Make-Ahead Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches

Make-Ahead Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches are the solution to ending your morning drive-through habit! Meal prep these bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for a quick anytime breakfast the whole family will love.
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If you don’t love McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches, I’m not sure we can be friends. I just love that egg and cheese on a crispy-edged English muffin goodness. How can you not? However, I will acknowledge that eating McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches is not that great for your wallet. So I propose a solution: make your own! Best part: Make them however you want, with whatever ingredients you want. And they’re probably better for your that way.

I tested a couple different ways to make the eggs for these sandwiches, several ways to reheat them, and picked up a trick or two about getting the bacon to work right for these sandwiches. Here’s what I learned from my testing and how it can help you make better breakfast sandwiches!

How do you cook the eggs for breakfast sandwiches?

I’m usually a scrambled egg kind of gal, but that just doesn’t really jive with breakfast sandwiches (okay, still delicious but they all fall out of the sandwich!). For these breakfast sandwiches, I had three goals when it came to my eggs:

• 1 – Waste no eggs.
• 2 – Quick and easy.
• 3 – Minimal clean up.

First, I thought circular eggs were vital to breakfast sandwich success. It looks cooler, more professional (yeah, I just said breakfast sandwiches can look professional), and that’s how they come from the restaurant, right? SO. I tried it. Like I said above, I didn’t want to waste any eggs (or have leftovers), so I cooked the eggs in mason jar rings, two at a time.

Did it work? Sure. It “worked”. But it took FOREVER. And I was left with gross eggy rings that had so much egg stuck on them, they were a lost cause. I oiled the rings thoroughly, and was still left with a mess. So I quickly moved on to the next idea, which I believe I first saw in a Tasty recipe video on Facebook a very long time ago. That idea is way more hands-off, easier to clean, and faster. I was instantly sold.

Here’s how you do it:

• Start with a glass baking dish.
• Grease it very well.
• Whisk your eggs with some milk, salt and pepper.
• Pour them in the greased dish.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Slice and put on the sandwiches.
• EASY.

How do you cook the bacon for breakfast sandwiches?

My friends and family would be the first to call me out about eating pork (bacon), because I haven’t been a red meat eater since before college. But, lately I’ve started caring more about where my meat comes from, instead of what animal it is. I’m not saying I started eating steak for dinner every night, just saying that I’ve incorporated a few varieties of sustainably sourced red meat into my diet.

Where does this new meat I’ve discovered come from? It’s ButcherBox! Every month, a box of sustainably and humanely raised chicken, pork and (sometimes) beef comes right to my door. My box is *mostly* chicken, but like I said, I’ve incorporated small amounts of high quality red meat into our diet as well, to the extreme enjoyment of my husband. All meat from ButcherBox is free of any added hormones or antibiotics, the beef is grass-fed and grass-finished (I recently learned what these terms mean!), the chickens actually roost in barns and have outdoor access, and the pork is heritage breed and completely removed from the normal industrial meat supply chain.

What does this have to do with the bacon? Well, I’ve never really been a big fan of bacon. Growing up, I was mostly just exposed to pre-cooked microwave bacon, which is SO different from ButcherBox bacon they should not even be compared in the same category. First of all, did you know that 98% of bacon out there (I made up that number but it’s high) has sugar in it? Did you know that bacon can be made even more delicious WITHOUT sugar? The bacon from ButcherBox has zero added sugar and is Whole30 approved. One of the only brands that is so. It’s quality stuff, and I’m sure you’ll agree if you try it.

I’m definitely not an expert in cooking bacon, but there are a few ways you can do it for these Make-Ahead Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches:

• Follow the Alton Brown method and bake your bacon in the oven (step 4 of this recipe). Once the bacon is out of the oven and slightly cooled, break each piece in half so it fits on your breakfast sandwich.
• Cook your bacon on the stovetop in a deep skillet or Dutch oven in two batches. Heat the pan over medium heat. Once the pan is well preheated, add strips of bacon. Using tongs, flip after a couple minutes, let them cook through to your desired crispness, and then place on a plate lined with paper towels. TIP: Fold the bacon into a V shape while hot and pliable (see photo above). The bacon will cool and slightly harden in this shape, and fit perfectly onto your sandwich.

Here’s how easy it is to assemble the sandwiches:

How do you wrap the breakfast sandwiches?

Fun fact about me: I worked at a fast food restaurant in high school, and became a pro at wrapping sandwiches. Well… I definitely made up that “pro” part, but it was my job so I learned how to do it.

If your breakfast sandwiches are going into the freezer, be sure to let the ingredients cool before assembling the sandwiches, or you’ll have a bag of frosty rocks rather than defrostable sandwiches!

To wrap my Make-Ahead Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches, I use parchment paper. I do not measure the square, but I try to make it around 12 inches long. Place the sandwich on the paper and fold each end over the top of the sandwich, like a present. Place your hands over parchment paper extending to each side, and tighten it down over the sandwich. Fold the top and bottom horizontal ends of each side up over itself, then fold each arm under the sandwich.

If that made no sense, you should reference this guide from Saveur called How to Wrap a Sandwich. There are drawings and an explanation that might be a little better than mine!

How long can you store the breakfast sandwiches?

These make-ahead sandwiches can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, or for up to 1-2 months in the freezer, though they’ve never lasted that long in my house.

To store the Make-Ahead Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches, I wrap them in parchment paper (as described above), and then place them all in a gallon Ziploc bag. Remember, you can reuse this bag lots of time since no food is actually touching it!

How do you reheat the breakfast sandwiches?

From the refrigerator, reheat in the microwave on High in 30 second increments for about 1 minute until heated through. From the freezer, reheat in the microwave on Medium-High power (I do level 7) in 30 second increments for about 2 minutes, flipping halfway through.

If you prefer a crispier muffin, separate the muffin from the frozen insides and reheat the muffin separately in a toaster. Some people prefer this method, but I don’t mind a slightly softer melty cheesy breakfast sandwich straight from the microwave. After reheating a couple of these sandwiches, you’ll figure out your preferred method pretty quick.

What are some variations of this breakfast sandwich recipe?

• Use whole wheat English muffins
• Add chopped veggies to the baked eggs for some variety
• Use slices of ham or other deli meat
• Change up your cheese flavor
• Skip the meat entirely and go for a vegetarian sandwich
• Use egg whites only
• So many options!

More breakfast meal prep ideas from Project Meal Plan:

• Best Ground Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties
• Instant Pot Cinnamon Apple Steel Cut Oats
• Make-Ahead Freezer Friendly Breakfast Burritos

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To make this recipe, I used:

Meal prepping some Make-Ahead Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches is a no-brainer! Please tag me or use #projectmealplan on social media to share your breakfast meal prep creations!

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