Dana wrote me and asked the following question. Since I have no experience with this, but would love to know the answer, I thought I would turn it over to you all and see what you thought.
I was wondering if you have ever made Sausage Biscuit Sandwiches as one of your freezer meals?
I would like to make just biscuits topped with a cooked sausage patty and then wrap and freeze like those heat and serve Jimmy Dean or whatever brand they have in the stores but my fear is that they won’t turn out and I would have wasted the money. Would biscuits or english muffins work better?
I was wondering if you had ever done this because I want to try it but I honestly don’t have the money to waste if it flops.
Also I love those breakfast burritos from McDonald’s Dollar Menu (but we are nixing eating out to cut our spending) and was curious if you had tried those as a freezer meal either?
Mornings are so hectic here that I would welcome a way to feed my kids easily as we don’t have a lot of time in the mornings
Thanks in advance,
Dana
So ladies, help a girl out. Share your links and your expertise when it comes to breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos for freezer cooking. I can’t wait to hear your suggestions!
Got a burning question regarding freezer cooking? Submit it in this form and maybe we’ll be able to answer it collectively next month!
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
I make breakfast burritos a lot to freeze, and add whatever to the filling–egg, cheese, sausage/bacon, tomatoes, spinach, etc. Just wrap in plastic wrap and freeze individually. Unwrap and microwave about 2-2.5 minutes. YUM!
@Vanderbilt Wife, Very good to know! Do you undercook the eggs at all, since you know they will be reheated later?
@Alicia’s Homemaking, I really don’t. I don’t usually like frozen eggs AT ALL, but I think the meat in there keeps them moist and flavorful.
@Vanderbilt Wife, Awesome–I just made my first batch!!! Excited to see how they taste post-freezer. We have really been needing some quick breakfast ideas.
@Vanderbilt Wife, I freeze breakfast burritos all the time. Delcious! Personally, I prefer reheating them in the microwave in the plastic wrap. The plastic wrap keeps in the steam and keeps the burritos from drying out.
You can also wrap them in aluminum foil then either thaw in the fridge the day or two before then throw in the oven (350 ish) for about 20 min, I have been known to not preheat and just leave them in there for up to 30 min.
Easiest and quickest that I love to use.
I make waffles and pancakes, package and freeze. You can take out what you need and either nook them or toast them if you like them crunchy like I do. This works with the square waffle irons. I love it.
It is cheaper than eggos and the like and you know whats going into it if you make your own batter. Which I also do!
@Tiffany, I do this all the time, also – what a lifesaver! To separate the waffles from each other, we take the inside bags from cereal and cut those down to fit our container. They are thicker than waxed paper and we wash them up and reuse them endlessly!
@Michelle, That’s a great idea about the cereal paper. My pancakes are always sticking together in the freezer and prying them apart is a pain! Thanks, I always keep a stock in the freezer of both as my son LOVES them for breakfast!
@Michelle, That’s a great tip! I’ll have to try that. I also individually quick freeze first and then they don’t stick together.
@Anne,
You know I used to try to separate these things but lately I’ve been flash freezing both pancakes and waffles for a while – if there’s a lot I pop a sheet of something [wax paper, foil etc] over the first layer and add another – and then rebagging – they freeze nice and flat and can be separated so easily – no more effort creating separating sheets from this and that!
I have done mini bagels with eggs, cheese, and bacon. They turned out good.
@Victoria, wonderful! Can you tell us how you wrapped them and how you reheated them?
@Jessica Fisher,
I wanted to say I mixed up some eggs with a lil milk and s&p. then poured a couple table spoons into a muffin tin and baked the eggs. Oh I sprayed with nonstick first. Then when they were cooled popped them out they were perfect size for mini bagels. topped with a half a cheese slice and either bacon or sausage to fit. Wrapped tight in plastic wrap then tossed them all in a freezer bag.
When I reheated them I separated the tops and bottoms and heated until warmed. Hope that helps.
