Homemade Egg McMuffins

Skip the drive-through and make these homemade Egg McMuffins instead for a freezer-friendly breakfast that you can reheat as needed! They're made with homemade English muffins, eggs, cheese and sausage or bacon of your choice.

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We recently made homemade English muffins for the first time and we were absolutely blown away by how delicious they are! Light, fluffy, easy to store and definitely better than store-bought.

We figured, why not use them for homemade breakfast sandwiches? These homemade Egg McMuffins have been a huge hit in our house, and you can make a big batch and freeze them for long term storage.

This recipe is part of our Better Than Store-Bought series, a series where we're sharing homemade versions of your favorite store-bought snacks, meals and more. For more, check out our Homemade Cheez-its, Sweetgreen Copycat Hot Honey Chicken Bowl, or Strawberry Pop Tarts.

Jump to:

• Homemade Egg McMuffin Ingredients
• How to Make this Homemade Egg McMuffin Recipe
• Substitutions and Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tips and FAQ
• Top tip
• More meal prep recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Homemade Egg McMuffin Ingredients

For the English Muffins

• Bread flour: Bread flour will make your English muffins extra airy and chewy, but you can also substitute with all purpose flour.
• Yeast: Make sure to use instant yeast in this recipe.
• Sugar: Regular granulated sugar works best.
• Salt: We always use Diamond kosher salt unless otherwise noted. If you use table salt or fine sea salt, use less than the recipe states.
• Milk: 1%, 2% or whole milk all work in this recipe.
• Egg: We have not tried this recipe with a vegan alternative.
• Butter: Use unsalted (or salted if you like things extra salty!).
• Semolina or cornmeal: This dough is very sticky, so a thin layer of semolina prevents sticking and adds a slight crunch to the exterior of your English muffins.

For assembly:

• Eggs: We use these egg ring molds to make our egg patties, but if you don't have any, you can either use a fried egg (this won't reheat as well), or whisk together eggs, pour into a quarter sheet pan, bake until set and then slice into squares. You can also use a vegan alternative like Just Egg.
• Bacon or Sausage: You can use whatever you'd like! We personally prefer either a sausage patty or turkey bacon, but you can also use regular bacon, Canadian bacon or a plant-based alternative.
• Cheese: Use any cheese you'd like. Some options include American, cheddar, pepper jack, or a plant-based alternative.

How to Make this Homemade Egg McMuffin Recipe

STEP 1: Add the milk and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat and heat to 115-120˚F, then stir in the yeast. Let sit for 5-7 minutes until the yeast activates (it should look foamy).

STEP 2: Meanwhile, add the flour and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix just until combined.

STEP 3: Once the yeast is activated, gently stir in the melted butter and egg. While the mixer is running on low speed, slowly pour in the milk mixture. Once it's all added, increase the speed to medium high and mix for 6-8 minutes. At first, the dough will look too wet, but eventually it should pull away from the sides of the mixer. Note that the dough will be (and should be!) quite sticky.

STEP 4: Lightly grease a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

STEP 5: Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper, then sprinkling with a thin layer or semolina or cornmeal.

STEP 6: Transfer the dough to a floured surface (a countertop is best as the dough is very sticky!), then use your hands to gently pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle.

STEP 7: Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut the English muffins. You can reform the scraps – we usually end up with about 12 total. Place the English muffins on the prepared sheet pan, then cover and let rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

STEP 8: Heat a large skillet over very low heat. Once heated, sprinkle a thin layer of semolina or cornmeal. Place 3-4 English muffins in the skillet at a time. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 5 minutes, until golden brown, then flip each muffin, cover the pan again and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add more semolina to the pan for cooking each batch. Let the English muffins cool completely before slicing and toasting.

STEP 9: Cook your eggs, sausage or bacon and lightly toast the English muffin. Assemble the sandwich with cheese and enjoy!

Substitutions and Variations

• Gluten free: We have not tried this English muffin recipe with gluten free flour and we are not certain it would turn out quite the same. If you need to make this recipe gluten free, we would suggest using a store-bought gluten free English muffin or sandwich bread.
• Dairy free: Use dairy free cheese and butter.
• Vegan: You will need to use a vegan English muffin recipe (or use store-bought) and use vegan cheese, egg alternative and sausage alternative.
• Toppings: Feel free to customize these egg mcmuffins with your favorite toppings, like hot sauce, spicy mayo, avocado, cooked greens, pickled onions, pesto, etc.

Equipment

• Egg ring molds – we use these.
• 3-inch round cutters – you will need these to cut the English muffins. This is a standard size, although feel free to use larger or smaller if preferred.
• Semolina or cornmeal – If you can't find this at your local grocery store, you can order online.

Storage

You can keep the English muffins stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or freeze them for up to 3 months.

Once you assemble the breakfast sandwiches, you can keep them stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Freezer storage: This is the best option for long term storage. Assemble your sandwiches, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, place in another bag or container and freeze for up to a few months.

Reheating from frozen: For best results, defrost a sandwich overnight in the refrigerator. You can reheat in the microwave for ~1 minute, or until warmed through. Or alternatively, keep the sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil and reheat in a 375˚F oven until warmed through (about 15 minutes).

Tips and FAQ

More tips

• Make the dough ahead of time: Follow steps 1-3 in the recipe to make the English muffin dough. Then, place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size (1 hour or slightly longer).
• Alternative egg method: If you don't have/don't want to purchase egg ring molds, you can bake the eggs on a sheet pan and cut into squares. Whisk together about 12-16 eggs for a quarter sheet pan, season and bake at 350˚F until set (about 15-20 minutes).
• Be patient! The English muffin dough is very sticky, so it requires a bit of patience to work with. It shouldn't really stick to your hands, so if it starts to, make sure to use more flour.
• Well floured surface: When patting out the dough, make sure to do so on a well floured surface to prevent sticking.

More meal prep recipes

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