Recipe: The “What’s For Dinner?” Breakfast Sandwich
Photo by Ahmed Rabea from Pexels
When my husband and I were dating, he’d drive down and visit me where I went to school, usually some day on the weekend, and, when possible, another day midweek. In those early days of our relationship, I both had a ton of demands on my schedule and very little skills with meal planning. If we cooked together, we often resorted to an easy favorite: breakfast for dinner.
Typically, that meant pancakes of some form. As much as I still love pancakes — and they sometimes do still make it to the dinner table — we now tend to reserve our favorite recipe as a special Sunday morning feast. What’s more, in life post-college, I’m not usually in a mood for eating a bunch of syrup for dinner.
One day recently, we came back home from a spontaneous afternoon movie showing, and I had no plan for dinner. My husband suggested “breakfast for dinner” as an option, hinting at pancakes, but I wasn’t convinced. I wanted something savory, something that felt more like “dinner.”
Then, an idea came to me: a hearty breakfast sandwich. I always have bread in the freezer, and I knew I had eggs in the fridge. We certainly had enough other random things around to toss together and make it interesting. Thus, the “What’s for Dinner?” breakfast sandwich was born.
We all come to those nights of the week when we stare blankly into the fridge, freezer, and pantry, wondering, “What’s for dinner?” Even those of us who’ve reached the rockstar level of meal planning, these days still come up.
Perhaps, like us, you go see a new movie last minute. Maybe some plans got canceled or some other unexpected life event occurred. Or maybe you just didn’t have a plan for dinner — that’s okay, too! Whatever your reason for needing a quick and simple meal, this recipe is a satisfying and delicious way to solve the “What’s for dinner?” blues, no matter how frequently or seldom they may arise.
This breakfast sandwich is totally adaptable to what you’re in the mood for and have to hand at home. The basics include some form of bread and a fried egg; beyond that, the sky is the limit, my friend. Have fun with it.
The basic components & a few ideas:
Bread | slices of bread, English muffins, or a bagel; toasted
Eggs | fried
Additional bulk | greens (fresh or wilted), leftover cooked veggies (especially roasted or grilled), pickled or fermented veggies, cheese, etc.
Spreads | smashed avocado, hummus, mustard, mayo/aioli, herby chutney, jam, salda, etc.
Flavor bombs | smoked paprika flakes, chili oil, hot sauce, curry powder, miso, balsamic vinegar, etc.
Optional finishing touches | seeds, sprouts, a sprinkle of flaky salt, a squeeze or drizzle or citrus juice, vinegar, oil, etc.
As an example, here are the ingredients we paired together recently (for two sandwiches):
4 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
2 eggs, fried — cast-iron skillet, avocado oil
sliced red potatoes (cooked in salt water, left over from a pizza I made)
arugula, lightly wilted in the pan with the heat off after cooking the eggs, salted
dijon mustard (on one piece of toast)
a chili, onion, garlic dip in olive oil form from a favorite grocery story (on the other piece of toast)
smoked paprika flakes (sprinkled liberally, directly onto the eggs while cooking)
The steps of making your sandwich.
Mis en place. That is, get everything in place. Decide what you’re going to use before you start cooking, as these things come together quickly.
Toast your bread.
Fry your eggs. Heat a cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat, add oil once it has heated up, and then carefully crack your eggs in. Be sure to salt them as they cook. This is also a good time to add other spices like smoked paprika flakes, curry, garlic, etc. Some flavor bombs may be best added once assembling the sandwich. Cook eggs to desired doneness (I love my yolks runny — even though it makes for a messy meal, it’s totally worth it).
Spread the “stage” and your toast halves. While the eggs fry, smear your desired spreads onto the toasts and load up any additional bulk you choose to add to the sandwich.
Finish assembly. Add your fried egg to each sandwich, add any additional ingredients and finishing touches. Stand back and admire your creation.
Enjoy! If you need to, pull back your hair, remove any rings… a runny yolk will be really messy, but oh so delicious (have a fork and a napkin at the ready).
