A few months ago I shared a tutorial on how to make easy, make-ahead breakfast burritos. It was surprisingly popular and many folks have proudly sent me pictures on Instagram of the breakfast bounty they created by following the instructions in that article.
But, you know, not everyone is a burrito person. Some folks like to have their meat and cheese wedged between layers of bread. And even burrito die-hards sometimes get the urge to stray and add some variety in their life. So today we’re back with a tutorial on how to save time and money with another morning mealtime favorite: the breakfast sandwich.
These babies are even easier to make than the burritos, and you really can’t beat a breakfast sandwich. Sausage, egg, and cheese all held together by a warm biscuit or English muffin. It’s great to eat on the go or even while you’re relaxing on a Saturday morning in your sweatpants while you join your kids in watching Paw Patrol (Adventure Bay: A city that relies on puppies and a ten-year-old boy for their emergency services).
You could swing by McDonald’s or a convenience store and pick up a breakfast sandwich, but that won’t save you much time (there’s the drive there and back, and then you have to wait in line) and as we’ll see, it’ll cost almost 3X as much as the homemade variety.
You could opt for frozen store-bought sandwiches, but then you run into the same problems I had with the manufactured breakfast burritos: 1) they’re dinky and not very filling, and 2) they’re filled with artificial preservatives and flavors.
The ingredients list for Bob Evans breakfast sandwiches. These were actually fairly tasty, but too small for my man-sized appetite.
A few months ago I spent 45 minutes (including clean-up) one Saturday morning making a dozen hearty breakfast sandwiches. When I was done, I put them in the freezer and pulled one out when I or one of the kids wanted one. The sandwiches were tasty and filling. Gus had a week where he ate one every single day for breakfast. Wheaties got nothing on these babies.
Below I share the steps I took in preparing my make-ahead breakfast sandwiches.
Ingredients & Prep Time
My breakfast sandwich is inspired by the McDonald’s Sausage Egg McMuffin. The ingredient list is much simpler than the make-ahead breakfast burritos, and they take half the time to make. Here’s what I used in mine:
- 18 eggs
- 2 packages of English muffins (you can also use biscuits but you’ll have to bake them ahead of time)
- 2 16 oz. packages of breakfast sausage (you can buy sausage in premade patties to save time, but they’re more expensive)
- 2 packages of sliced cheddar cheese (you’ll only use 12 slices)
- 1 cup of whole milk
The above netted me 12 hefty-sized breakfast sandwiches with plenty of egg and sausage.
Total cost of ingredients: $12.84
Cost per sandwich: $1.07
Compare that to the store-bought Bob Evans breakfast sandwiches: $.99
Then compare that to the cost of a McDonald’s Sausage Egg McMuffin: $2.99
My make-ahead breakfast sandwich beats the cost of the McDonald’s version by nearly $2. What a bargain. What’s more, you don’t have to wait in line to get your food like you would at McDonald’s. Just pull your sandwich out of the freezer, warm it up for a minute in the microwave, and you’re good to go. The store-bought Bob Evans breakfast sandwiches beat mine in price by $.08. But the big advantage of the homemade sandwich is that they’re bigger and much more filling. I made my sausage patties at least 1.5X the size of those on the Bob Evans sandwich, so you actually do save money when you’re comparing price per ounce. And as with most things you make yourself, there’s less artificial flavors and preservatives in my breakfast sandwiches than either the fast food or store-bought variety.
How to Make the Breakfast Sandwiches
Step 1: Prepare & Cook Eggs
We’re going to bake our eggs. This provides several advantages: 1) it’s easy, 2) it creates the perfect egg round for a sandwich, and 3) while the eggs are cooking in the oven, it gives you time to prep the other parts of the sandwich, thus saving time in the long-run.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Crack 18 eggs into a giant bowl. Look at all those thwarted chicken embryos.
Add 1 cup of whole milk. This will make your egg rounds nice and fluffy. You can add some salt and pepper if you’d like. I didn’t.
Scramble.
Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Don’t forget to get the sides.
Pour egg mixture into pan.
Place in oven for 25 to 30 minutes. While the eggs are baking, you can start cooking the sausage and prepping the muffins. Bake until the eggs are puffed around the edges.
One way to test for doneness is to stick a knife into the eggs. If the knife comes out clean, you’re good to go. Remove and let the eggs cool completely.
After the eggs have cooled, take a standard drinking glass (I used a pint glass) and use it as a cookie cutter to cut the egg rounds. I was able to get 12. You’ll have some scraps left over. Just save them for breakfast tomorrow.
Finished egg rounds.
Step 2: Cook Sausage Patties
Form your sausage into patties. Because I like sausage, I made my patties a little on the bigger and thicker side. The thinner you make them, the more patties you can get out of a package. I got 9 out of a single tube.
Cook patties on high heat…
Until they’re nice and brown. This shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes. While one side of the patties are cooking, you can start warming up the English muffins.
Step 3: Toast English Muffins
Pretty easy. Just toast the English muffins to desired toastiness. I prefer a medium toast.
Step 4: Assemble!
If you don’t know how to assemble a breakfast sandwich, Zeus help you.
Instead of sausage, you can also use bacon in your breakfast sandwich. In my batch, I made a few with bacon.
Boy howdy, this was a mighty fine and filling breakfast sandwich.
Step 5: Wrap in Foil and Freeze
Let your prepared sandwiches cool completely before wrapping them in foil. You want to let them cool so you don’t build up condensation inside the foil and consequently create ice crystals on your sandwich after they freeze. Write the date you cooked your sandwiches on the foil with marker. For best results, eat within a month; however, I’ve eaten sandwiches that were in the freezer for over four months and they still tasted great.
Step 6: Heat Up & Enjoy Your Sandwich
Loosely wrap your breakfast sandwich in a paper towel and place in a microwave on high heat for 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds.
You want the cheese to be a bit melted and the egg warmed completely through. Enjoy!
Submitted by: Jack Ryan in St Louis, MO
