Healthy Recipe: Make-Ahead-and-Freeze Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

For our first official recipe post of September, I decided I’d be as helpful as possible. You see, I can be a bit bossy when it comes to food, and nothing gets me going quite like you breakfast skippers out there. So you say, “I have no time!” Do you have 60 seconds? That question is rhetorical. A little work on a weekend afternoon will give you a nutritious, delicious breakfast for over two weeks.

A year or two ago, I wanted to make and freeze breakfast sandwiches for my husband, and I realized it was difficult to find a recipe. So I made my own and posted it on my website, Home Beccanomics—and it remains, by far, my most popular post. Since then I’ve been itching to make a “me” version—one that’s a bit healthier than something my hubby would eat—and I figured my “me” version should apply very well to you, healthy Be Well Philly readers. But above all else, I wanted to avoid sogginess, so I did my research.

Full fat cheese melts the best, and a slice of Swiss has a whopping 8 grams of protein. By drying out the English muffins in a low-heat oven, we cut down on the bread’s natural moisture. I squeezed the bejeezus out of the frozen spinach and cooked down my mushrooms until totally dehydrated; lastly, I toasted my bottom slice of muffin in the morning instead of microwaving. Long story short, I L-O-V-E the end result. It’s everything you need, all in one perfectly wrapped, warm, melt-y, flavorful sandwich. Plus, as you probably already know, a breakfast of eggs keeps you fuller, longer—perfect for you movers and shakers.

Make-Ahead-and-Freeze Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches
Makes 12 sandwiches

12 light whole-wheat English muffins
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. button mushrooms, chopped
¾ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb. frozen spinach, thawed in microwave and squeezed dry
12 eggs, beaten with fork
12 slices (thinly sliced) Swiss cheese
Equipment needed: paper towels, plastic wrap

Method
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees and place English muffins cut side up on cooling rack. Place in oven when preheated and toast for 15-20 minutes or until toasted and dry.

2. Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is released and then cooked off (the pan should be mostly dry). Add salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir to combine.

3. Remove mushrooms to mixing bowl and wipe pan clean.

4. Add dry spinach to mushrooms in mixing bowl and mix with hands to combine.

5. Spray wiped-out skillet with nonstick spray and reduce heat to medium-low.

6. Add beaten eggs to skillet and gently scramble with rubber spatula, letting the eggs fill the pan at all times (don’t scrape the eggs into a pile). Almost like you’re making a frittata, if familiar.

7. Once eggs are mostly cooked and evenly filling the pan, sprinkle vegetable mixture across the surface of the eggs and press into eggs with spatula.

8. Remove from heat and cover skillet with lid or a sheet of aluminum foil.

9. Meanwhile, spread toasted English muffins across a counter workspace.

10. Scoop egg mixture in even portions, trying to keep the veggies on top. Place on bottom of English muffin.

11. Place cheese on top of egg and cover with English muffin top.

12. Wrap each sandwich in a square of paper towel and then wrap in plastic wrap.

13. Freeze sandwiches. Will keep for one to two months. When ready to eat, remove sandwich from freezer and place in fridge the night before you want to eat. In the morning, unwrap the sandwich. Take the bottom half and place in toaster. Microwave the sandwich, upside down (egg on top) for 1 minute. Remove from oven, place right side up and top with toasted half.

Per sandwich: 326 calories, 14.5 fat grams (including 7 grams saturated fat), 189 milligrams cholesterol, 537 milligrams, 29.7 grams carbs, 3.2 grams dietary fiber, 3.5 grams sugar, 20.4 grams protein

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Becca Boyd is a wife and mom who creates healthy and delicious recipes in her West Chester kitchen. She blogs about them on her website, Home Beccanomics.