@Victoria, The muffin tins are ingenious! I baked eggs in a 9×13 pan and cut them, but they stuck out over the edges of the sandwich. Thanks for the tip!
@Victoria, Wow, so many good ideas. I love this one! We have a dozen hens and so eggs are always on our menu, this is a great idea for sandwiches! Trying it today!
I make breakfast burritos like the PP. Just fill, wrap, and freeze.
I recently also made biscuit cups with refrigerator biscuits. I pressed them into muffin tins and then filled the middles with eggs, bacon, and cheese. Yuuuuuuuuum!
@Terri, can you give us more directions? How did you wrap the burritos? Did you bake the biscuit cups first? How did you reheat them?
Yes, more details on those biscuit cups please! Would love to try that…sounds like a great idea to make ahead for company, too!
I wrap my burritos in foil, but plastic wrap would work just as well. Then I put them in freezer bags. I do the same for bean and cheese burritos (homemade pintos, hot sauce, cheese) for my husband’s lunches.
I debated on whether or not to cook the biscuit cups before freezing, and ended up going ahead and baking them. I just reheated in the microwave on low power until they were hot all the way through. Yum!
Sorry..ummm…
I filled the biscuit cups with soft-scrambled eggs mixed with already-cooked bacon, and then topped them with cheese. I baked them according to the pkg instructions on the biscuits and they were perfect.
@Terri,
My mom did the same thing when I was growing up but filled them with pizza fillings (moz cheese, sauce, veggies, meat) SO good and I ask for them every time I go home.
Trent at The Simple Dollar has a pretty good step-by-step recipe for Freezer Breakfast Burritos: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/02/20/bulk-breakfast-burritos-convenient-cheap-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/
I’d love to hear how the sausage biscuits work out!
@Deborah,
Trent also has this post that contains a different burrito recipe as well as a breakfast sandwich recipe as well.
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/07/26/five-really-easy-recipes-to-make-once-a-month-cooking-work-for-busy-people/
Deborah: Glad to see another The Simple Dollar reader at one of my favorite blogs
I make breakfast burritos to freeze all the time. I wrap them individually in the paper deli wraps and put them in a gallon ziploc bag to freeze. Take one out and microwave for about a minute and they’re great. I usually don’t put tomatoes in them though. They tend to make them a little too soggy.
I’ve also done the sausage and biscuit before. i completely cook them, wrap them in deli paper and heat the same way. If you make your biscuits from scratch then bake them, cut them in half, and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Stick them in the freezer till hard. prefreeze the sausage as well, along with anything else you’re putting on them. then assemble your sandwich, wrap, and freeze. it makes the biscuit taste more fresh when you reheat.
@Heather, This is a great tip! I am definitely going to try your method this week. I’ve got all the stuff to make sausage biscuits. But hadn’t figured out the procedure yet. I am loving this discussion.
I have made egg and sausage as well as egg and bacon sandwiches using english muffins and frozen them with great results. I toast the English muffins. Then I have placed scrambled or fried eggs on it followed by either sausage or bacon (fully cooked) and then cheese. I then wrap in a paper towel and then aluminum foil over and throw in the freezer. I just pull out one at a time, remove foil, and pop in microwave with paper towel for 2 minutes.
I pretty much do the same with egg burritoes. I add whatever I have on hand to the scrambled eggs (such as spinach, cheese, etc) as well as potatoes to make it go further and wrap in the tortilla. I again wrap in aper towel and then foil and put them all in a ziploc and throw them in the freezer. Pull out as needed and take foil off and throw in mircrowave for 2 minutes.
@Laura Paulus, Thanks! We just had some for lunch and I would love to make them ahead of time. I’ll have to cook up a batch and give it a try.
Laura
Homemade Turkey Sausage
1 lb ground turkey
3 T. minced onion
¼ t. cumin
¼ t. marjoram
¼ t. ground pepper
¼ t. oregano
¼ t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
¼ t. ground ginger
½ t. dried basil
½ t. thyme
½ t. sage
2 t. sea salt
1 egg
2 T. butter
Mix all ingredients. Chill for about an hour. (If you forget to chill this ahead of time…it cooks up okay anyway!) Form into patties. Saute in butter.
