Our Best Breakfast Sandwiches
There is no food more perfect than the breakfast sandwich—sorry, we don't make the rules. Nothing unites quite like warm eggs, a savory piece of sausage or some nice veggies, and a slice of cheese. Bring something special to your breakfast or brunch with these breakfast sandwich recipes—we’ve got everything from chicken biscuits to waffle sandwiches and even some breakfast tacos for good measure.
Breakfast Biscuit Sliders
Breakfast Biscuit Sliders Recipe
We took the classic sausage biscuit sandwich and made it mini. Adorable breakfast sliders, you have our hearts.
Make a tray of small biscuits by baking the whole batch close together in a pan, then slicing the warm pastries into neat little squares. Next up: sheet tray eggs (add vegetables if you’re so inclined), then cover them with sliced American cheese. Cut the cheese-covered eggs into squares the same size as the biscuit, then assemble your sandwich—don’t forget the tiny sausage patty, and sides of Sriracha and mayo for dipping.
Breakfast Biscuit Sliders
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Bacon, Arugula, and Egg Wraps
Bacon, Arugula, and Egg Wraps Recipe
Precooked potatoes make these wraps quick and easy to whip up; eggs and whole-wheat tortillas deliver protein and fiber to keep you full all morning.
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Avocado Egg-in-a-Hole
First came the egg-in-a-hole; second came a baked egg in avocado. Now, there’s the avocado-egg-in-a-hole, a mishmash of both creations. When making an egg-in-a-hole sandwich, you would usually use a cookie cutter or a knife to punch a hole out of a really thick slice of white or whole wheat bread. Then, you’d crack an egg right into the hole. This time around, with an avocado boat included in the mix, the sunny egg is nestled in an avocado half that fills the hole at the center of your sliced bread. Boom. It’s the same healthy baked egg avocado boat you dearly love—just with the best part of any breakfast sandwich: BREAD.
Avocado Egg-in-a-Hole
Directions
Get your toast ready. Grab a thick slice of white, or whole wheat, country bread. Using a circular cookie cutter or a knife, cut out a hole at the center of your bread and butter each side generously.
Prep the rest. Halve, pit, and peel an avocado. Scoop some meat out of the middle to make more room for your egg. Set aside. Crack an egg into an individual ramekin or a small cup, and set aside.
Heat the pan. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a cast-iron skillet, or any other oven-proof pan, over medium heat. Add the bread to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, or until slightly brown. Flip the slice of toast, place the avocado boat in the hole at the center, and carefully pour the egg into the hole of the avocado. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. After 1 minute of cooking, remove it from the stovetop and slide the skillet into the oven.
Put that bad boy to broil. Sprinkle a handful of shredded cheese all over your avocado egg-in-a-hole and broil on HIGH for 5 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.
Dress it up. Add more toppings like hot sauce or red pepper flakes, and herbs like cilantro, parsley, or scallions. Serve immediately while the egg is still runny.
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Open-Faced Soft-Boiled Fried Egg Sandwich
Open-Faced Soft-Boiled Fried Egg Sandwich Recipe
Tyler Kord is chef/owner of No. 7 Restaurant and multiple No. 7 Sub Shops in New York City. His soon-to-be-published A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches contains recipes for flavor-intensive breakfast delights like That Time Chris Parnell Played Benedict Arnold on Drunk History, The Sandwich (the egg-and-avocado combo of your dreams/nightmares), Lazaro's Revenge (the chorizo sandwich he claims will make you feel better about your life, the universe and everything—recipe coming tomorrow) and this sandwich, which may challenge your physical health, but lead you to a state of emotional excellence. It's a wash, so just go ahead and make the sandwich.
The Battle on Pork Chop Hill
Eggs are one of the best foods. I like them for breakfast, but I love them for dinner. This sandwich is going to make your heart explode. Seriously, in all of the ways you can think of.
General Clark L. Ruffner ****’s Sauce
The people of Buffalo, New York, have a long and proud tradition of frying chicken wings and then making them soggy in one of the most delicious ways possible. I grew up in Ithaca, New York, a town that is an hour closer to the First Niagara Center than it is to Madison Square Garden. And I grew up with a healthy appreciation for buffalo wings. This sauce won’t take you back to the Anchor Bar, but you could just look up that recipe on the Internet if that’s what you really want. Unless, of course, you’re reading this book in some postapocalyptic future, in which case you are going to have a very screwed-up idea of food history if this is your only cookbook.
* It’s a Korean fermented chili and soy bean paste that tastes like miso that can’t be bothered to give a fuck. That’s a good thing.
