The Ultimate Italian Breakfast Sandwich with parmesan-crusted eggs, crispy bacon, spinach, hashbrowns, and fried eggs. Make it on an English muffin or a semolina roll!
Love Italian sandwiches? Try our Peppers and Eggs Sandwich, Eggplant Parm Sandwich, or throw some Sausage and Peppers on a roll.
I don't want you to live another morning without trying this Italian Breakfast Sandwich. This will cure your hangover, fill your stomach, fuel your workout, knock your socks off, and start your day right.
Italians are known for their food. But you never hear about breakfast from Italians. So, I thought I'd take a stab at an Italian Breakfast Sandwich. It's not like chicken parm breakfast or anything crazy. It's delicate. It's a light Italian touch. It's romantic.
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What Makes This an "Italian" Breakfast Sandwich?
Well, we made it, so I guess that's a start. But, we're not truly Italian, it's our heritage, 2nd and 3rd generation. But we let our Italian heritage influence this sandwich. The crispy parmesan eggs are what puts the "Italian" in this sandwich.
Let me tell you something about crispy parmesan eggs. I know everyone can cook good eggs, but make your over-easy eggs like this and you will thank me. Forget about the sandwich, just throw your eggs on a piece of toast. Unbelievable.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Parmigiano. The parmigiano or parmesan will make the eggs salty and crispy. The perfect texture for a breakfast sandwich
- Bread. A sandwich roll, English muffin, semolina roll, or some sourdough bread is perfect.
- Bacon. I try to go with a nice thick cut bacon so it's extra crunchy.
- Potatoes. I use gold potatoes. They have a medium level of starch so they're perfect for hash browns.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
Making the Bacon
Step 1: I always start my bacon in a cold pan, bring it up to medium heat, and fry until crispy, flipping only once. Some people like to cover the bacon or put something on top of their bacon. I find I get flat crispy bacon when I cook it starting from a cold frying pan.
But you can make your bacon however you want as long as save the bacon grease. It's not absolutely necessary, but it helps with the hash browns. Butter can always be substituted if necessary.
Frying the Hashbrowns
Hashbrowns should be moist but crispy! Try Crispy Hash Browns, or follow below!
Step 2: Start by grating your potatoes on a large grater. Then you want to rinse the potatoes until the water runs clear.
Step 3: Dry them as best you can. I use a cheesecloth to squeeze the liquid out. Dry the potatoes thoroughly. It's important to make a crispy hash brown. If you leave the potatoes wet, they will steam and be moist and mushy. We don't want moist and mushy. We call that muciad.
Step 4: Grate your onions next and then mix them with the grated potatoes in a bowl, and press one clove of garlic into the bowl. Add salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper for a well-seasoned hash brown. Leave out the cayenne if you don't like them spicy.
Step 5: In a large pan, add 2 tablespoon of bacon fat. Bring to medium-high heat. Spread the potato and onion mixture evenly across the pan. You want this to be a relatively thin layer of potatoes. It may take two batches, but with 3 medium potatoes and a large pan, you should be able to do it with one pan. Cook the hashbrowns for 7 minutes without moving them. They should be golden brown on the bottom at this point.
Step 6: Flip them over in sections. Add 2 tablespoon of butter or some more bacon grease on top of the potatoes. Allow them to cook again on the other side for 5 minutes. Start mixing potatoes at this point to make sure they are cooked through. It should take another 2-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove them from the heat and put them to the side.
Sautéing the Spinach
Step 5: In the same pan, heat olive oil to medium heat. The spinach sautés quickly. Start by tossing in 2 crushed garlic cloves and cook until fragrant. Remove the garlic Add the bag of spinach a handful at a time. Stir and cook until spinach is wilted. Transfer to a plate.
The Crispy Parmesan Eggs
Step 6: Heat the pan back up to medium heat. Add a tablespoon of butter. Grate parmesan cheese over the pan, about ¾ Cup for 4 eggs
Step 7: Carefully crack your eggs over the parmesan cheese and allow to cook for about 2 minutes. The parmesan won't melt, it will start to become brown and crispy. Flip the eggs over and cook for another minute or two depending on if you want your eggs over-easy, medium, or hard.
Remove your eggs from the heat and it's time to build your Italian Breakfast Sandwich
Building The Italian Breakfast Sandwich
My wife made homemade English muffins the first morning we made this sandwich. I know what you're thinking, why would be put the Italian Breakfast Sandwich on an English muffin? Well, we're Always From Scratch, if she makes some fresh English muffins, that's what we're using. Normally, I'd put this on a semolina roll, but you try finding a semolina roll in rural North Carolina.
Toast whatever bread you're putting this delicious meal on first. Start with hash browns, spinach, egg, then bacon. Close your sandwich up and enjoy your day like you're about to embark on the greatest morning of your life. I promise you won't be disappointed!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, in this instance, pecorino would be a perfect cheese to substitute for parmesan. Despite the different flavors, it will still get the job done.
The thicker the cheese, the less the egg will be able to cook on top of the cheese. I'd keep it to hard dry cheeses like pecorino or parmesan.
More Breakfast Options
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Italian Breakfast Sandwich
Equipment
- 2 large pans
- 1 cheese grater
Ingredients
- 4 English Muffins or Semolina Rolls
- 4 Eggs
- ¾ Cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated
- 3 Gold Potatoes
- 1 Small Onion
- 4 tablespoon Butter
- 1 lb Bacon
- 1 Bag Spinach
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ Tsp Dried Parsley
Instructions
- Start by frying your bacon in a large pan. Place bacon in cold pan and heat to medium high heat. Fry until bacon is crispy.
- Grate your potatoes on a grater with the largest grating hole available. Then rinse potatoes until water runs clear. Dry thoroughly. Grate your onion and mix it with the potato mixture. Press one clove of garlic into the mixture. Season with oregano, parsley, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
- In a large pan, place 2 tablespoon of bacon grease and bring to medium-high heat. Spread your potatoes evenly across pan (you may have to do 2 batches). Leave without moving for 7 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip over and place 2 tablespoon of butter on top of the mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes without mixing. Then for the last 2-5 minutes mix potatoes thoroughly until brown and crispy.
- Sauté spinach in same pan that you cooked potatoes. Crush two cloves of garlic and place in pan with olive oil on medium heat and cook until fragrant. Add spinach and cook until it wilts, about 2 minutes.
- In a pan, place 1 tablespoon of butter. Once heated, spread parmesan on the pan and carefully crack your egg over the parmesan. Fry how you would normally fry an over easy egg. Flip after 2 minutes.
- Toast your English muffins or roll. Place your hash browns on the bottom of the roll, followed by spinach, your egg, then your bacon.
Notes
- When spreading the parmesan over the pan, make sure the pan is hot, otherwise when you crack the egg, it will spread past the bounds of the cheese.
- Cooking hashbrowns also requires a hot pan. Be sure to let the pan heat and spread the potatoes in an even thin layer across the pan to ensure the crispiest hashbrowns.
Vinny
This is such a delicious riff on a breakfast sandwich. I bet this is a crowd pleaser for you guys!