I made freezer egg burritos with eggs, hash browns, cheese, salsa, sausage and bacon. I put all of the filling in and rolled the tortillas up and wrapped them in a paper towel then in foil. I flash froze them on a tray in my freezer. I also made breakfast sandwiches with english muffins with bacon, egg, sausage and a slice of cheddar cheese and wrapped in paper towels and foil. My husband takes these to work and removes the foil and puts them in the microwave for breakfast. They turned out really good. P.S. I didn’t make patties out of the sausage I just made it crumbled. I made my own sausage because I hate ground beef and this way I don’t have the fatty parts that comes with Jimmy Dean sausage and it makes a lot. Patties would be good though for the sausage sandwiches you are talking about
@Elizabeth,
I know what you mean about the fatty parts. I HATE that too. It’s hard to avoid with most store bought sausage. We’ve been making our own too in the spicy, sweet and sage varieties. I love that one pack of meat can get us 3 different flavors too.
@Elizabeth, found ground turkey marked down so I’m going to try this. But, think it will work with just egg yolk? Baby was diagnosed with an egg white allergy. I’m thinking it will, but just thought I would ask.
@Jessica Fisher,
I just saw this sorry! I bet a yolk would work just fine! I didn’t even use an egg when I made this because I made the crumbled sausage and figured the egg was only used as a binder to form patties. I also added garlic too because when I tasted it I felt like it needed some but I LOVE garlic. You might like it without it though but if you taste it and feel like it is missing something try garlic!
@Jessica Fisher, Did you know, babies (under age 2) should never eat the following: peanut butter (nuts), fish, eggs, honey, chocolate, strawberries. Those are the high-allergens, and their little bodies are not prepared to handle those foods. Avoiding it for the first 2 years is much easier than a lifetime of suffering. (I learned this from an Allergist MD.)
@Celine, yes, I knew about some of those. “Baby” is actually 2 1/2 years old, but she has an egg allergy nonetheless.
Thanks for the reminder!
I don’t remember where I got this – but I have used it many times with good results:
Breakfast Sandwiches
1 Dz English Muffins
1 – 1 1/2 c. meat, i.e. browned sausage, chopped ham, etc.
12 eggs, or egg substitute equivalent, beaten
12 slices low-fat american cheese
Combine beaten eggs and meat in mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake on middle rack in a 350 oven for 20
minutes, or until set. Cut into 12 squares.
While eggs are baking, split English muffins and place on two large baking
sheets. When the eggs are out of the oven, turn oven to broil, and place
muffins under the broiler until lightly toasted, approximately 5 minutes.
Keep an eye on these guys, as some ovens brown quicker than mine.
Place a square of the baked egg filling on a muffin half, top with cheese
slice and other half of muffin. Wrap each breakfast sandwich in plastic
wrap, then in foil. Freeze.
To reheat, remove the foil, but not the plastic wrap. Microwave on high for
approximately 2 minutes until heated through.
Variations: I have made the following and they are all good:
Ham & American Cheese
Ham/Green Chiles & Jack Cheese
Taco flavored beef & Cheddar Cheese
Sausage & Swiss Cheese
I have definitely made sausage biscuits to freeze. I learned quickly that this worked simply because my kids left the freezer door partially cracked and it thawed the biscuits that were in side door. I had approximately 50 biscuits and 2 rolls of sausage as well as chicken patties and sliced cheese that thawed. I cooked off the sausage as well as the biscuits. I then made regular sausage/cheese as well as chicken patty/cheese biscuits and wrapped them individually in aluminum foil and then stored them in a freezer ziploc bag. I cooked them up by sticking them in the oven WHILE it was preheating to 350 for about 10-15 minutes. Always came out perfectly and the kids were REALLY disappointed when we ate the last of them.
