Full English Breakfast - Culinary Ginger (2024)

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The Full English Breakfast is England’s favorite way to start the day. With all your favorite breakfast items and a few you may not be familiar with. This is how you do breakfast, British-style. So bring your appetite as this is a big breakfast and not for the faint of heart. I’m going to take through all the components of a traditional full English (as we call it).

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It doesn’t get anymore British than this, because England actually has a National breakfast. There are usually 5-7 items that make up a full English breakfast depending on which items are included. If I’m going for it, I’m going for all 7. Here’s how this massive breakfast shapes up.

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Good English pork sausage. It’s hard to find a bad sausage in England because they are made really well. Recently I’m seeing a lot more supermarkets carry British-style bangers and they are a good substitute. If all else fails, any of your favorite sausage would work.

Bacon

American bacon is not allowed here. I love American bacon, it’s just not the right kind for this Full English Breakfast.

What is American bacon? Isn’t it just, bacon? Yes, but in England we eat back bacon (cut from the back). It’s very much like Canadian bacon, as it does not crisp up like American bacon that is streaked with fat and cut from the belly. Back bacon is very ham-like with the fat around the edge and unsmoked.

Eggs

Fried and sunny-side up. Scrambled does not belong here because you have to have the runny yolk. I like to think of it as breakfast gravy.

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Beans

Beans for breakfast? Sure, start the day with fiber. Baked beans, just like American barbecue beans without the barbecue flavor, they are just in a plain tomato sauce. Canned is allowed, or you could make your own. Here’s my recipe > British Baked Beans.

Tomatoes

Fresh only, no canned. Simply cut in half and sautéed flesh side down to soften and brown slightly. It’s nice to have something fresh in the meal.

Mushrooms

Fresh, brown or white mushrooms, nothing fancy, whatever you find in your grocery store. Sliced and simply sautéed.

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Bread

Buttered toast is acceptable, but if you’re going all out you really need fried bread. What is fried bread? It’s white bread fried in vegetable oil until golden brown. That’s about as simple as it gets. No one said this was a healthy breakfast.

Black pudding (don’t be afraid)

I know what you may have heard, but it has flavors and spices that make it taste really good. It’s a sausage not a pudding and not always served with the breakfast both in England and Scotland.

It is a personal preference but again, if I’m going for it, I’m going for all of it. It’s a very flavorful, all natural pork sausage (but it does contain something to make it black). I’ll let you Google that…

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Condiments

Brown sauce is a must (it is just like a steak sauce) and ketchup is allowed.

So that’s the breakdown and lowdown on Full English. I don’t recommend eating it everyday. I like to enjoy it once in a while on Sunday morning. Because the breakfast is so big, you can imagine, I don’t eat much the rest of the day.

If you’ve tried this Full English Breakfast or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

Yield: 2

Full English Breakfast

Full English Breakfast - Culinary Ginger (6)

Sunny side up eggs, sausage, tomatoes, back bacon, mushrooms, black pudding and fried bread

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time30 minutes

Total Time35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (136 grams) baked beans
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 4 pork sausages
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) mushrooms
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, cut in half
  • Small pinch of salt
  • 2 slices black pudding
  • 2 slices white bread
  • 4 large eggs
  • Lard or cooking oil of your choice (if needed)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200°F/95°C. Place a large, ovenproof dish in the oven to keep warm.
  2. To a small saucepan, add the beans and keep warm over medium low heat.
  3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat add the bacon and sausages. Cook until the bacon is cooked and the sausage browned (turning to brown evenly). Transfer to the dish in the oven to keep warm.
  4. To the fat from the bacon (add lard or oil if needed).Cook the mushrooms over medium heat until browned. Tranfer to the oven, keeping the fat in the pan.
  5. Season the tomatoes with salt and add them flesh down to the same pan. Add the black pudding and cook each for 2 minutes per side. Remove and transfer to the dish in the oven.
  6. If needed, add more lard or oil to the pan over medium high heat.Add the bread to the oil (test it by putting in a corner of bread, if it sizzles, it’s ready) and cook until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel to drain.
  7. To the same oil add the eggs and spoon hot oil over the yolks until cooked.
  8. Serve all the components on a plate with the bread on the side.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1

Amount Per ServingCalories 431Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 17gCholesterol 235mgSodium 868mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 5gSugar 9gProtein 22g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.

This full English breakfast recipe was first featured on Food Fanatic, where I am a contributor.

