Not your usual egg sandwich, the flavor-packed topping can be prepared in advance and then baked on the bread when ready to eat. Crunchy, creamy, and utterly delicious!
My most vivid Easter memories include the year my dog, Ruffy, ate the contents of my Easter basket while we were at church. I also had a general fear of the Easter Bunny and serious concern that my older sister would find more than her fair share of eggs.
We spent hours decorating those eggs. My mom boiled a dozen for each of us and equipped us with the supplies necessary to create colorful, patterned eggs that we always considered too pretty to eat.
As a mom, I now boil a dozen eggs for each of my kids, and they kindly share a few so that I may relive those fun childhood memories.
These masterpieces are not just for hiding and seeking, however. We eat them, and I have devised a few clever ways to take them a step or two above our go-to egg salad.
The prep-ahead aspect makes these sandwiches an especially convenient breakfast. A side of fresh fruit rounds out the meal nicely.
But these crunchy, creamy open-faced treats need not be saved for breakfast alone.
I often enjoy them as an easy lunch, and they make a welcome dinner when served with a crisp salad, sliced avocado, or a favorite green vegetable. When in season, sliced, vine-ripened tomatoes offer an equally delightful pairing.
What is the best way to hard boil eggs?
Frustrated by egg shells that don’t peel easily? My preferred method is Easy Peel Steamed Eggs, which has the added bonus of simple adjustments for soft, medium, and firm yolks.
We enjoy the yolks a touch under hard, so I steamed these eggs for 12 minutes. The best part is that the shells slip right off!
I highly recommend this tried-and-true method for Easy Peel Steamed Eggs. The post offers photos of the yolks at each stage to help determine your perfect cooking time.
An ice bath isn’t required, but a quick plunge stops the cooking－and makes the eggs easier to hold if peeling right away.
I like to keep the eggs a little chunky for these sandwiches, so I aim for a ¼ to ½-inch dice. For textural variety, you can also chop some of the eggs more finely and some more coarsely.
Do you need a gluten-free option? Or would you simply prefer to use bread instead of an English muffin?
I’ve made these sandwiches on regular and gluten-free toast with excellent results. Simply toast the bread until crunchy and proceed according to the recipe. You may also eyeball the amount of egg mixture rather than measuring precisely.
I recommend toasting the bread until it’s evenly golden and crisp. Crunchy bread provides a lovely textural balance to the creamy egg mixture. It also makes the open-faced sandwiches easy to eat with your hands.
What’s the best way to cook bacon?
My preferred method is baking it in the oven at 400℉ for 15-25 minutes, based on thickness of bacon and desired level of crispness. But funny enough, I’ve been revisiting and testing a variety of other methods recently.
For the perfectly cooked bacon shown below, I started the bacon in a cold cast iron skillet and turned the heat to medium. As soon as the grease threatened to splatter, I reduced the heat to low. The center of the strips were cooking at a slightly faster rate than the ends, so I cut the strips in half so I could better move them around the pan.
The end result was golden, evenly crisp, and what I consider the ideal piece of bacon. Aside from the occasional moving around in the pan, the process was very hands-off－and there were no messy grease splatters!
The downside? When cooking the bacon on low, the process took nearly an hour! Given that, I recommend this method if you’d like a largely hands-off, splatter-free approach and are not in a hurry.
For added flexibility, you may prepare the topping in advance and store in a bowl in the refrigerator for several days. That way, you can prepare one sandwich at a time, or as many as needed, rather than the full batch. You could even cook in a toaster oven, which offers convenience when making one or two at a time.
After spreading the egg mixture over the toasted bread, I like to add an extra sprinkle of cheese and bacon. This is mostly for visual appeal and a hint of extra flavor, but is strictly optional. At this point, the sandwiches cook in just a few minutes.
The baked sandwiches reheat well, although as mentioned, you may prepare them one at a time, if preferred.
- 7 large or 6 extra large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup (4 ounces) grated cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup (60g) plain Greek yogurt (fat content of choice; may use ½ cup mayo and no yogurt, if preferred))
- ¼ cup (52g) mayonnaise
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I use about ¼ teaspoon of each)
- 4 whole English muffins, split and toasted until crunchy (may substitute GF toast)
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Combine all of the ingredients except the muffins. Cover and store in fridge until ready to use. Mixture will keep 4-5 days.
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Spread the egg mixture on the toasted muffin halves. In an oven preheated to 400℉, bake for three minutes, and then broil for one minute or until bubbly and golden brown on top. (Watch closely while broiling to avoid burning.) Leftovers, reheat well in the oven or toaster oven. Recipe doubles easily.
As an option, reserve roughly ⅓ cup of the cheese and a couple tablespoons of the chopped bacon to sprinkle over the top of the egg mixture before baking the muffins. Or simply add a little extra on top.
To easily and evenly toast several English muffins at once, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350℉ until crisp.
Don’t want to bake all eight at once? While leftovers do reheat well, you may bake only what you wish to eat immediately and store the remaining egg mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.
Prefer a meatless variation? Simply omit the bacon. If desired, add sliced green olives instead.
A few old photos and an extra idea or two…
While we usually enjoy these for breakfast or brunch with a side of fruit, they provide a delightful dinner option when served with a green vegetable and/or salad.
When tomatoes are at their best, try topping a small tomato half or thick tomato slice with some of the egg mixture and broiling until golden brown.
I used to take all the photos on this blog with my phone. This photo and the one above were taken with an iPhone 4!
I have not cooked bacon in a skillet in over a year. I use my grill pan loaded with bacon, place it on a hot grill outside, close the top set a timer for 5 minutes, turn it over & cook until crispy. Voila, no greasy stove or bacon smell lingering in the house. Occasionally hubby will suds the grill down.
A great way to avoid a splattered stove! Thanks for mentioning, Ginger.
We made these yesterday. They are on constant rotation in our house!!
I’m so glad to hear that, Jill!
love these recipes!!!!!! Thank You!
So glad, Connie!!
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Made these and they are positively delicious. Thank you!!!
You’re very welcome!
I really like these!!
Hi Ann- these look excellent. We try to alternate breakfast foods to break the tedium, but I like to prep ahead a huge batch and freeze, which I have done successfully with muffin tin versions of an egg/cheese strata like dish. Wondering if you can freeze these using baggies, and if so- how to ensure the defrosting/warming up doesn’t make them soggy? Or would this not lend well to freezing?
Hi Viki,
I have not frozen these but, coincidently, a good friend just told me she did and it worked very well. I would recommend freezing, unwrapped, on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or bag. That way, they won’t stick together or to the top of the bag.
These look so good! I am going to have to try this recipe Ann!
We love these, Mary Lou…hope you do, too!
Hi Ann, it looks delicious. But I wonder what happens when you heat mayonaise. Doens’t it ‘split’ and I don’t know if this is the right word (native tongue is Dutch).
I have used mayonnaise in several recipes which are baked and actually really like the way it turns out. I think the texture actually improves and the mayo browns slightly. In the States, people often use mayonnaise in dips that are baked. If you try, I hope you like! Thanks so much for the comment, Cris!
Hi Ann,
We love breakfast for dinner at my house.
This one looks like a winner! By the way,
loved the photos of your kitchen that you
posted last week!
Thank you very much, Laura! So nice to see your comment and I hope you enjoy these egg sandwiches!