We’ve also done the sausage/egg/cheese wraps the same way. I’ve even done bacon instead of sausage. I just wrap them the same way and freeze individually. Cook them the same way for great results. (I do cook my scrambled eggs with a ‘bit’ of cream or half/half, though…not sure if that helps them freeze a bit better?)
I make sure each component is flash frozen and then assemble and put in a ziploc bag use the fishmama straw method to remove air. When you reheat microwave in a moist paper towel for 60 seconds. We do this with sliders too.
Stephanie
For those wondering, here is the straw method, Stephanie is talking about.
I’ve been making egg and cheese McBruce’s (Bruce is our last name) for my daughter. I just add cooked eggs and sliced cheese to an English muffin (not toasted). I wrap each sandwich in foil and put a bunch in a freezer bag. I move them to the fridge the night before, and we reheat them in our toaster oven.
When I reheat, I’ve found that you have to open them up, heat a bit, then close and flip them, and heat a bit more. That evenly heats both sides of the sandwich. (Because there’s nothing worse than biting into a cold egg sandwich!)
I made and froze sausage biscuits quite often a few years ago when my husband had to be out the door around 6:30 am. I just baked biscuits and cooked sausage patties, undercooking both just a bit so they wouldn’t overcook in the reheating process. I then assembled in sandwiches and wrapped each in plastic wrap. I stored the whole batch in a ziploc bag and took out what we needed. We reheated them unwrapped in the microwave for about a minute that I recall. We really liked them this way and I need to make them again!
Breakfast sandwiches work well. I would suggest freezing the individual components first (flash freezing). Like the cooked sausage pattie, the round of scambled egg (or whatever). then put them together on a biscuit, english muffin, etc. Wrap individually and put them in a gallon freezer bag. Breakfast burritos are so easy to make, just fill your shell with whatever cooked breakfast items you want, roll them up, flash freeze individually, wrap and put in large freezer bag. Hmmm…I think I’ll add those to my October cooking day.
I have had great luck with both breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos. Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.momsplans.com/2010/07/breakfast-sandwiches-oamc.html
http://www.momsplans.com/2010/02/oamc-breakfast-burritos.html
I’ve had great luck w/ the breakfast sandwiches she’s asking about. I toast and butter the English muffins (BOGO alot around here or $1/pkg of 6 at Wal-mart). Then I brown 12 sausage patties (either from frozen Sam’s Club brand or hand-formed from bulk roll). Then I make 1 dozen scrambled cheese eggs. I assemble the sandwiches and wrap individually in foil before tossing into ziploc freezer bag. They taste better reheated from frozen (~15 minutes at 400) wrapped in the foil. But for time, I’ve also reheated from frozen in the microwave – just be sure to unwrap foil and rewrap in paper towel first.
I use turkey sausage, eggs, green peppers and onions. Cook all your items and add amounts to soft tortilla shells (white, wheat, whole grain) whichever your fancy. Flash freeze for about 10 minutes, then wrap individually in plastic wrap. My oldest likes adding hot sauce on them after she’s nuked them in the microwave in the morning. Hands down healthy and you can involve the kids in the process too!
Would anyone comment how frozen breakfast items tastes without reheating? My husband would love have a ready made sausage biscuit to grab for his lunchbox in the morning. Are they mushy? Thanks!
@Cindy- I am not sure how they would taste, the egg portion mostly, without reheating it. But it should be fine as long as it has thawed in the fridge. I usually make a bunch of burritos or sandwiches or bagels and freeze then put 4-6 in a foodsaver vacuum bag (freeze first or the sealer squishes the sandwich), then thaw the bag in the fridge and my hubby eats those for the week or takes them to work for the before lunch snack. He has never eaten a cold one, he always microwaves them in the plastic I wrap them in. Hope that helped!
