The ultimate guide to cooked breakfasts

Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day and with good reason. It sets you up for the day by jump-starting your metabolism, boosting your energy levels and alertness, and avoiding snacking before lunchtime. To do breakfast, like a king, is to start your day with a hearty cooked meal by following our guide to cooked breakfasts.

Traditional English breakfast

No guide to cooked breakfasts would be complete without including the traditional English breakfast. Served with McCain hash browns, it’s one of the best-loved meals in the world. While the basics are generally the same, you can tweak it however you like, even swapping out meat sausages for vegetarian or vegan alternatives.

INGREDIENTS

• Vegetable oil
• Four sausages
• Two tomatoes halved
• 300g Portobello mushrooms
• Eight rashers smoked back bacon
• Three slices bread, cut into triangles
• Four slices black pudding
• 400g tin baked beans
• Four medium eggs
• 500g McCain hash browns

METHOD

• Preheat the grill to medium-high and the oven to 220°C.
• If oven-baking the hash browns, spread them out on a baking tray and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until crisp and lightly golden. Alternatively, spread the hash browns onto a grill pan and grill for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them occasionally.
• Grill the sausages for around 15 minutes, occasionally turning, until they are cooked through and golden.
• Add the tomatoes, sliced side up, and the mushrooms for the final 10 minutes of cooking. Remove from the grill and keep warm in the oven.
• Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Add the bacon and fry until crisp on both sides. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
• Fry the bread in the pan for 3 minutes on each side until golden. Add some oil to the pan and fry the black pudding for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
• Simmer the baked beans in a saucepan for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat some oil in a pan and add in the eggs and fry until the yolks are still a little runny, but the whites have set.
• Divide among four plates and serve with steaming mugs of tea.

The all-day breakfast burger

This combines all your favorite breakfast flavors into one delicious and juicy burger. While it can be enjoyed at any time of the day, it’s a perfect way to kick-start your day and can even be enjoyed on the go.

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil
• 150g mushrooms, finely chopped
• ½ a small onion, finely chopped
• Tomato ketchup
• Worcestershire sauce
• 500g pork mince
• Three flat-leafed parsley, chopped
• Eight streaky bacon rashers
• Four medium eggs
• 2 English muffins, halved and toasted

METHOD

• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat and cook for the mushrooms for 5 minutes until tender.
• Transfer the mushrooms to a large bowl and set the pan aside for later.
• Add the tomato ketchup, onion, Worcestershire sauce, pork mince, parsley, and seasoning to the mushrooms and mix.
• Divide the mixture into four equal amounts and shape into a flattened patty.
• Put the pan back onto a medium heat and fry the burgers for 15-20 minutes, occasionally turning, until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, in another pan, cook the bacon slices until crisp and golden. Drain the slices on a paper towel.
• Crack the eggs into a pan and fry them over low heat until the whites are set, and the yolks are soft.
• Serve each delicious burger on a half-toasted muffin and top with bacon and a fried egg and a mug of tea or glass of fresh orange juice.

The ultimate vegan cooked breakfast

Following a vegan diet doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the delight of a hearty cooked breakfast. This ultimate vegan fry-up can be enjoyed by meat-eaters, too, and will keep everyone filled up for hours.

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil
• Two medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 250g firm tofu
• One clove garlic, crushed
• One spring onion, chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• Two beef tomatoes halved
• 200g mushrooms, chopped
• Two vegan sausages
• 4 to 8 vegan rashers
• One tin baked beans
• 2 slices wholemeal bread

METHOD

• Put the chunks of potatoes into a saucepan of salted boiling water and cover with a lid, simmer until the potatoes are soft.
• Heat the oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms.
• Fry the sausages in a little oil or place them under a medium grill, occasionally turning until browned and cooked through. Keep the sausages warm in the oven.
• Heat the baked beans in a small saucepan.
• To make the scrambled tofu fry the garlic and spring onion in a pan with some oil for a few minutes. Then crumble in the tofu and add the mustard and turmeric. Turn the mixture with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
• When the mushrooms are almost cooked, move them over to one side of the pan and add the rashers. Turn them over to make sure they cook on both sides.
• Put the bacon, mushrooms, and scrambled tofu on a plate.
• Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan. Add in the flour and mash it all together.
• Put the frying pan back onto the heat and add one teaspoon of oil. Shape the mashed potato into two round patties and fry for 5 minutes. Turn over to brown on both sides.
• Toast your bread, take the beans off the heat, and put it on a plate along with the patties and sausages.
• If you find it hard to co-ordinate the cooking, put things cooked first into an oven tray to keep the oven warm until the rest is ready.

The well-known adage is true – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While it tastes delicious, a cooked breakfast will give your body the nutrition it needs and set you up for the day ahead.