How To: Make a Full Breakfast—Without a Skillet

Aren't the weekends extra special when they include a bacon, egg, and pancake breakfast? We call it "Lazy Sunday" for a reason. Actually, who needs it to be a weekend? Monday it is!

• Make Perfect Poached Eggs Every Single Time

But who wants to wake up, prep for a half-hour, and then stand in front of a skillet for another half hour? The answer is no one. No one wants to do that. For those of you who do—congratulations. Please come over to my apartment next weekend. For the rest of you, I have a solution. All you need is bacon, eggs, pancake batter, and a muffin pan.

Ingredients

• 4 strips bacon
• 4 eggs or 6–8 egg whites, plus whatever ingredients you like to put in a scramble
• 2 servings' worth pancake batter
• Optional sweeteners, salt, and pepper

Equipment

• One regulation muffin tin (if you've got muffin liners but no tin, no problem: you can easily hack one)
• Optional: one cookie sheet, aluminum foil, and paper towels

Set your oven to 375°F and let's begin…

Step 1: Bacon

The usual microwave or skillet option is fine if you don't mind your microwave smelling like bacon for a week or getting splattered 800 times by specks of burning oil. With the oven method, you can bake it on a rack over a baking sheet or create your own by using aluminum foil, like this:

Cutting four strips of bacon slices in half with shears makes it easier to arrange and it bakes more evenly. You could also just line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then drain the bacon on paper towel once it's done.

Fancy Bacon Tip: Brush the strips with maple syrup and grind some black pepper over it for more flavor and kick.

Place the bacon in the oven once it's heated since it will take about 5–10 minutes. You can move on to the next step while it cooks.

FYI, the finished bacon plus the following ingredients will yield a dozen breakfast bites using one muffin pan—double-up if needed.

Step 2: Eggs

Whip up four eggs (or 6–8 whites) however you normally would for a scramble.

Fluffy Egg Tip: Add a bit of heavy cream for added fluffiness.

Step 3: Pancakes

Prep your favorite pancake batter (enough for 2 servings.)

Sweet Tip: Add a bit of maple syrup or agave to the batter for a touch of added sweetness.

Step 4: Fill the Muffin Pan

Use cooking spray to coat the cups or paper liners. Fill each one about two-thirds of the way: six with the egg mixture and six with pancake batter.

Now to the best part (and where you can get really creative)...

Step 5: The Mix-Ins

Sprinkle in a few bonus ingredients.

Eggs: Cheese (goat, feta, cheddar), chopped veggies (spinach, avocado, tomato), cooked crumbled sausage, chopped ham, pesto, onions, hot sauce… and the list goes on and on.

Pancakes: Berries, banana, chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts, coconut flakes, Nutella (okay, so you already knew I had a Nutella obsession from my coffee post). Also, you can go savory here and add sausage, bacon, and/or cheese.

Top with the mix-ins of your choice. Or leave a few plain.

Step 6: Bake

Bake for 15–20 minutes and out comes this...

And this...

Yum, right?

If you find that you have leftovers (doubtful) once they're cooled, you can refrigerate in a sealed container for 3–4 days. Or freeze them flat in a freezer bag.

To reheat, place in microwave or toaster oven.

There you have it: a full, fun, all-in-one breakfast. Happy Sunday (or Monday)!

More Amazing Breakfast Hacks:

• 12 Hacks to Get Perfect French Toast Every Time
• How & Why You Should Make Your Own Bacon
• 2 Ingredient Pancakes: High Protein, Low Carb, & Gluten Free
• How to Tell if Your "Expired" Eggs Are Still Good
• How to Make Cheaper, Healthier Instant Oatmeal Packets