Cucumber Muchim
Soft-Boiled Fried Eggs
Make these all of the time. They’re delicious, your friends will be impressed, and more importantly, if you bring someone home after a date and fry up some of these, you will not necessarily get laid, but if getting laid was already in the cards, and you and the person you might have sex with are hungry, then this will make sure that everybody has a good amount of fat, protein, and salt to really feel good about the situation.
Courtesy of Clarkson Potter. Cover photo copyright © 2016 by Noah Fecks
Reprinted from A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches. Copyright © 2016 by Tyler Kord. Photos copyright © 2016 by Noah Fecks. Artwork copyright © 2016 by William Wegman. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
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Sausage, Gravy, and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches
Sausage, Gravy, and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches Recipe
This sandwich will rival what you get at the drive-through. Freezing the gravy in ice-cube trays makes portioning easy. For freezing and heating instructions, see below.
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Bacon, Egg, Cheese, and Squash on a Bagel
Bacon, Egg, Cheese, and Squash on a Bagel Recipe
Every morning in New York City people are enjoying bagel sandwiches. Whether with cream cheese, lox, or bacon and eggs, you really can’t go wrong when layering things on a soft and chewy NYC bagel. The only thing I found missing from these iconic breakfast staples were some veggies. Lo and behold, just as I had that thought, I found a perfect, bagel-size, pattypan squash giving me the eye at the farmers’ market, and I knew it was meant to be married to a bagel. If you think squash for breakfast is weird, just wait until you bite through the sweet, tender-crisp slices sitting on a throne of cheese and topped with eggs and bacon. It’s going to be the new NYC breakfast staple, circa 2017!
Keep It Simple
- Pattypan squash is very similar in taste and texture to zucchini and yellow squash, so feel free to substitute slices of those when pattypan squash is not available.
- Boursin is a fabulous soft cheese made with garlic and herbs; it tastes like whipped cream cheese, which you can use instead. Regular or flavored cream cheeses will also work.
- I like to use my grill pan for this recipe as it adds a little bit of a charred flavor, but a regular skillet works just as well. This is true for most of my recipes that call for a grill pan.
Make It Family-Friendly
The squash has such a delicate flavor that it really pairs well with the bacon and eggs. In truth, it adds more texture and bite than flavor. But if your kids are not going to dig a large piece of squash on their sandwich, cut up the squash, and blend it into the cheese or scramble the eggs and fold it into them. It will be the same sandwich, but with a kid-friendly twist.
Make One Meal Meatless + Vegetarian
The bacon gives a nice salty flavor to the egg, but if you prefer a vegetarian version, simply omit the bacon and add a sprinkle of salt on top of your eggs. And, if you are doing one sandwich with bacon and one without, be sure to cook the second egg in a different pan. You’ll have one more pan to clean, but you’ll also have a happy vegetarian.
Recipe excerpted from Nikki Dinki’s new cookbook, Meat on the Side: Delicious Vegetable-Focused Recipes for Every Day (St. Martin’s Press).
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Soft-Boiled Eggs with Cheesy Toast
Soft-Boiled Eggs with Cheesy Toast Recipe
Sick of spending $12 on avocado toast? Livid when your Instagram feed is just hundreds of photos of the infamous green mush after Sunday brunch? We totally feel you. Instead of avocado, smash soft-boiled eggs onto a crispy, cheesy piece of toast for a darn delicious treat. Boil eggs until they’re set on the outside but still runny in the center. While the eggs are boiling, plop a mountain of your favorite cheese onto a slice of toast and broil until it’s oozy and golden. Peel the eggs and smash them over the toast. Easy, cheap, and no avocados involved.
Soft-Boiled Eggs with Cheesy Toast
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Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches
Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches Recipe
While this chicken biscuit sandwich isn’t like the ones you’ll see at Chick-fil-a, it tastes great on a Sunday. We’ve shredded the chicken here so the creamy white barbecue sauce really covers every piece. Top off this Chicken Biscuit Sandwich with a little tangy red cabbage and a few pickles, and you’re all set. If you’re looking for a tasty sandwich for lunch or dinner, this recipe makes 8 sandwiches so you’ll have plenty to go around.
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Egg and Chorizo Sandwich
Egg and Chorizo Sandwich Recipe
Tyler Kord, the chef/owner of No. 7 Restaurant and multiple No. 7 Sub Shops in New York City, does not make emotionally neutral sandwiches, generally speaking. The recipes in his new book, A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches, will make you feel, heal, and be a more nuanced and sated person. Plus they just taste madly good. Perhaps you can convince your insurance company to cover the cost of a copy.
