to help bind it all together, I mix a few Tablespoons of shredded cheese in with the eggs. If you love cheese, you probably just want to add more cheese in. If you try to put a slice on top, I think the 2 minutes of microwaving time may be too much for your slice.
- 6 whole wheat English muffins
- eggs {I like one egg and one egg white per sandwich, but you may need less if you have a lot of mix-ins. For your first batch, try 5 whole eggs and 5 egg whites and see how it goes for you}
- .25 c shredded mozzarella cheese
- .25 c skim milk (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste {I don't need any when I use salty/seasoned sausage}
- 1 - 1.5 chicken sausage links (about .25 lb)
- handful of baby spinach, roughly chopped
- Split the English muffins and lay out the bottoms (larger/wider half). Stack the tops to the side. You may use 5 or you may use all 6, depending on how much filling you end up with.
- Prepare the eggs and egg whites by cracking them into a large bowl; whisk until uniform with the cheese, and milk if you are using it. Set this bowl to the side.
- Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat.
- Cook any meat in the pan first. I like to use raw chicken sausage, removing the meat from the casing and breaking it up as it cooks.
- When the meat is cooked through, add the spinach and cook until wilted.
- Push the filling to the side of the pan, and lower the heat to medium.
- Spray the pan with olive oil cooking spray. Add the eggs (with the cheese and milk).
- Push the filling around to be evenly distributed over the eggs. Top with salt and pepper, if using.
- Don't over-scramble the eggs; just slowly stir around the edges, sometimes through the middle, flipping and turning as necessary, to cook the eggs to your liking. I like to use a stiff silicone spatula for the scrambling.
- When the eggs are done, remove the pan from heat and let the eggs cool.
- When the eggs are cool, using a very large spoon or a ⅓ cup measuring cup, scoop large chunks of the egg onto the bottoms of the English muffins. Top with the tops.
- Wrap the sandwiches individually in saran wrap, very tightly. Store in the freezer in a gallon-sized freezer ziplock bag.
- When you are ready to eat a sandwich, remove from the saran wrap and wrap in a paper towel. Microwave for 1:45 to 2:00 and enjoy!
Tell me what you think!