Traditional Full English Breakfast Recipe (Classic British Fry-up)
The Traditional Full English Breakfast is a beloved British classic and one of the most iconic ways to start the day in England. This hearty breakfast includes favorites like eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and surprisingly not toast, but fried brea. Plus a few traditional British items you might not know, like black pudding. This is a real British fry-up that defines British breakfast culture. Hungry? Let’s break down what’s on a proper Full English Breakfast plate.
Dating back to the Victorian era, this legendary plate remains a staple in pubs, hotels, and traditional ‘greasy spoon’ cafes across the UK.
Table of Contents
What is in a Traditional English breakfast?
Often called the ‘Full Monty’ – British slang meaning ‘everything’ or ‘all of it’ – a complete fry-up traditionally features 8 core components:
- Pork sausages (Bangers)
Back bacon (British style) - Sautéed mushrooms
- Baked beans
- Seared tomatoes
- Fried eggs
Black pudding (a traditional British blood sausage, sometimes call blood pudding)
Fried bread
Breakdown of Traditional Ingredients
Pork Sausages (Bangers)
A high-quality pork sausage is essential. British-style bangers are thicker and more coarsely ground than standard American breakfast links. However, if you can’t find British sausages locally, you can make your own using my [Homemade British Sausage Recipe], or pick your favorite thick pork sausage from the market.
Bacon: Back Bacon vs. American Streaky Bacon
In England, we favor back bacon. Cut from the pork loin, it is similar to Canadian bacon with a ham-like texture and a strip of fat along the outer edge. Unlike American bacon (which we call streaky bacon), back bacon has less marbled fat, is typically unsmoked, and stays tender rather than snapping crisp.
Sautéed Mushrooms
Simple white or brown mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in butter or the pan drippings until golden brown, bring a lovely earthy note to the plate.
British Baked Beans
The gold standard for a British breakfast is canned Heinz baked beans. Unlike sweet, smoky American barbecue beans, British beans are simmered in a mild, savory tomato sauce. Canned beans are the classic shortcut, but if you want to elevate your plate, try my from-scratch British Baked Beans Recipe.
Fried Tomatoes
Fresh plum or vine tomatoes, halved and seared flesh-side down in the hot pan until caramelized, add a bright, acidic balance to the heavy meats. Out of season, canned/tinned whole plum tomatoes are a traditional fallback.
Black Pudding
Don’t let the name intimidate you. It is, in fact, deeply savory, seasoned dark sausage made with pork blood, oats, and spices. It is rich, nutty, and distinctly savory – not a sweet dessert. While optional for some, including black pudding is what transforms a standard breakfast into a true ‘Full Monty.’
Fried Bread (Not Toast)
While buttered toast is acceptable, authentic English fry-ups require fried bread. Slices of simple white bread are shallow-fried in hot oil or bacon drippings until crispy and deep golden brown.
Fried Eggs
Sunny-side up fried eggs are non-negotiable here. Scrambled eggs are delicious, but that rich, runny yolk acts like a natural breakfast gravy that ties all the savory components on the plate together.
Optional Extras & Condiments
- Hash Browns: While not traditionally Victorian, golden potato hash browns are a popular modern addition in many UK cafes today.
- Brown Sauce vs. Ketchup: No fry-up is complete without condiments. HP Brown Sauce – a tangy, spiced malt vinegar sauce – is the ultimate British favorite, though tomato ketchup is always welcome.
Drink
Pair your meal with a strong mug of English Breakfast Tea, freshly brewed with a splash of milk. Prefer coffee? A hot cup of black coffee or an americano cuts through the rich flavors just as well.
Regional Variations Around the UK
- Full Irish: Features white pudding (a pork and oat sausage made without blood) alongside black pudding.
- Full Scottish: Includes regional favorites like tattie scones (potato cakes) and savory haggis.
- Full Welsh: Often incorporates regional specialties like cockles and laverbread (a savory spread made from sea vegetable).
Enjoy this ultimate comfort breakfast as a special weekend treat – it is guaranteed to keep you full well past lunchtime. In fact, it pairs perfectly with a light Afternoon Tea later in the day, just like my family used to do.
Traditional Full English Breakfast Recipe (Classic British Fry-up).
Video
Ingredients
- 4 pork sausages, preferably British bangers
- 4 slices British back bacon
- 1 cup (136 grams) British baked beans, bought or homemade
- 6 ounces (170 grams) mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ripe tomatoes, halved
- Small pinch of salt
- 4 slices black pudding
- 2 slices white bread
- 4 large eggs
- vegetable oil or lard for frying
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°F/95°C. Place a large, ovenproof dish in the oven to keep warm.
Sausages First:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat with a drizzle of oil. Add the sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through (15 to 20 minutes).
Bacon & Mushrooms:
- About halfway through the sausage cooking time, add the back bacon and sliced mushrooms to the skillet. Fry the bacon for 3 to 4 minutes per side until crisp around the edges, and cook mushrooms until golden. Transfer sausages, bacon, and mushrooms to the warm platter in the oven.
