Pancetta Egg & Cheese on an English Muffin

October 13, 2025
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This week, I am starting a breakfast sandwich series and this pancetta egg and cheese is how we are kicking things off.

Breakfast sandwiches are a wonderful option for feeding a group, meal prepping for the week or making a breakfast for yourself that is easy to take on the go. Whether you are heading out to the office, running errands all over town or want to bring breakfast with you on an early morning hike, breakfast sandwiches are a great option!

A classic breakfast sandwich contains four key elements – bread, meat, cheese and egg and all of these elements are super customizable. While having options is great, sometimes having too many options leads to analysis paralysis, so I am going to walk you through my favorite english muffin breakfast sandwich. It has crispy pancetta, a sunny side up egg (you can cook your eggs differently though!), a slice of havarti cheese and some baby arugula.

Its crunchy, salty, cheesy, filling and so delicious that it will get you out of bed when you hear that very first alarm.

Let’s get started…

Begin by making or acquiring your english muffins. What you decide here will ultimately depend on you much time you have and if you are a “make your own bread” kind of person. I definitely do not always make my own bread, but when it comes to english muffins, I am just not a fan of how most store bought ones toast up and last when making a batch of breakfast sandwiches that are meant to be made ahead.

My english muffin recipe is really straight forward and makes fluffy, tender, flavorful english muffins full of nooks and crannies. They toast up beautifully and keep a great texture for days!

If you are interested in making your own english muffins, check out my recipe here, but if you aren’t interested or don’t have the time to do it, feel free to use your favorite store bought ones!

Now let’s make the pancetta and eggs…

- - The absolute easiest way to make crispy pancetta, simply place thick slices of pancetta on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree oven until they are golden brown and crisp. This usually takes 10-12 minutes and there is no need to flip them. Once they are crisp, transfer them onto a paper towel lined plate until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches. I usually use 2 slices per sandwich.
  - To cook your eggs, place a skillet over medium heat and grease the skillet with your favorite non-stick spray or a thin layer of a neutral oil. Once the skillet is warm, carefully crack your eggs into the skillet leaving some space between each one. I love sunny up eggs, so I season them with salt and black pepper and let them cook until the whites are set and then take them off of the heat. If you don’t like runny yolks, feel free to cook your eggs to your liking.

Now that all of the elements needing cooking are ready to go, grab some baby arugula (or your favorite greens), some sliced havarti (or your favorite cheese), some salt and black pepper and let’s assemble…

Start by lightly toasting your english muffins. I like to toast them enough so the outer layer forms a little crispy crust, but not so much that they are hard or loose their springiness.

As soon as you pull them out of the oven, add a slice of havarti onto the base slice so it begins to melt from the residual heat.

Top with a slice or two of crispy pancetta and then your egg.

Season your egg with a little bit of additional salt and black pepper and maybe even some crushed red pepper flakes if you like a little kick of heat. Top the egg with your baby arugula and the top slice.

If you are making these sandwiches for breakfast today, enjoy!

If you are meal prepping them for the week ahead, wrap them in a sheet of parchment paper and then into a sandwich bag. I like to use the ziplock bags and press all of the air out of them to help them last as long as possible.

These sandwiches can be eaten chilled or warmed in the microwave or oven. Parchment paper is oven and microwave safe, so feel free to heat them while wrapped to prevent them from drying out too much.

If you are looking for a great breakfast sandwich that is simple to assemble and absolutely delicious then you will have to give these pancetta, egg and cheese on an english muffin a try. They are a classic for a reason!

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