How to make tasty and satisfying breakfast sandwiches with veggies that can be kept in your refrigerator up to 4 days. Freezing instructions are also included in the recipe below. Jump to the Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches Recipe or read on to see our tips for making them.
How to Make Breakfast Sandwiches Ahead of Time
We love breakfast around here and are always looking for more ways to fit it in. These make ahead breakfast sandwiches are perfect for keeping in your refrigerator or freezer. Real ingredients, satisfying, adaptable and delicious!
This is really more of a method than an exact recipe. The truth is, almost everything called for in the recipe can be swapped out for something else.
To make the egg patties, we whisk eggs with a little cream — the fat helps keep the eggs tender — as well as some salt, pepper and fresh herbs. If we are feeling feisty, we add some cooked onion and spinach for texture. After pouring into a 13-inch-by-9-inch dish, the eggs bake until they are puffed and set in the middle.
By the way, other veggies will work, too. Bell peppers, roasted mushrooms, roasted squash and other leafy greens like kale are excellent additions. The only thing to consider is the moisture content of the vegetables you plan to add. We have added zucchini before and while it was delicious, it does make the egg patty hold a bit more moisture, which might cause the bread to become soggy.
The recipe makes enough for 6 sandwiches. For perfect egg patties, use a cookie cutter to cut a patty that fits inside the muffin. This will create egg scraps. Don’t worry though, they make an excellent snack! You can also just cut into rectangles, but depending on how large your English muffins are, you will likely have some overhanging egg (not a big deal).
From there, we assemble our sandwiches. Cheese is a nice idea since it helps keep the sandwich together, but it isn’t 100% required. I personally love adding a slice of ham, but leaving it meatless or going all in with cooked bacon or sausage is a great idea, too. You could also add some spice with peppers . We love using poblano peppers in our easy breakfast tacos, they would be great in these sandwiches, too.
When the sandwiches are assembled, wrap them tight with foil or freezer paper. They can be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen up to 1 month.
The freezer sandwiches work out well — especially if you won’t get to all 6 sandwiches within 4 days. When it makes sense, we prefer refrigerating since freezing seems to pull out some additional moisture. The final sandwiches just seem a bit fresher in the end when refrigerated. That said, I’ve got a few emergency sandwiches sitting in our freezer right now, so don’t let me scare you off.
When it’s time to reheat, you have two options: microwave the whole sandwich or microwave the egg, meat and cheese then toast the bread. Microwaving the entire sandwich is the easiest option, for sure. The bread becomes soft and a little chewy. If that’s not what you are after, try the toasting method instead. If you don’t have a microwave, a toaster oven should do the trick. Reheat the sandwiches wrapped in foil then uncover and bake a little longer until the outside of the bread toasts up a bit.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Easy Breakfast Tacos with Potatoes and Peppers — ultra-satisfying breakfast tacos with shredded potatoes, peppers, and onions.
- Spinach Feta Breakfast Burritos (Make Ahead) — Packed with scrambled eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and feta cheese, these healthier breakfast burritos are the perfect hand-held breakfast.
- Breakfast Enchiladas with Ham and Peppers — easy breakfast enchiladas with ham and peppers (or your favorite veggies or breakfast meats).
- Smashed Avocado Toast with Egg — Thanks to a hard-boiled egg, flaky salt, lemon, and pepper, it is healthy, protein-packed, delicious, and has significant sticking power!
- Easy 5-Minute Banana Smoothie — My go-to banana smoothie! You need less than five minutes to make this easy banana smoothie.
Make Ahead Ham and Veggie Breakfast Sandwiches
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is more of a method than an exact recipe. You can add or swap some of the ingredients listed below. We add onion and spinach to the eggs for texture, but other vegetables will work alongside or in their place. Bell peppers, mushrooms, cooked winter squash and other leafy greens like kale are excellent additions. The only thing to consider is the moisture content of the vegetables you plan to add. We have added zucchini before and while it was delicious, it does make the egg patty hold a bit more moisture, which might cause the bread to become soggy.
We wrote the recipe as a make ahead breakfast sandwich. However, if you serve them right away, this is a perfect breakfast for a crowd.
You Will Need
1/2 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cups packed baby spinach
10 large eggs
2 tablespoons cream or half and half
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, like chives, parsley or basil
6 slices ham, turkey, bacon or sausage patties, optional
6 slices cheese, like cheddar, provolone, or Swiss
6 English muffins or bread rolls, try homemade English muffins
Directions
- Make Eggs
1Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish or sheet pan (quarter sheet pan).
2Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted and bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside until warm, not hot.
3Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream, salt, pepper and fresh herbs together until blended. Stir in the cooked onions and spinach then pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until the eggs look puffed and set, 25 to 35 minutes. (You can tell they are set when a knife can be inserted into the middle and comes out clean). Cool completely.
4While the eggs cool, cook the bacon or sausage (if using), toast the English muffins and slice or grate the cheese.
- Assemble
1To assemble, chose the shape you want the eggs to be for the sandwiches. For perfect edges, use a round cookie cutter that’s similar in size to the muffins to cut 6 egg patties. Save the leftover egg scrapes in a container in the fridge and enjoy as snacks or a breakfast later in the week. For no scrapes, make 6 rectangular egg patties. These will be larger than the muffins, but still work well in the sandwiches.
2Top the bottom half of each English muffin with an egg patty, meat (if using) and a slice of cheese. Finish with the muffin top.
- Storing Sandwiches
1Wrap each breakfast sandwich tight in aluminum foil or freezer paper. Use a permanent marker to write the contents and date on the sandwich. Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 1 month. (We prefer refrigerating since freezing seems to pull out some additional moisture, but freezing is an excellent long-term solution).
- Reheating Sandwiches
1Unwrap the sandwich and place on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the egg is warmed through.
2If you find you do not like the texture of microwaved bread, you can remove the bread from the sandwich and toast it. While it toasts, place the egg, meat and cheese on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the egg is warmed through. Reassemble the sandwich.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- If you do not have a microwave, these should reheat well using a toaster oven. Reheat wrapped in the foil then unwrap and let them sandwich crisp up a little.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values. We included ham in the calculations. The type of meat and cheese used will affect these calculations.
great recipes!
My kids has always been fond of weekend outing just because of the food available in the restaurants. But your recipes are much more superior than all that.
Thank you