Lazaro's Revenge
Sometimes I wake up feeling like the worst person in the world. More often I go to bed feeling like the worst person in the world. Look, I know that you’re not my therapist. In fact, you are essentially paying me to write this, so if anything, it’s more like I should be your therapist, and in that regard I guess I’m not doing a great job. And with this newfound understanding of my role in your universe, let me prescribe this sandwich the next time you are about to go to bed feeling like the worst person ever. It’s spicy and meaty and delicious, and it always makes me feel better about things. It helps if you look up at the stars while you eat this sandwich and think about how unfathomably large the universe is and how small your problems must be in the history of the entire, potentially limitless and timeless universe, and then remember that everybody will eventually forget whatever it is that you’re stressed out about. Unless you killed a bunch of people on purpose, because they will probably remember that.
Perfect Scrambled Eggs
Sort-of Mexican Chorizo
I love fresh Mexican chorizo. It is one of the best sausages, and if you’ve never had it, don’t make this version. Go ahead and get Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking & Curing and make that version because it is perfect and delicious. Don’t get me wrong, this sausage is also delicious, but it’s like putting bacon on your first hamburger or pepperoni on your first pizza. Those things taste so different from their original forms, and you should know what the perfect originals taste like. To be honest, I don’t understand why anybody would ever put bacon on a hamburger unless they hate the taste of hamburgers and are trying to mask the hamburger with the most aggressive non-hamburger flavor of all time. Francis, agree or disagree? [L L L —Ed.] I sent this recipe to my mom for testing purposes, and she commented that maybe this makes it sound like you shouldn’t make this sausage because it’s not as good as the Ruhlman one. Betty Kord’s words cut like a knife.
Pickled Jalapeños
Pickled jalapeños are so stupid and delicious and easy that you should make them all of the time! And I’m not even talking about making a brine or anything; I’m talking about soaking jalapeños in vinegar and putting them on things. They’ll add a pop to anything that needs a pop! I know a dude who needs a pop. He is a restaurant owner, and he is super nice to my face but apparently can’t stop the flow of hate when my back is turned. I suspect it is because he has some issues, but I can’t imagine that it’s jealousy, as his restaurants are very successful and he’s clearly very talented. Anyway, he said some horrible things about me to the ex-boyfriend of a girl that I was seriously in love with. We were dating until ex-boyfriend related the information to her. We got back together later, but that’s another story entirely that we can talk about in some other cookbook, because this book is about sandwiches, so back to the topic at hand. See, restaurant-owner dude took everything out of context and made me look like a colossal jerk. I have been guilty of being a jerk, but really not this time. Anyway, sometimes I want to give him a pop of jalapeño juice in the eyes because he could at least have said what he had to say to my face. I even gave him a chance! I called him to say that I was super sorry if I had ever done anything to offend him, and he just acted like everything was cool! I don’t understand people like that. (For the record, I wrote that intro in 2012 when I was pitching this book around. I’ll leave it there for posterity’s sake, but for the record, I am totally over that whole situation. I so totally don’t even think about it anymore. Like ever.)
Courtesy of Clarkson Potter. Cover photo copyright © 2016 by Noah Fecks
Reprinted from A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches. Copyright © 2016 by Tyler Kord. Photos copyright © 2016 by Noah Fecks. Artwork copyright © 2016 by William Wegman. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
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Cilantro and Kale Pesto Toast with a Fried Egg
Cilantro and Kale Pesto Toast with a Fried Egg Recipe
Sliced bread is the perfect blank canvas, ready to be loaded up with virtuous ingredients. Here is a toast recipe from the Instagram queen of the genre, Diana Ngo (@diningwithdiana), a cook and mom in the Seattle area who is working on her RD.
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Egg-in-a-Hole BLT
What happens when you meld the minds of Extra Crispy and our fit friends at Men’s Health? You get delicious Dr. Moreau-like creations worthy of your stomach space. This recipe takes the porky-crispy delight of a bacon-laden BLT and lightens up the sandwich by replacing some of the bread with eggs.
Want a runnier yolk? Cook the eggs for one less minute and let that egg goo cover the sandwich in another layer of flavor. Better grab some extra napkins.
Egg-in-a-Hole BLT
Want more ways to make this recipe extra awesome? Try mashing some avocado into one of the bread slices. Or mix some may with Sriracha and slather that on. Or shower the eggs with freshly grated Parmesan for a salty-cheesy kick.
If you're still hungry for more breakfast inspiration, Men's Health has you covered. Try making their Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich, this amazing eggs Benedict recipe, and their meaty and cheesy take on hash browns.
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Sausage, Spinach, and Apple Breakfast Sandwiches
Sausage, Spinach, and Apple Breakfast Sandwiches Recipe
We swap the classic egg and cheese combo for crisp, tart apple slices and sautéed spinach. Use any bulk turkey breakfast sausage for this sandwich.
