Frozen breakfast sandwiches are super easy to make and keeps you out of the drive-thru. This will help you eat healthier and save money! Win win!
Frozen breakfast sandwiches are one of the first freezers meals I made when I started my weight loss journey. I used to be a regular at the Tim Horton’s drive-thru ordering my bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel or english muffin. Of course, I knew this wasn’t the healthiest decision but, back then, all I cared about was getting out the door with my hair washed. My whole life was surviving one hot zone after another.
I actually shared a couple posts 7-8 years ago on making frozen breakfast sandwiches. Well let’s just say I’ve learned a lot since then so I wanted to put together an updated post to give some other tips and tricks for preparing a healthy freezer breakfast sandwich.
First, just in case you need more convincing, these are the 3 reasons I love frozen breakfast sandwiches.
- I control the ingredients. Unless you’re going to Panera, it’s safe to say that most drive-thru breakfast sandwiches aren’t made with the highest quality ingredients. Not to mention fast food breakfast sandwiches are filled with sodium, additives, preservatives, and who knows what else. By making my own, I control the ingredients. So, if I want to use all organic that’s what I use. This also means I control the calories. If I want to keep the sandwiches under 350 calories then I choose the ingredients that’ll help me do that.
- I save money. Going to drive-thru cost money and if I want to get a breakfast sandwich that’s even close to the one I make at home I’m spending at least $5 each time. If I go 5 days a week that’s $25 – that’s $100 a month!! If I purchase everything in bulk from BJ’s wholesale I can make a month’s worth of breakfast sandwiches for like $20.
- I save time. Going to the drive-thru requires me to drive there and, most of the time, wait in line. This takes at least 10 minutes. That’s 50 minutes a week going to get a breakfast sandwich. I’m sure I can find much more productive ways to spend my time.
Okay, let’s go through the basics of preparing frozen breakfast sandwiches. At the end, I’m going to offers some more tips.
When I first started making these I’d fry an egg on my griddle and then put the sandwiches together. This was okay but the egg white got a little chewy after being frozen.
The next thing I tried was whisking up the eggs and, again, cooking them on my griddle. I used egg rings to make individual servings. This tasted much better but took time and effort to make.
Then it occurred to me to simply bake the eggs in a casserole dish. There are many moments, where I’m like ummmm I can’t believe it took me this long to think of this – this was one of those moments.
I’ve been making egg bakes for years and finally realized that this method is the way to go to make quick healthy breakfast sandwiches.
You can use any egg bake recipe for this. This chicken sausage and greens egg bake recipe is delicious. However, if you just want an easy, no frills, egg bake to throw into a breakfast sandwich with cheese and bacon – this is it.
Start with 12 whole eggs. You can leave a few of the yolks out if you want to cut some fat but try to leave more yolks than whites because egg whites struggle with freezing. The fat from the yolks keep it from getting rubbery
Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a little milk, and whisk it all together.
Pour the egg mixture into a 13 x 9 baking dish, coated with cooking spray, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until set in the middle.
After the egg bake is done, set it aside and cook the bacon. Now you can easily cook the bacon beforehand – it really doesn’t matter. I like to cook bacon in the oven for 20 -25 minutes in a 375 oven. This gives it the perfect crispiness and I can cook a bunch at once.
Next, cut the egg bake into 10 squares. Try to make them as even as possible. Don’t be like me with the last two squares being smaller than the rest.
Now it’s time to put the sandwiches together. My favorite breakfast sandwich bread of choice is Thomas Lite Multigrain English Muffins. These muffins are only 100 calories, have 8 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein, and taste great. I purchase them in bulk (2 packages 6 each) from BJ’s wholesale. However, you can get these at any grocery store.
I’ve seen other bloggers talk about toasting the bread before assembling the breakfast sandwiches but I don’t do that. Personally, I don’t think it makes a difference and it’s too much work.
I just seperate the english muffins and line up the bottoms.
Then each bottom gets a piece of the egg bake. Now I know I could’ve made these sandwiches more symmetrical and pretty by making the pieces round but again…too much effort. Plus, what would I do with extra egg pieces. I’m good with square pieces.
Next is the cheese. This is probably the trickiest part of the sandwich. If you’re going to warm it up directly from the freezer then I recommend folding the cheese or arranging it so the cheese isn’t hanging over the sides. This helps to keep the cheese in the sandwich. If you take it out the night before and give it a little chance to thaw then you should be good.
Sometimes, I’ll add 1 cup of shredded cheese (and leave off the sliced cheese) to the egg bake so there’s no issue of messy melting cheese.
Also, if you want to reduce fat then use the ultra thin cheese slices. Sargento makes them and I’ve also seen a Wegmans brand. Using these thin cheese slices is my favorite way to keep the cheese without the extra fat and calories.
Add the bacon. You could even turkey bacon or even sausage patties too.
Put the english muffin tops on. Again, if you want to toast these ahead of time you can.
Now it’s time to wrap them up. I wrap each breakfast sandwich tightly in plastic wrap.
Then I either put them into a large freezer bag or lay them in the freezer.
Of course there are other variations but this is my go to basic freezer breakfast sandwich.
Alright, let’s chat about reheating. I’ve learned a few tricks over the years for reheating make ahead breakfast sandwiches.
- Not necessary, but if you can place the frozen breakfast sandwich in the refrigerator the night before to thaw a little bit. This helps reduce reheating time and help heat everything more evenly.
- Whether frozen, or slightly thawed, remove the sandwich from plastic wrap and wrap in a paper towel.
- Place on a plate and put in the microwave.
- THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TRICK. Now I know this might seem weird but, trust me, it works. Put a coffee cup of water in the microwave with the breakfast sandwich. As it cooks, the steam from the water keeps the english muffin from getting hard and chewy. When I first started making these sandwiches I hated that the english muffin got hard after it cooked in the microwave. This water trick worked. It works for frozen breakfast burritos too.
- These breakfasts sandwiches cook between 1-3 minutes depending on how frozen they are. Be careful when you bite into it because the sandwich could be very hot.
Here’s my basic make-ahead healthy freezer sandwich recipe.
- 12 large eggs
- ¼ cup 1% milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 10 Thomas Lite Multigrain English Muffins
- 10 slices bacon, cooked
- 10 slices ultra thin sliced cheddar cheese
- Preheat over to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and spices. Pour egg mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
- Cook for 20 minutes or until middle of egg bake is set. Let it cool then cut into 10 pieces and assemble the breakfast sandwiches.
- Lay out all of the english muffin bottoms then layer each one with egg slice, cheese, bacon, and english muffin top.
- Wrap each breakfast sandwich in plastic wrap and then freeze.
Reheating instructions:
Remove sandwich from plastic wrap. Wrap sandwich in a paper towel and put on a microwave safe plate. Place in the microwave, along side a coffee cup of water, and microwave on high for 1-3 minutes or until heated through.
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