@Kira G, Thank you. My husband won’t heat up a thing. I try not to think about it. Thanks again. :^)
I’m a huge biscuits and gravy fan, so I make and freeze that for yummy and filling fast breakfast. I brown 1 lb of ground sausage, drain most of the fat (leave about a tablespoon) and 1/2 cup of flour and brown for a few minutes, then slowly add in 1 cup of milk and salt and pepper (or hot sauce) to taste. I portion it in small ziploc containers. I bake a bunch of biscuits and flash freeze them, then place them in a ziploc bag.To reheat, just grab one container, add a splash of milk (the gravy tends to thicken when frozen) and toss in two biscuits and heat for 60 seconds on the microwave. Pour gravy over the biscuits and enjoy.
Here are some ideas from my blog…
http://unafamiliaalaskena.blogspot.com/2010/01/homemade-sausage-mcgriddles.html
http://unafamiliaalaskena.blogspot.com/2010/08/breakfast-in-bulk.html
http://unafamiliaalaskena.blogspot.com/2010/09/breakfast-in-freezer-plan.html
one great way i’ve found to cook eggs for biscuits/english muffin sandwiches is to crack 1 egg in a coffee cup and heat it at medium power for about 1 min, then pour the round out onto a hot pan and brown on each side for 10-15 seconds until it firms up a bit. this would be a little time consuming for freezer cooking but it is a good way to “package up” the eggs individually.
i haven’t tried freezing these egg sandwiches though (that i make with some shredded cheese and bacon or sausage)
I make breakfast burritos and freeze then all the time. My hubby likes almost anything in them: frozen hashbrown potatos, canned beans drained and rinsed and mixed with jar salsa, breakfast meats of any and all kinds, green peppers, onions, spinach, cheese. I cook my egg either in my big pan on the stove, or in a pan in the oven (depending on how many I am cooking). I use these as a “clean out the fridge” type meal, and I have never heard a complaint!
I have also done bagel, english muffin, and biscuit sandwiches. I have been known to use my meat grinder attachment on my kitchen aide to make pork/chicken extra lean sausage patties which I lightly brown and cool before assembly. I cook the eggs in a casserole pan then cut into squares. I then freeze the sandwiches, then put 4-6 in a food saver bag and vacuum seal them. I defrost in the fridge for a day before using them. These are AWESOME as a gift to new parents, my cousin loved having breakfast already done when he had to go back to work after their son was born.
This is the recipe I use-
Breakfast Sandwiches (i.e. Egg McMuffins)
1 dz. English muffins
1 to 1 ½ c. meat, i.e. browned sausage, chopped ham, etc.
12 eggs, or egg substitute equivalent, beaten
12 slices lowfat American cheese
Combine beaten eggs and meat in mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake on middle rack in a 350 oven for 20 minutes, or until set. Cut into 12 squares.
While eggs are baking, split English muffins and place on two large baking sheets. When the eggs are out of the oven, turn oven to broil, and place muffins under the broiler until lightly toasted, approximately 5 minutes. Keep an eye on these guys, as some ovens brown quicker than mine.
Place a square of the baked egg filling on a muffin half, top with cheese slice and other half of muffin. Wrap each breakfast sandwich in plastic wrap, then in foil. Freeze.
To reheat, remove the foil, but not the plastic wrap. Microwave on high for approx 2 minutes until heated through. (We had pretty good luck freezing them, but I prefer to let them defrost in the fridge overnight, then unwrap completely and microwave 1 minute covered in a paper towel instead. Going from freezer to microwave is not as easy- frozen spots remain!)
Variations: Ham & American Cheese; Ham/Green Chiles & Jack Cheese; Taco Beef & Cheddar Cheese; Sausage & Swiss Cheese
Ladies!!! How can I ever thank you enough!! I am definately taking all these suggestions and going to put them to work!!!
