Description

These make ahead breakfast sandwiches will last you all week long. 1 Minute in the microwave, and you have a warming, flavorful, and filling breakfast.

Ingredients

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Egg filling

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, or melted
12 large eggs
1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons cottage cheese (I used 4%)
optional: 1/8 teaspoon turmeric (just for color, can’t taste it)

Sandwich ingredients

6 English muffins (we like whole wheat)
6 slices of cheddar cheese (or, any type of cheese you like)
optional: 6 tablespoons basil pesto – click here for the recipe

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Instructions

Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 13×10 inch baking dish with the butter. NOTE: you can use a 9×11 inch baking dish, just keep in mind that that you may have thicker egg portion that is slightly smaller than your English muffin.
Blend up the egg mixture: To a blender add the eggs, kosher salt, black pepper, cottage cheese, and optional turmeric, if using (for color), blend until everything is well combined.
Bake: Gently pour the egg mixture into the buttered baking dish. Carefully transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or just until the egg mixture is just set. A very slightly jiggly center is okay.
Cool: Allow the eggs to cool for 20 minutes.
Slice the eggs: You have 2 options for cutting your eggs: 1) use a circle cookie, or biscuit cutter. This method will look the nicest, and it will fit in the English muffins the best, but it will leave behind a good amount of egg – (see notes for how to use up the egg scraps). 2) You can simple use a sharp knife to cut the egg into squares. You will have some overhang of egg from your English muffins. If you use a circle cutter, be sure to choose one that fits side-by-side in your baking dish. Once you have your egg filling cut into circles, or squares, remove them from the pan, and allow them to cool completely. I pop mine on a plate, and stick them in the fridge to speed things up.
Prepare your remaining ingredients: Slice the English muffins in half, and lay out the cheese. If you want to use pesto, you can make the pesto now, if you don’t already have some on hand. Click here for my basil pesto recipe – so good!
Assemble: Once your egg filling has cooled completely, you can assemble the sandwiches. Place an egg round, or square onto the bottom half of an English muffin, then place a slice of cheese on top, followed by about 1 tablespoons of pesto in the center (if using), then top the sandwich with the top half of the English muffin. Repeat until all of the sandwiches are assembled.
Wrap the sandwiches: Use pieces of foil to wrap each individual sandwich. You can use plastic wrap, but we found that produced moisture and made the sandwich a little more soggy.
Store the sandwiches: Place the wrapped sandwiches in a ziplock bag to keep them even more fresh. Store the sandwiches in the fridge for up to 1 week (see notes for freezer option).
To heat the sandwiches: Place a paper towel onto a plate, and place the sandwich onto (the paper towel helps to keep the sandwich from getting soggy). Heat the sandwich on high for 30 seconds, flip the sandwich, and heat on high for another 30 seconds, or until the sandwich is warm, and the cheese is melted. NOTE: my microwave is 900 Watts, so you might need to adjust your cook time according to the wattage power of your microwave.
Enjoy: Enjoy the sandwich immediately. So good, and you can even wrap half of it back up with the foil and eat it on the go, if needed.

Notes

Turmeric – The turmeric is there just as a way to add the beautiful yellow back into the eggs that we lose from adding the cottage cheese. You cannot taste the turmeric at all. You can easily omit it, if you prefer.

Gluten free option – To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free English muffins. I know that some gluten free English muffins only taste good when they are toasted, if this is the case, then toast your English muffins, and allow them to cool completely before assembling.

Pesto – The pesto is totally optional. I made these sandwiches without it and they were still very good. However, the pesto did take them to the next level. You can use store bought pesto, but I highly recommend making your own, if you can. Click here to see my basil pesto recipe.

How to make a double batch (12 sandwiches) – As written this recipe makes 6 sandwiches, because that is the easiest amount to make, only requiring one baking dish. If you want to double the recipe, it is easy to do. Simply use two baking dishes, blend the egg mixture in two separate batches, and bake the pan of eggs at the same time. Note: if you use two different sized pans, the baking time may be slightly longer for a smaller pan since the egg mixture will be thicker.

Freezing option – If you want to freeze the sandwiches, I suggest wrapping them in plastic wrap instead of foil. I also recommend defrosting them at room temperature completely, before heating them up. When we heated them from frozen, it was hard to get them to evenly warm up, and the texture of the egg was mealy. I do think they are best when eaten fresh from the fridge, not frozen. But, they are still good after they are frozen. The frozen sandwiches will keep in the freezer for up to 1 to 3 months.

How to use up egg scraps – If you have any egg scraps from this recipe (I always did), save the scraps and chop them up. I used them as a protein in a fried rice dish. So easy, and so delicious. You could also use the egg scraps in other stir fry dishes, or use them in salads, or bowls as a way to add protein.