One of these days I swear I’m going to make croissants, but until then I will be constantly buying croissants to make this packed breakfast Croissant Sandwich Recipe!
Ok. If I’m being honest, I’ve tried to make croissants a few times and never ended up with anything remotely edible.
So I buy them from the bakery and they are absolutely perfect for these cheesy croissant sandwiches loaded with avocado, fresh tomato, and soft scrambled eggs!
Remember that in the kitchen the perfect is the enemy of the good (and also the good breakfast). I would happily serve these to a hungry crowd during brunch and even the most finicky of guests will be happy with them!
What kind of croissants to use for this recipe?
Like I said, croissants are solidly in my buy not bake column. But, I would buy decent croissants for this. Notice I didn’t say amazing croissants. While you could use beautiful artisan bakery croissants, those are probably best left to enjoy by themselves.
Also, skip the croissants in a tube (crescent rolls) that are popular in the U.S. Those aren’t large enough to really make a sandwich out of them.
What’s left is basic store-bought croissants. These aren’t fancy, but are flaky and large and available at most grocery store bakeries.
Obviously, to make a sandwich out of these guys, you’re going to need to cut them in half. This can be a bit tricky because croissants are so flaky and light. A good bread knife really helps with this process. If you don’t have one, you’ll probably squish and smash your croissant. The sandwich should still be tasty, but it just won’t be as pretty.
You can also use a serrated steak knife if you are careful.
Before you start topping the croissants, lay them cut-side down on a baking sheet and toast them in a 400 degree oven for about five minutes.
That will just firm up the bread a bit and make it nice and crispy.
Can I substitute the croissant in this sandwich?
In short, yes. Go for it. You can use a bagel or even just plain sandwich bread (potato bread is nice). But, just know that it’s going to be a very different sandwich than the croissant version.
Croissants are light and airy and after baking them the outside crust gets extra crunchy so you end up with a shell of crunchy and then this very soft interior sandwich filling. It’s wonderful and is hard to duplicate.
So, while you can make this on any baked item, I would only recommend substituting the croissant if you can’t find them.
Filling for Croissant sandwiches
A lot of toppings would go well on this Croissant Sandwich, but these are the things I used on this day that worked really well. I sliced some tomato, sliced an avocado, and grated some cheese.
I like to toast all of this stuff on the croissant before making the sandwich. It keeps the ingredients nice and warm.
So, when your croissants are done with their five minute face-down toast, take them out and flip them.
On the croissant tops, just sprinkle on some sliced or grated cheese.
On the croissant bottoms, add your avocado, and tomato. If you are using sprouts (recommended) don’t add those until after the sandwiches come out of the oven. Hot sprouts aren’t really an enjoyable thing.
Stick these back into a 400-degree oven for about 4 minutes and then they will be ready to use.
Here was my cheesy croissant top half after a few minutes in the oven!
Scrambled Eggs for the Croissant Sandwich
This won’t come as a shock to many longtime Macheesmo readers, but I don’t think there’s any substitute for a good egg on a breakfast sandwich. I’ve made this sandwich in the past with a fried, over-easy egg and that works well, but I think soft-scrambled eggs are actually the way to go here.
When making these soft scrambled eggs, whisk them well until they are light and fluffy and an even color. Then add them to a skillet with some melted butter. Turn heat down to low and cook them until they are 90% cooked but still have a little liquid look to them, maybe 2-3 minutes.
You don’t want dry eggs for this sandwich. They will also keep cooking after you take them off the heat.
Add your eggs (1 1/2 eggs per sandwich) to the toasted croissant bottoms and season them with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Add some sprouts if you’re using them and top the whole sandwich with the cheesy croissant top.
Slicing it just makes it easier to eat!
This sandwich is messy and hearty. I like to eat this croissant breakfast sandwich before going for a hike or something. It gives you lots of energy to tackle your day.
Can you store this sandwich?
While many breakfast sandwiches (like the Hodgman breakfast sandwich or this quick protein breakfast sandwich) are easy to make and wrap in foil for on-the-go eating, this croissant sandwich actually does best right away.
If you wrap it up, the croissant gets soggy and loses it’s structure and the sandwich gets cold as well. It’s just not a great experience.
In short, I would only make these if you can eat them right away, hot fresh out of the oven.
- Need a different hearty breakfast sandwich? Try this Classic Monte Cristo Sandwich!
Croissant Breakfast Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 croissants, from bakery
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ½ tomato, sliced
- 2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 eggs, scrambled
- 1 teaspoon butter
- ¼ cup crunchy sprouts
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F.
- Slice croissants in half carefully and lay them on a baking sheet, cut side down. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Remove croissants from oven. Top with sliced avocado and tomato on bottom half of croissant. Sprinkle grated cheese on top half of croissant.
- Return to oven for 3-4 minutes.
- Add a small dab of butter to a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted and bubbling, add scrambled eggs and turn heat down low. Cook eggs, moving cooked eggs to center of skillet for 2-3 minutes until they are softly scrambled but still have some liquid to them. You don’t want them completely dry. Remove from heat and season with a pinch of salt.
- Remove croissants from oven. Add half the eggs to each croissant bottom. Top with sprouts and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add cheesy top of croissant and serve immediately!
PamelaRic
What would I add to this sandwich? My first thought was nothing!! My second thought was bacon. However, sometimes bacon is difficult to eat in a sandwich. How about a tender, succulent piece of ham. Yes, that’s it. Ham, with maybe a little mustard or honey mustard. But then that turns it into something else entirely. I guess I’m back to my first thought–nothing. :-)
vanillasugarblog
the zen man (zen can cook) made croissants–the real ones. have a look. I too, have yet to conquer the almighty croissant. one of these days……
Connie
This sandwich looks delicious! I made something similar this morning–over easy egg, cheese and ham. But seriously, you are so clever, CROISAIN’TS! I hope to learn how to make croissants some day, as well.
Sandi
Oh my goodness!!!! Just made these and they are delicious! Even though I forgot the tomatoes!!! And my husband, after the first bite, held the sandwich up and exclaimed, “these are pretty good” (an improvement to the dry breakfast sammies I usually make).
Thanks for your recipe…. Next time, tomatoes for sure.
Juliana
A friend gave me an extra croissant after bridge yesterday, so I used this recipe for breakfast this morning. Having no sprouts, I used arugula instead. Next time I will sauté the onions first to soften them, then use the same skillet to fry the eggs. I cubed 1/2 a fresh mango to have with it. Quite a nice breakfast.