I have 3 children of my own and I babysit 2 more so mornings getting 2 kids ready for school while keeping 3 more happy can sometimes be a struggle, and I hate sending my boys off with just cereal or whatever for breakfast. My youngest goes to preschool 1/2 a day and they don’t serve lunch nor do they have a lunch period and he is my toothpick size grazer so I worry about him being hungry before he gets out of preschool. Not to mention breakfast sandwiches would be great to send with my hubs as he is rushing out the door for his hour+ commute.
You have been most generous with helping me out and I hope to try this very very soon!!!
Thanks so much!!!
Dana
Something I have done is to freeze a portion of a meal and then see if when it is reheated it comes out good. So if you are going to make some biscuits and sausage on the weekend, freeze a couple of sandwiches. Have a little taste testing party with your hubby and kids and see if everyone likes the frozen food. That way you wont waste your time or money on something that your family wont eat.
I never thought of it as freezer cooking but since I am a single mom, sometimes I have to leave it to the kids to make their own breakfast.
So I make what I call Put it Together bags. I have precooked eggs (baked and cut into squares), bacon, sausage, biscuits, and croissants in different bags in a basket in the freezer. The kids simply grab what they want to make a sandwich and heat in microwave. I do burritos too.
@LynnC, What a great idea!! Thanks for sharing!
I don’t make sausage biscuits, but I do make some fabulous sausage muffins. They freeze beautifully and my family absolutely loves them!
They are a good alternative to sausage and egg biscuits if you can’t quite get the egg thing to work out (which I never can!)
-Lauren
Love the extra ideas! I always toast my English Muffins first before building my sandwiches. I use wax paper to wrap them but I love the deli paper idea. I do bacon or sausage depending what was on sale.
I have found breakfast burritos go over better at my house. I try to save time by making roasted red potatoes with dinner one night and making lots of extra at the same time. Then I add them to breakfast burritos. Tonight I used mini tater tots instead for our weekly stash as they were on sale and I was lazy!
Thanks for all the great ideas!
Being from the South, Sausage and Biscuits are a staple for breakfast food. (Or any time of the day!) I always cook my biscuits and sausage then assemble as a “sandwich”. When they have cooled enough I’ll put the “sandwich” in a plastic freezer bag and freeze. When I get ready for one all I do is remove from the plastic and wrap the “sandwich” in a paper towel then drizzle a little water over the paper towel then put in the microwave for about 30 seconds. They taste almost fresh-made since the water helps keep the biscuit tender. You can also add egg before freezing. I usually wait until after I’ve heated in the microwave to put any type of cheese on it so it will be melted nicely.
I make breakfast burritos and freeze them too. We are vegan and use tofu so basically sometimes I just make an extra large batch of scrambled tofu and add it to my breakfast burritos. It works well. I have also found that wrapping them in paper towel works. I don’t like plastic right next to my food, generally speaking because I have heard conflicting reports of chemicals getting into food, etc. Not to say that paper towel makes it a whole lot better, but I have microwaved the burritos in paper towel and it seems to work fine.
Also I would like to share my biscuit recipes. I don’t freeze the actual biscuits but rather the mixes. They take about 5 minutes to throw together and about 10 minutes to bake. Super easy! My recipe: http://www.islandhomemaker.com/2010/05/make-your-own-biscuit-mix/
I have frozen sausage biscuits before–I got the idea from my Grandma, who ALWAYS has a stash in her freezer.
I bake the biscuits and cook the sausage patties. Then, I assemble to sausage biscuits. I wrap each one in a paper towel and freeze…then just take out of the freezer and microwave!
I can not stress enough how important it is to use a good quality paper towel when wrapping burritos for the freezer. I made an entire batch of bean burritos and wrapped them in Walgreens brand paper towels. The paper stuck to every burrito so bad I had to throw them out. It does the same thing if you try to cook bacon on them in the microwave. Fine for wiping up spills, not for cooking. I suggest Viva. A little more expensive, but nice and thick! Love all these ideas, btw!
@krissy, Although I completely agree with you about the cheap paper towels one thing that does help this is if you freeze the burritos on a cookie sheet first…and then wrap them.
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