Feb 16, 2015
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What’s better than having a stash of these homemade Egg McMuffins in your freezer? Avoiding the drive-through. With these English muffin breakfast sandwiches you’ll have breakfast on demand.
I know that the idea of these breakfast sandwiches isn’t anything new. I’ve been making them for years and there are many posts out there on how to make them. However, you constantly email me asking what kinds of breakfasts foods can you have ready in your freezer that would feed growing kids. So I figured I’d share one of the many things that I make ahead and fill my freezer with.
These breakfast sandwiches are super easy to make -I mean, they are eggs, cheese, and ham inside an English muffin- and freeze really well. My husband and daughter are the only two in my house that eat these; but none the less, they need breakfast too! My husband likes that he can take these to work and give them a quick warm-up in the microwave at the office. My daughter typically eats these in the car when we don’t have time to eat at home on the way to school.
What I love is that you can use sprouted English muffins, whole-wheat english muffins, even gluten-free English muffins. My husband prefers smoked Gouda while my daughter likes mild cheddar cheese. Of course, you can use ham, bacon, or even breakfast sausage. The idea here is to upgrade your breakfast sandwich with better ingredients.
The story behind these guys is quite funny actually. Years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, I craved these egg, ham, and cheese breakfast sandwiches. Not being a fan of the big yellow arches I just didn’t eat them. By the fourth month, I practically cried on the way to my pregnancy appointment for one of these (I blame the hormones).
My husband, being the awesome first-time dad that he was, drove me through the yellow arches and ordered one of these. I still remember the feeling of satisfaction only a pregnant woman can get when her body craves something. After that, I bought one of those sandwiches once a month until I delivered my baby girl. And that was the last time I bought one of those Egg McMuffins.
For years I made them at home -and still do- because you simply can’t beat the convenience of having a few (or many) in the freezer. I should also mention that they are very friendly on the budget, so if you have growing teenagers who can eat an entire box of cereal in one or two sittings; this might be a great recipe to try.
You can see how easy they are to make in the video below. I like to bake the eggs in the oven when I’m cooking other things; but of course, you can also cook the eggs in a pan on the stovetop. You get the idea.
And, in case you are wondering how exactly does one take this “to-go”; just wrap it in a paper towel and place it inside a lunchbox. The lunchbox acts as a carrying tray. This sandwich is easily consumed in our 13 minute drive to school in the morning along with a clementine or some berries.
The recipe below yields 6 breakfast sandwiches; but, why not double or triple the batch? Cook once, eat lots of times – that’s my motto.
English Muffin Breakfast Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 6 English muffins sliced in half
- 6 large eggs
- 6 slices Cheddar cheese
- 6 slices deli ham
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease 5 ramekins, or a jumbo muffin tin and place on a cookie sheet.
- Crack one egg into each ramekin.
- Pierce egg yolk with a fork and very slightly beat.
- Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Bake eggs for 12-15 minutes or until set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Run a knife around the edge of ramekin (or muffin tin) to remove eggs.
- To assemble breakfast sandwich, layer one half of each English muffin with one slice of cheese, one slice of ham and a cooked egg.
- Top with other half of English muffin.
- Wrap sandwich in plastic wrap and place in the freezer.
- To reheat, place in microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until warmed through.
janmaus
I do these all the time, but don’t freeze the whole sandwich, only the “innards.” I scramble 8 eggs, often incorporating goodies such as sauteed diced onion, sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, green chilies, etc. I pour the eggs into a well buttered 9″ baking pan, and bake at 350 until set–takes about 15-20 min. I cook up some breakfast meat–bacon, Canadian bacon, ham, or precooked frozen 3″ sausage patties–if you fry the precooked sausage and drain on paper towels, you will eliminate a lot of fat. I cut the eggs into 9 square portions and assemble the sandwich fillings with meat, egg portion, and a slice of cheese then freeze individual portions in baggies. When I need a fast breakfast, I pop a split English muffin in the toaster, and warm a bag of innards in the microwave. If I have more time, I might put half of the muffin topped with a slice of cheese under the broiler until melty before assembling the whole thing. A slice of fresh tomato is nice, too. Cheap, fast, and yum. As Laura suggests, I would use these up within a month. Those “yellow arches” English muffins taste like sawdust–we can definitely do better–and the variations are infinite. My fave is diced pepper, onion, ripe olives and green chilis in the egg, pepper jack cheese, no meat, and a thick slice of fresh tomato. Next up is feta cheese, kalamata olives, diced onion and a lot of spinach with no meat and a slice of tomato. Third pick is plenty of carmelized onions, sliced mushrooms in the eggs, plus Swiss cheese with a slice of ham. Hubs likes it best with American cheese and sausage. I only freeze one version at a time.
Stephanie
Hello! I just discovered your recipe in an endeavor to break myself of wasting money (and empty calories) at the golden arches. I was wondering, have you ever experimented with adding some veggies to the eggs before you cook them and if so, does that change the cooking time? (I’m considering onions, bell pepper chunks, spinach leaves, etc).
Laura Fuentes
You can absolutely add veggies to the eggs. Instead of cooking them whole, just make them into scrambles. Enjoy!
Tara
Do you toast the English Muffins first or leave them “raw”?
Laura Fuentes
I leave them raw, but you can absolutely toast them. they toast when I heat them up in the toaster oven.
Thaddeus
Hi Laura. That lunch tin looks like it can be used for many prepped meals. Can you tell me which brand it is or where you got it? Thanks. Love the premade mcmuffin.
Laura Fuentes
Hi Thaddeus, unfortunately, that lunch tin is no longer available. It was a sample I received years ago for my cookbook.
SM ROn
Use a coffee cup
rita kriss
I just made these the only problem is the eggs are much smaller then the English muffin and I use a large cup cake tin.
Laura Fuentes
That is not a problem, it still fits inside the sandwich. 🙂
Jan
This was a great idea, but did not work that well for me. If frozen ,the breakfast sandwich does not reheat evenly. I microwaved it for 1 minute on either side. Then realized that the egg in the middle was still frozen. I ended up taking the sandwich apart to heat the egg more, because I didn’t want to overheat the english muffin. Also the moisture from the ham made the sandwich soggy.
I like your mini quiches much better to reheat from frozen. Then wrap them in a tortilla with shredded cheese.
Laura Fuentes
I’m sorry these didn’t heat up for you well. They thaw out for us but all microwave settings are different too.
Darlene
Maybe try putting the sandwhich you want to eat in the fridge the night before. That way it will thaw and easily be microwaved the next day
Marie M
Where could i find the mini quiche recipe? I’d like to try it.
Laura Fuentes
Hi Marie, here is my basic recipe. Swap the pepperoni and olives for anything you might want to put in there.
Beth
Can the mini quiches be frozen?
Laura Fuentes
They sure can! Just eat and heat!
Tash
Would I be able to make these with Egg Beaters or egg whites? Also, how long do these breakfast sandwiches last in the freezer?
Laura Fuentes
Yes, you can make these with egg beaters. I would say no longer than a month in the freezer since you are just freezing in regular plastic wrap.