It’s SUMMERTIME and the livin’ is EASY. But you know what else is easy: Breakfast.
It’s especially easy when you have perfect summer tomatoes.
This is the breakfast I’ve been eating recently and it takes almost no time to make. You could make this an eggs benedict by adding some rich hollandaise sauce, but when it’s hot out I can skip most of that business. For me, it’s all about the tomatoes, good cheese, and perfect eggs.
This time of year, it’s all about the KISS method when it comes to breakfast. Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Not that I’m calling you stupid. You’re not stupid, because you read this blog and you will realize how amazing this caprese breakfast sandwich is.
Caprese Breakfast Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 English muffins
- 1 ripe summer tomato
- 4 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
- 4 large eggs, poached
- White vinegar, for poaching
- Fresh basil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Slice tomato thin and salt the tomato slices lightly with flaky sea salt.
- Slice fresh mozzarella thin.
- Toast English muffins while you poach eggs.
- To poach the eggs, add a few inches of water to a pot and bring it to a light simmer. Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar to the simmering water. Swirl the water slightly and slide in the eggs.
- Cook eggs for about 2-3 minutes until the whites are firm but they still give a little signifying the yolks are still slightly runny.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs gently from the simmering water and let them drain on a few paper towels.
- To make the open-faced sandwiches, top toasted English muffins with thin slices of mozzarella. Then top with sliced tomatoes and a poached egg on each muffin. Top each muffin with some fresh basil, a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt.
- Eat immediately!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Caprese Breakfast Sandwich
The Layer Basics
Fresh mozzarella and ripe tomatoes. Just like any caprese situation, this is where it starts. I recommend trying to slice these both on the thin side and slightly salting the tomato slices.
Any good tomato will work, but if you can find a fun heirloom tomato, now’s the time to slice it up!
The Egg Poach
I poach a lot of eggs, but if it isn’t your thing, you could add any egg to the top of this sandwich. I’m not sure scrambled would be the best option, but over easy or sunny side up would be great. In fact, you could leave the egg off entirely and just drizzle some olive oil and balsamic straight on the tomato!
If you want to take a few minutes and poach some eggs though, it’s not hard. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a wide pot. When the water is slightly simmering, add a tablespoon or two of white vinegar (the acid helps the eggs stay together). Then crack in the eggs!
Let them cook for 2-3 minutes until the whites are set. Use a slotted spoon to gently lift the eggs out and you can test their doneness by giving them a light poke. If they give a bit in the center, they are good to go.
Remove them from the pan and let them drain on a few paper towels.
Stack it Up!
Building these beauties is pretty straightforward. Toast a few English muffins and add the thin mozzarella to the muffins. If you wanted the cheese to melt you could add them to a toaster oven for a minute, but I like the fresh mozzarella unmelted actually.
- Try serving these benedicts on these Cheddar Biscuits or these Salt and Sugar Biscuits!
Top each muffin with a poached egg, some chopped basil, a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt.
If you have everything you need for these, you can have them on the table in about 10 minutes… 15 minutes if you’re multi-tasking.
Great way to start a summer weekend!
Alaina
Oh. My. Goodness.
Made these this weekend, not once, but TWICE, as they were soooo good we had to have them again! So simple and yet tastes like a master chef prepared it for you. As in so simple, even someone that has never poached an egg before (me) was able to do this and have it turn out edible. My husband kept asking me ‘did you really make this in 15 minutes?’ Kept both of us full through all of our yardwork and errands for the day, all the way to dinner. Wish I had bought more tomatoes from our local farmers market on Saturday so we could have these all week! So good! Such a nice, fresh combo of flavors.
Thank you for sharing this – this is one that will go into permanent rotation. Yum. I’m drooling just thinking about it….
Nick
I’m so glad you tried this and liked it Alaina! It’s definitely one of my favorite breakfasts this time of year when tomatoes are perfect. Don’t overthink it right?! Cheers!
Alaina
Yep, still making these a year later. Picked up some gigantic heirlooms at the farmers market and was dreaming up all the ways to use them when I remembered this recipe. YAY! God, I love tomato season…