Let’s make a full English Breakfast! This hearty spread, also called a British breakfast or a fry up, consists of a filling meal made of breakfast staples and a few interesting components if you’re here in the US. It’s delicious, savory, super-filling and relatively easy to pull together. There isn’t anything complicated about Britian’s favorite breakfast, but it’s more of a pan juggle as you have to cook everything up separately.
If you love hearty breakfast feasts, be sure to try my bacon egg bagel, steak egg bagel, brunch charcuterie board, or super-creamy scrambled eggs next time.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
What Is an English Breakfast?
Traditionally, a full breakfast includes bacon, sausages, eggs, and a drink like coffee or tea. In England, the Full English breakfast includes bacon, fried, poached, or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, toast, and sausages. Traditionally, a large mug of tea is included.
What You’ll Love About Full English Breakfast
- Delicious and fun
- Hearty and satisfying meal
- Easy to make
- Made with simple ingredients
- Easy to serve deconstructed so it works for everyone
Ingredients
- Bacon – If you’re going for a traditional version, look for back bacon. I couldn’t find it, so I used classic bacon strips.
- Heinz Beans in Tomato Sauce – The beans for a full English breakfast are especially important! They are in a teal container and have a tomato sauce base so are more savory than baked beans. You might be able to find them in your store, or you can order online. (I had to!)
- Butter – Use high-quality butter for best flavor. You could also use vegetable oil or olive oil – it’s really just a cooking fat.
- Mushrooms – I recommend using baby bella mushrooms, but white mushrooms or your favorite variety of mushrooms will also work.
- Sausage – The sausage can also vary based on what you have access to. I used our favorite pork sausage (Jones Dairy Farm!) but the traditional version includes black pudding. Use that if you’re a purist and you can track it down. But really any kind of sausage will work.
- Tomatoes – I recommend using plum tomatoes as they are a great size, but you could also use whatever type of tomatoes you have, even grape tomatoes would work.
- Eggs – Use high-quality eggs for best flavor.
- Toast – You can use whatever type of toast you prefer – slices of sourdough, whole-grain, or white are all fantastic options.
How to Make a British Breakfast
This is an overview on how to make a British breakfast, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.
Storage Instructions
This English fry up is best served immediately, but all of the leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
How to reheat
Reheat components on the stove top or in the microwave.
What to Serve with Full English Breakfast
This is a pretty hearty breakfast, so you don’t need much besides a beverage and/or some fresh fruit to cut through the richness of the meal.
- Black tea – if you want to stick with the traditional English breakfast theme
- Coffee – Latte, cappuccino, dirty chai, or sweet cream cold foam
- Fresh fruit
- Orange juice
How to Feed a Fry Up to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in.
This full breakfast is actually set up nicely as everything is cooked separately so everyone can pick and choose what they would like. Serve the meal with a few items you know your kids will eat, like fruit, milk, and/or bread and butter.
More Breakfast Recipes
If you like this proper English breakfast, you might also like some of these other breakfast and brunch recipes:
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Full English Breakfast
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: English
Description
Let’s make a full English Breakfast! This hearty spread, also called a British breakfast or a fry up, consists of breakfast staples and a few interesting components!
Ingredients
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon
- 15 oz. can of Heinz beans in tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 8 oz. sliced white mushrooms (baby bella)
- 8 oz. breakfast sausage (about 12 links)
- 4 small or roma tomatoes, sliced in half
- 4 eggs
- 4 slices toast
Instructions
- Cook bacon. Add bacon to cold pan and cook over medium heat, flipping frequently, until fully cooked. Drain on a plate lined with paper towel.
- Heat beans on the stove in a small pot over low heat. Keep warm until it’s time to eat.
First batch of pans. (You need two non-stick skillets)
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet and add mushrooms to pan. Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently until mushrooms until tender and golden brown, about 4-7 minutes. Remove mushrooms from pan and keep warm in the microwave. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
- While mushrooms are cooking, add sausages to a second non-stick skillet and cook according to package instructions. Remove sausages and keep warm in the microwave. (Save oil in skillet!)
Second batch of pans.
- Start toasting bread while you’re cooking the eggs and tomatoes.
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the large non-stick skillet and cook eggs according to preferences. Season eggs with salt and pepper to taste. (I did sunny side-up for adults, scrambled for kids.)
- Heat sausage skillet over medium heat and sprinkle cut side of tomatoes with sea salt. Add tomatoes, cut side down, to skillet and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until softened and lightly charred.
Equipment
Notes
- If you don’t love the texture or flavor of cooked tomatoes, leave them raw and serve them on the side!
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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Claire
I am from England so I loved seeing this! One very important thing to note with a full English is that American baked beans and British baked beans are very different. Proper baked beans for a full English are Heinz beans in a tomato sauce, more savory than the sweet American baked beans. They come in a turquoise colored tin and I get them from my regular grocery store!
Emily
Oh I’m so happy to now know this! I have to check my local store to see if I can find the British Baked Beans. Do you like that version better?
Kyle
I wasn’t even aware America had a different type of tinned beans in sauce, Heinz are good, for the unhealthy and original version some bacon and fried slice along with black pudding if you can stomach it. Your version definitely is healthier though…
Emily
Yes, but we call them baked beans. I would definitely add bacon to my english breakfast! Black pudding I’m not sure. HA
Clive Pritchard
Ate you trying to start a war here? The Full English has english back bacon with it in some regions black (blood) pudding too. You may also see fried left over potatoes but hash brown is a decent substitute
Emily
I love those additions, Clive!
John Ross
Full English Breakfast:
Black Pudding is a must
Fried Eggs
Smoked Bacon (definitely not that european streaky thin stripe shite)
Sausages
Mushrooms
Hash Brown
Baked Beans (traditionally Heinz but i’m afraid since lowering salt content flavour has gone so use HP or Crosse and Blackwell)
Tinned Tomatoes or Fried Tomatoes
Toast with butter
COFFEE
Emily
Yes! This is the English breakfast PLUS! Love it. I’ve never had black pudding, do you love it?
Kendall
Not 100% authentic, but a super tasty and easy meal!
Ged Finnegan
Dear Emily,
You have a lovely website here, with lots of wonderful recipes. I’ve just been reviewing your recipe for a ‘Full English Breakfast’, and whilst it is sumptuous, it is missing one vital ingredient. Now, this ingredient might not be fashionable, as it is no doubt calorie laden, but I can vouch for the fact that it transforms the usual English Breakfast into something sublime! The ingredient in question? Well, it’s… fried bread! By which I mean standard sliced white bread (probably thick sliced), fried in whatever oil takes your fancy – I would favour sunflower oil. I cannot conceive of an English breakfast without it! Please feel free to disagree, though I’ve been cooking Full English breakfasts for more years than I care to remember, and I cannot conceive of a ‘Full English’ without fried bread. Yours truly, an Englishman!
Emily Dingmannn
Ged, thanks so much for this insight, I’m always for fried bread as it is the BEST kind of toast! I will be trying this next time for sure. 🙂