Full English Breakfast
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).
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.
Sausage
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.
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.
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…
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!
Full English Breakfast
Sunny side up eggs, sausage, tomatoes, back bacon, mushrooms, black pudding and fried bread
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
- Preheat oven to 200°F/95°C. Place a large, ovenproof dish in the oven to keep warm.
- To a small saucepan, add the beans and keep warm over medium low heat.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- To the same oil add the eggs and spoon hot oil over the yolks until cooked.
- Serve all the components on a plate with the bread on the side.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 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.
22 Comments on “Full English Breakfast”
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!