Full English Breakfast - Culinary Ginger (2024)

FAQs

What are the 9 items in a full English breakfast? ›

Standard ingredients made it easier to prepare and so the 'common' English breakfast rapidly spread nationally, its standard ingredients of bacon, eggs, sausage, black pudding, baked beans, grilled tomato, fried bread and toast, served with a jams, marmalades, tea/coffee and orange juice.

What are the ingredients for a full English breakfast? ›

A common traditional English breakfast typically includes back bacon sausages (usually pork), eggs (fried, poached or scrambled), fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, bread, both or either fried bread and toast, black pudding, and baked beans.

What is everything in a full English breakfast? ›

A full English breakfast typically includes bacon, fried, poached or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or buttered toast, and sausages. Black pudding, baked beans, and bubble and squeak are also often included.

What is the most important part of a full English breakfast? ›

The single most important part of a Full English breakfast is bacon, with 89% of English people saying it would feature on the plate for their ideal Full English.

What are the 10 items in an English breakfast? ›

Beans, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, bacon, eggs, black pudding—of all the components that make up a classic full English breakfast, nearly nine out of 10 people in England agree that bacon is the most important.

What is the difference between a full English breakfast and a full Irish breakfast? ›

An English breakfast, although very similar to the Irish one, might include fried potatoes, as mentioned above. The other key difference is its lack of two key components: sliced black pudding and/or white pudding. These pork products, original to County Cork, have become a requisite part of any Irish fry up.

What is an English breakfast combination? ›

A Classic English Breakfast
  • 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) of oil.
  • 2 sausage links.
  • 2 to 3 slices of bacon.
  • 1/4 cup (40 grams) of baked beans.
  • 2 to 3 slices of tomato or 1 to 2 small, whole tomatoes.
  • 1 piece of toast.
  • 2 eggs.
  • Butter as needed.

What's the difference between Earl Grey and English breakfast? ›

Bergamot is an essential oil that gives a citrus fragrance and is used to flavour Earl Grey and English Tea No. 1, although there is more bergamot in Earl Grey. English Breakfast Tea has no bergamot but is a blend of fine quality teas. Bergamot is a critus fruit, so you may notice a slight citrusy flavour.

What is bubble in an English breakfast? ›

That's the reason we're saying no to hash browns. Hashtag, bring back the bubble.” Bubble and squeak is a usually mixture of mashed potatoes and cabbage that is mixed together and then fried. It may vary with the addition of other vegetables.

What is a full Cornish breakfast? ›

A full Cornish breakfast has – eggs, bacon and sausages, fried bread and beans, mushrooms and tomato, fried potato and Hog's Pudding, a Cornish speciality – an amazing spread! What a kind and beautiful thing to do for people who are perhaps alone or those for whom a Christmas dinner is not on the menu.

Why do Brits eat beans for breakfast? ›

Beans and toast is a breakfast tradition in the UK (it's both adored and loathed) that has stood the test of time. The story goes that in 1927 an executive at Heinz decided to create a national dish in order to sell more canned beans and an iconic dish was born.

What kind of beans do Brits eat for breakfast? ›

And Heinz (yep, the ketchup company) claims the combo was invented by one of its executives in 1927. British baked beans are traditionally made with navy beans, which are a small white bean.

Is English breakfast junk food? ›

As far as we can say, having a full English breakfast is a great & healthy way to start your day every morning on a nutritious note. So, if you are someone looking to improve your diet with a protein-rich meal, having an English breakfast might be just the thing you need!

Is it healthy to eat a full English breakfast everyday? ›

If you do go for the full English every once in a while as a treat, remember to make a few tweaks to your cooking methods to reduce the amount of saturated fat and salt on your plate. Don't fry. Instead poach your eggs, grill your bacon and sausages, and replace fried bread with toast.

Are potatoes part of an English breakfast? ›

Lastly, the potatoes. Hash, chips, or mashed and fried into a cake—many fry ups include the spud. If you are in the glorious situation of having leftovers from a roast, a few roasted potatoes cut up and fried are wonderful. Or a quick version of bubble and squeak would also be a welcome addition to a fry up.

What is the difference between American breakfast and English breakfast? ›

A traditional English breakfast has grilled tomatoes, baked beans, blood pudding, and sometimes mushrooms, eggs, sausages, and buttered toast. A traditional American breakfast has eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, pancakes and/or waffles.

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