Tomatoes & Black Pudding:
- Wipe out the pan if needed. Season the tomato halves with a pinch of salt. Add tomatoes (cut-side down) and black pudding slices to the pan. Sear for 2 minutes per side until caramelized. Move them to the warm oven platter.
Warm the Beans:
- Add the baked beans to a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally just until warmed through.
Fried Bread:
- Add oil to the skillet over medium-high heat. Place the bread slices in the hot pan and fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side until deeply golden and crispy. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate.
The Eggs:
- Reduce heat to medium. Crack the eggs into the remaining pan drippings. Baste the yolks by spooning the hot fat over the tops until the whites are set and yolks remain runny.
Assemble:
- Arrange all hot components onto warmed plates, serve the crisp fried bread on the side, and pair with a fresh mug of hot tea.
Notes
This full English breakfast recipe was first featured on Food Fanatic, where I am a contributor.
Well, I have only been to London one time back in 2017, but I remember eating this at a restaurant since I had heard about it online. I got to try it out myself at home one of these days. I do remember the sausages were huge and thick too, typically they don’t come that size where I was born, raised, and still live in Los Angeles.
Thank you for sharing!
Looks awesome! What size skillet did you use?
I use my 10-inch cast iron skillet to cook in, the one from the picture. Not everything is cooked at the same time, that picture was just for styling the photo. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions.
As I am from the US some of your terms do not mean what I expect. With this in mind, I am wondering why you call them baked beans, they look like veg pork and beans simular to Van Camps which I use to start my baked beans.
I am a British expat living in the U.S., so I am familiar with all of the American canned beans and can clarify for you. British baked beans are beans prepared in pork and tomato sauce that are started on the stove top then baked in the oven. They taste very similar to Van Camp’s baked beans as well as their pork & beans and these are delicious with the Full English Breakfast too. I hope I was able to answer all your questions and please feel free to email me back if you have any more questions.
I clicked on this because your pictures were so spot on on Google and everything looks perfect. I never thought about making my own beans, I think I’ll try this.
That is so nice of you to say, thank you. Enjoy the beans.
I often see FEB being offered with baked beans, or hash browns, or little cubed potaoes, and whilst delicious I am not sure they belong in FEB. Fried bread, although unhealthy is scrumptious and always a welcome addition to the FEB, but toast must also be served, just the usual medium or thick sliced rubbish, no need for artisanal nonsense. Toast should be served as full slices. Spread is usually undetectable, and so unimportant. Mushrooms need to be something special to be worth bothering with. Rather than a slice of tasteless beef tomatoe I am tending toward a dozen cherry tomatoes grilled with the thick sliced back bacon. There you have it.
Thank you for sharing. I agree with you on the fried bread, but I have to have beans and mushrooms with mine 🙂
Hello Janette ! Love these full English breakfas , very healthy and easy to prepare. Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
HEALTHY? LOL
Would rather drop nonveg and take other ingredients
Good healthy …
It is not meant to be a healthy breakfast, this is just how it is traditionally made.
Looking great, Jeanette. Loving the copper saucepan for the beans. Never have they been treated so well.
Such a great post! Never had a real English Breakfast, but would love to try it!
OMG you will not regret ordering it!! I’m from Newcastle upon Tyne and as someone that enjoys hearts food (meat and potato man with no sophistication) I would have this meal four times per week. However, I don’t like mushrooms, beans or black pudding so my interpretation of this delicious meal is probably considered sacrilege. I usually supplement the bacon, sausage and egg with hash brown/rosti instead. I cook the sausages until they are as black as the ace of spades (this is trial and error and rest assured they will not be burned), have the bacon approaching crispy and over cook the eggs until the whites are crispy around the outside-I’m a little American and usually turn my eggs gently (sometimes holding them with tongs…providing your white is firm enough) to cook the yolk just enough to keep them runny! Bread of at least 1 inch thickness plastered in butter dipped in these bad boys is the epitome of perfection. After moving to China a few months back this is not something I can enjoy terribly often!
Thanks for the great comment, it’s a shame you can’t enjoy the breakfast in its entirety 🙂
This looks wonderful, Janette! I love a great, hearty breakfast – especially with the cooler weather coming. I have a dumb question – a few years ago when we were in Ireland, we often had a full Irish breakfast in the mornings (black sausage and all – yum) 🙂 An Irish Breakfast and English Breakfast appear similar – is there a distinct difference? Either way – a fabulous way to start your morning!
That’s a lot of food! I’ve never seen the black sausage before. Interesting.
Breakfast of champions!
I love a full English, but it really is a rare treat – usually cooked for me by someone else.
This looks like a great way to start the day! Being a savory girl, I love this kind of meal!
This looks hearty and delicious! I really want to try that black sausage – we have something in my family called boudin noir – made from pigs blood and scotch bonnet peppers — it’s spicy and so freakin’ good! Would love to try this breakfast!