On our honeymoon we ate a lot of bagel sandwiches. There was no shortage of elegant dining options in Banff, no deficit of fine grocers, nothing lacking in the kitchen of our resort apartment. There was no reason at all for us to choose a little bagel shop beside the highway for our first meal in the Canadian Rockies, but choose it we did. And then we chose it again, and again, once a day, every day that we were there. I can’t even begin to describe how good these sandwiches were, how perfectly sublime their cream cheese ratios, and how diverse the options before us. As we drove out through the mountains and began the sad trek away from honeymooning, we waxed poetic about many things — those bagel sandwiches high on the list.
So began our love affair with breakfast sandwiches. We love getting them in Union Market, where Bergen Bagels serves up an admirable sandwich. We love getting them from McDonalds or Burger King, licking greasy cheese off the wrapper when we are done. We love getting them at Batter Bowl Bakery, where the simple croissant sandwich is my favorite in this city. We love breakfast sandwiches.
And on one snow delay day right before Christmas break, it occurred to me that I could make them, that these simple goodies were not only for fast food joints and bagel shops. We started making them and haven’t looked back. They are the perfect Saturday morning brunch, the excellent Sunday night dinner, two meals that eerily resemble each other. We got a little bit out of control last month, making January our home around a tribute to breakfast sandwiches.
I recently Instagrammed a picture of some breakfast sandwiches (sorry all you followers… they have been a slightly overwhelming theme lately) with the observation that whatever the question or problem, breakfast sandwiches are the answer. I am only partially joking. Had a bad day at work? Eat a breakfast sandwich and try not to smile. Trying to make new friends? Invite them over for breakfast sandwiches and they will come back. Worried about the future? Chomp away on these and feel like everything might just be a little brighter. Cooking boredom, tight budgets, laziness, time crunch — all of these can be resolved with these simple sandwiches. They are the perfect thing to serve to both satisfy hunger, impress your guests, make them feel at home, and do almost no work. They are comfort food at both its finest and easiest.
In fact, I’m kind of a little ashamed that I am even sharing instructions on how to make these. Please don’t be insulted — I fully assume that you are intelligent enough to figure this out on your own. But then again, it took me, an avowed breakfast sandwich lover, forever to actually make them and maybe you are the same. I want the gratuitous number of breakfast sandwich making closeups in this post to inspire you to add these into your weekend. Or your today- no judgement here.
Seriously though, why are you still reading this? Why didn’t you stop four pointless food close-ups ago and go make one? You will not regret it. 
Breakfast Sandwiches with Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato
- 2 Bagels (we like the bagel thins because the sandwich is pretty tall and messy to eat as it is)
- 3 Eggs
- 2 slices cheese
- 4 strips bacon (I separate packets of bacon into rolled up bundles of 3-4 strips and freeze them all in a ziplock bag so that I can easily pull out just enough for one or two servings of bacon.)
- 1 tomato
- 1 avocado
- Cream cheese
- Dash milk
- Dash each of salt and pepper
- Cook bacon. Set aside on paper towel and drain almost all of grease from skillet.
- While bacon is cooking, turn on broiler. Arrange bagels on cookie tray with cut side up. Place a piece of cheese on one side. Broil until cheese is melted and bagel is toasted.
- Whisk eggs, dash of milk, and salt and pepper. Cook in remaining bacon grease until set Use spatula to flip egg and cook until puffed, golden, and no longer runny.
- Spread cream cheese on side of bagel without cheese. Top with sliced avocado, tomato, and 2 slices bacon cut in half. Cut egg in half so that it resembles a half circle. Place on bagel, folding edges over so that egg fits more or less on bagel. Put sandwich together.
- Eat, deciding in advance not to care when you have to gobble it face as it falls deliciously apart all over your fingers. Just lick them clean at the end.
The Art in Life 
Beautiful pictures! Of course, now I am trying to think of the easiest way to procure bacon at 8 pm in the Netherlands. Yum!
It is worth going to great lengths – I promise. : 0
Sold. 🙂
: )
Oh yum. I’m one of those people that doesn’t enjoy cooking much at all, but your descriptions and lovely pictures…I might have to make these – with a few small cheats. Totally wishing I had the ingredients right now. 😀
This barely even counts as cooking… more like just some assembly required. Which is how I like my breakfast foods because who can think that early?
😀 Sounds perfect. lol
Minus the bacon, this is definitely one of my favorite foods of all time.
I’m pretty sure the net effect would be awesome even minus that. : )
Breakfast food is the best. A friend and I love to make fun omelets (like you all make sandwiches–except I love grilled sandwiches, too). We add spinach, cheese (feta, cheddar, whatever), tomatoes, maybe meat, onions…mmm delish! Then we watch Downton Abbey. She texted me one day to say she started to watch Downton and it felt strange to do so without an omelet!
I love omelets! We kind of just go through phases around here and our omelet phase was INTENSE.
These look AH-MAZ-ING. The cream cheese is brilliant. I’m so making these this weekend.
P.S. do you guys drink your coffee black? I wish I could but I just can’t do it!
No way – yuck. Well, James does, but I don’t touch coffee — black or otherwise. Mine is a cheery cup of tea with honey. : )
As a solo apartment dweller, I am fascinated by your bacon trick…how long does it take to thaw, and what a great idea!
It goes down as one of my best and most obvious ideas ever. I usually grab a bundle and set it in the fridge in a plastic baggie the night before using, but several times I have wanted it NOW so I just take a bundle out, put it in a ziplock, and then set it in a bowl of warm or hot water and it is ready in about 15 minutes.
this sounds amazing. it seems silly but i’ve never had cream cheese on a egg sandwich. must try this!
DO IT. Some would say that cream cheese and regular cheese is redundant, but I would tell them to shush. James doesn’t like creamy things so he sticks with the plain one (I mean, still with the melted cheese…) but I LOVE the cream cheese kick.
Hi Hannah,
I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Shannon Odell, Andrew’s little sister. I have to admit: I have been reading your blog for over a year and just adore it, so I thought I should comment, too. Travis and I love bagel sandwiches. We live on them when we go to his family in Oklahoma because there is the best little shop down the street from his home. Your photos of these are absolutely lovely.
Of course I remember you! Annnnndddd now I want to go to Oklahoma and binge on bagels. : )
They’re so happy! Kind of like Meg Ryan in “You’ve Got Mail” when she says, “Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?” I kind of feel like breakfast sandwiches are the happiest breakfast food… This is also exciting to me because I’m going to a brand new local coffee shop to meet a friend today- and they make their breakfast sandwiches fresh! Can’t wait to try one… they also have THE BEST mocha I’ve had in my entire life.
Anyway- how do you get the cheese to melt so perfectly onto the bread?????
YES — they are totally the daisies of food!
I actually just put a cheese slice (one of teh precut ones because we are lazy about lunch packing around here) on the bagel and it did that.
Thanks! I now know what we’re buying at the grocery this weekend… 😉
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