The Lunch Lady
Bacon, egg and cheese bagels
Breakfast-for-lunch bagels with bacon, melted cheese and your choice of fried eggs or fluffy baked egg squares.
Published
- Servings
- 4 sandwiches
- Total time
- About 30 minutes with fried eggs; about 50 minutes with baked eggs
Two ways to cook the eggs
Bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel. Pretty self-explanatory. The eggs are where I like to change things up.
Whisking the eggs together and baking them in a sheet pan gives you a nice fluffy egg that you can cut into squares. I really like that version. But a fried egg has a thinner profile, and the kids seem to find it easier to approach. I get it. I like a soft yolk too. The goal is a white that's set with a yolk that's still soft.
Eggs are one of my superfoods. They're a good source of choline, a nutrient the brain and nervous system need. That's useful nutrition for kids and adults. Put them in a sandwich people want to eat, and you've got a pretty good lunch.
Toast the bagel, add the bacon and let the cheese melt into the eggs. Pick whichever egg method works for your morning.
Kitchen video
This video is currently unavailable. The full recipe is below.
Home recipe
Bacon, egg and cheese bagels
The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer
- Servings
- 4 sandwiches
- Prep time
- About 10 minutes
- Cook time
- About 20 minutes
- Total time
- About 30 minutes with fried eggs; about 50 minutes with baked eggs
Equipment: Rimmed sheet pan, large skillet with a lid, spatula, toaster; whisk and an 8-inch square baking pan for the baked-egg option
Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go.
Sandwiches
Instructions
Cook the bacon
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment and lay out the bacon without overlapping it.
- Bake for about 12 to 18 minutes, checking early and rotating the pan if it browns unevenly. Look for browned edges and bacon that is crisp but still slightly bendable. Drain on paper towels.
Egg option 1: Fried eggs
- Toast the cut sides of the bagels. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add some butter.
- Crack in the eggs, leaving the yolks intact and working in batches so they have room. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook gently until the whites are mostly opaque, then cover briefly to set the whites on top. For a soft yolk, use pasteurized shell eggs and take them off the heat while the yolks still give gently when touched. Avoid high heat that browns the bottoms before the whites finish setting.
- Group the eggs in pairs and add a cheese slice to each pair near the end of cooking. Cover just long enough to melt it. Repeat with the remaining eggs, adding butter as needed.
Egg option 2: Fluffy baked egg squares
- After cooking the bacon, reduce the oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. This smaller pan gives a four-sandwich batch enough depth for fluffy squares.
- Whisk the eight eggs with a little salt and pepper until the whites and yolks are fully blended and lightly frothy. Pour into the pan and bake for roughly 18 to 25 minutes, until the center is just set and reaches 160°F. Check early so the eggs stay tender.
- Add the four cheese slices for the last minute or two, just to melt. Cut the baked eggs into four squares. Toast the bagels while the eggs finish.
Build the sandwiches
- Put two fried eggs or one baked egg square with melted cheese on each bottom bagel half. Add two bacon slices, broken to fit, and close with the top half. Cut in half if you like.
- Taste the first sandwich before seasoning the remaining eggs. The bacon and cheese already bring salt, so adjust a little at a time.
Recipe notes
- For smaller appetites, use one egg per bagel or serve a half sandwich. The full recipe makes four sandwiches with two eggs each.
- Bacon thickness changes the cooking time. Start checking early, especially near the edges of the pan.
- For children and anyone at higher risk from foodborne illness, cook both whites and yolks firm. The FDA recommends pasteurized eggs for dishes served undercooked.
- The baked-egg timing includes cooking the bacon first, then lowering the oven temperature. A large sheet pan would spread this small batch too thin; use the smaller pan for four sandwiches.