Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches

Homemade Turkey Sausage + Spinach Omelette + a buttered English Muffin

My best friend is a fantastic cook, I’m sure I’ve mentioned her here before. I get a lot of inspiration from things she cooks for me. A few weeks ago she had us over for brunch and presented a tray of warm, homemade breakfast sandwiches that included breakfast sausage she had made herself. It gave me the idea to put them on the menu at my business. I’m assembling them, wrapping them up and whenever my customer wants to eat one they’ll microwave it or heat it in the oven. This warms everything, softens the english muffin and melts the cheese. So I got to work testing them out…

The Elements:

• Spinach Omelette: This is a slab of baked eggs that are so creamy and custardy thanks to heavy cream and some added cottage cheese for protein. I added a handful of spinach to the blender, but you could leave it out or add things like leftover roasted veggies, chopped finely.

• Homemade Maple Sage Breakfast Sausage: This is stupid easy, you’re going to get your mind blown. I used turkey but you could use ground chicken or ground pork.

• Cheese: I added a slice of my favorite milk, soft sliced cheese. Literally any cheese would work.

• English Muffin: I put a little butter on each slice of the muffin. A soft brioche bun or onion roll would be amazing here too.

• Storage: In your home you could just store these in a glass Tupperware- that’s what I’m doing in my house. But if you want to be able to bring them somewhere and heat up later I’d recommend wrapping them in foil, parchment or wax paper.

Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches

makes 9 sandwiches

Spinach Omelette:

• 9 eggs

• 3/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese

• 1 teaspoon salt

• handful of baby spinach

• 9” x 9” baking pan

• Large baking dish or sheet pan

• parchment paper

• butter or oil to grease the pan

1. Grease a 9” x 9” (or 8x8) baking pan with a little oil or butter. Line it with parchment paper. I lined it both ways and had a little overhanging so it was easy to pull it out later. Heat your oven to 350°.

2. Optional step but makes a softer egg bake: Place the prepared pan inside a larger baking pan or rimmed sheet pan. Once you put your egg mixture in the pan you’ll pour boiling water into the large pan to create a “bath” for your smaller pan. The steaming water helps the eggs cook more evenly and gently. Similar to how you bake a cheesecake.

3. Combine the eggs, heavy cream, cottage cheese, salt and spinach in a blender. Blend until smooth. Some flecks of spinach are fine.

4. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish. Add the boiling water to the outside pan, if doing this step. Bake for 25-35 minutes (or potentially longer), but start checking after 25 minutes. To check for doneness, gently touch the egg custard or shake the pan — it should feel set. If it is not set or liquidy, keep baking and set the timer for 5 minutes more.

5. Carefully remove the egg custard from the water bath and set it on a cooling rack. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut into 9 rectangles (3 across and then another 3 across).

Maple & Sage Breakfast Sausage

makes 9 patties

• 1 pound ground turkey, chicken or pork

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• Optional if needed: plain breadcrumbs

1. In a medium bowl, combine the ground meat, sage, maple syrup, olive oil, salt and garlic powder. Use your hands to combine the mixture well.

2. If your mixture feels very soft and loose, you could add plain breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time. The mixture should feel much softer than a meatball mixture and you may not need the breadcrumbs at all.

3. Scoop the mixture into 9 equal sized balls and place them on a parchment lined sheet pan. Using wet hands, pat them down and form patties. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

4. You could cook these a few ways: 1. Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium high heat and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. 2. You could spray them with a little oil and bake on a parchment lined sheet pan at 425° for 12-14 minutes. A convection setting is a good idea here if you have it.

Assembly & Storing

• 9 English muffins or brioche buns

• 9 slices of cheese

• softened butter

1. Spread a little butter on the inside of each bun. Layer with egg, sausage and a slice of cheese. Top the sandwiches.

2. Storage: at this point you can store in a sealed container in the refrigerator or wrap each sandwich with foil, parchment or wax paper. They will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 or 6 days.

3. To reheat simply microwave for 30-40 seconds or warm them in the oven.

Freezing: I have not tried freezing these. But I don’t see why they wouldn’t freeze well. if someone tries please reach out!