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Open-Face Matzo Brei Breakfast Sandwiches
Open-Face Matzo Brei Breakfast Sandwiches Recipe
Matzo brei, a traditional dish made by folding soaked matzo into scrambled eggs, makes the perfect base for a delicious, protein-packed breakfast stack. Just spread with softened cream cheese, then top with smoked salmon, thinly sliced red onion, capers, and fresh dill... you'll be well on your way to brunch happiness.
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#B.L.E.S.S.T Breakfast Sandwich
#B.L.E.S.S.T Breakfast Sandwich Recipe
Once you realize how basic (and by that we mean simple, not you know, basic) this breakfast sandwich recipe is, you'll probably make and/or consume some form of this sammie on the regular. No insane culinary skills are needed to toast a bagel, cook sausage links, fry an egg, slice a few vegetables, and assemble a sandwich. So why make it? For the hashtag #blesst, of course—short for bagel, lettuce, egg, sausage, Swiss, and tomato, in case you didn’t catch it earlier. In an age when people question, “If I don’t Instagram it, did it really happen?” and #yolkporn and #bec sandwiches flood your feed, here’s your chance to to shine with an easy breakfast sandwich recipe.
#B.L.E.S.S.T Breakfast Sandwich
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Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg
Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg Recipe
You'll need a knife and fork to dig in to these filling sandwiches that give a unique take on breakfast for dinner.
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Sweet and Hot Pepper Open-Faced Egg Sandwiches
Sweet and Hot Pepper Open-Faced Egg Sandwiches Recipe
There's a great interplay of flavors here, with the tingly heat of cherry pepper and the sweetness of bell pepper and onion. For an even spicier dish, substitute 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeño slices for the cherry pepper.
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The Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwich with BBQ Bacon
The Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwich with BBQ Bacon Recipe
Piled high with creamy American cheese, fresh lettuce, and crisp BBQ Bacon, this really is the Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwich.
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Mustard Green Pesto and Egg Open-Faced Sandwiches
Mustard Green Pesto and Egg Open-Faced Sandwiches Recipe
Any extra pesto will keep refrigerated for 4 days and frozen for up to a month.
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Open-Faced Shrimp-and-Avocado Sandwiches
Open-Faced Shrimp-and-Avocado Sandwiches Recipe
These open-faced sandwiches are topped with tons of tasty ingredients: shrimp, avocado, bacon, and mayonnaise. For a sturdy sandwich base, use a thicker cut of bread.
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Egg-in-a-Nest BLT Sandwiches
Egg-in-a-Nest BLT Sandwiches Recipe
These toasty handfuls may just be the ultimate combo in the world of sandwiches. The recipe combines some of our favorite things: It's a delicious mash-up of egg-in-a-hole, avocado toast, and a classic BLT.
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Fried Egg–Avocado Sandwiches
Fried Egg–Avocado Sandwiches Recipe
The addition of avocado, a fried egg, and smoky mayonnaise add enough heft to an open-faced BLT sandwich to make it dinner-worthy fare. When an egg takes center stage in a meal, we like to use pasture-raised, organic eggs for the best flavor. (Yes, it's worth splurging on quality eggs.) If you want to serve the sandwiches while the eggs are still hot, the order of operation is key here: Have the sandwiches stacked and ready to go, then cook your eggs. Pair with a salad tossed with a mustardy vinaigrette and a crisp IPA.
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Egg and Tomato Open-Faced Sandwiches
Egg and Tomato Open-Faced Sandwiches Recipe
Meaty, briny kalamata olives and a splash of vinegar punch up a quick red pepper sauce for these vegetarian sandwiches. Use slightly thicker (about 1 1/2-oz.) bread slices to build a sturdy sandwich base. You can slice your own, or ask to have it sliced on the thicker side.
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Whole-Grain Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and Eggs
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Grilled Ham and Cheese Waffle Sandwiches
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Hot Chicken-and-Waffle Sandwiches with Chive Cream
Hot Chicken-and-Waffle Sandwiches with Chive Cream Recipe
We did a taste test and loved the just-fried tenders from the Publix grocery store deli.
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Steak and Fried Egg Breakfast Tacos with Chimichurri
Steak and Fried Egg Breakfast Tacos with Chimichurri Recipe
Who says you can't make yourself a fancy, classy brunch all at home in the comfort of your own kitchen? For an ultra-hearty start to your morning, fry up some frizzled, sunnyside up eggs and serve them in a warm corn tortilla with grilled flank steak and the works. We topped ours with fresh avocado, queso fresco, radishes, and a flavor-packed chimichurri sauce that melts right into the runny yolks.