What can I make with eggs and bacon?
Eggs and Bacon is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use eggs and bacon, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with eggs and bacon
Cobb Salad
Chopped salad with chicken, egg, avocado, bacon, and blue cheese.
American20m4Breakfast Hash
Skillet-crisped potatoes with peppers, onion, and eggs.
American40m4
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
STEP 1 Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
Italian4
Chivito uruguayo
Crush the meat so that it is finite and we put it on a griddle to brown.
Uruguayan4
English Breakfast
Heat the flat grill plate over a low heat, on top of 2 rings/flames if it fits, and brush sparingly with light olive oil.
British4
Liegeoise Salad
Scrub the potatoes well but don't peel them.
4
Beef and Oyster pie
Season the beef cubes with salt and black pepper.
British4
Apple Potato Mash (Hete bliksem)
Clean and peel the potatoes and cut them into even size chunks.
Netherlands4Classic French Omelette
Silky, pale yellow omelette—no browning, just butter and eggs.
French10m1
Wedge Salad
Chilled iceberg wedge with creamy blue cheese and bacon.
American10m4
Kimchi Fried Rice
Punchy Korean fried rice with kimchi and a fried egg.
Korean15m2Breakfast Quesadilla
Scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa folded into a toasted flour tortilla.
Mexican-American15m2
How to cook eggs and bacon so it stays tender
- 1Pat the eggs and bacon dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason eggs and bacon turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with eggs and bacon
Eggs and Bacon is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus eggs and bacon, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing eggs and bacon
Keep raw eggs and bacon on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting eggs and bacon
If you are out of eggs and bacon, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Eggs and Bacon recipes: common questions
- What can I make with eggs and bacon and not much else?
- Plenty. With eggs and bacon plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest eggs and bacon recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute eggs and bacon?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover eggs and bacon?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover eggs and bacon without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should eggs and bacon be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.