Full English Breakfast Recipe: Traditional Ingredients and Timing

Quick Summary: A full English breakfast is the British fry-up of eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and toast, with black pudding if you’re feeling brave. The trick is the cooking order, so everything lands on the plate hot. Slow carb if you skip the toast. Prep: 10 min | Cook: 25 min | Serves: 4

JUMP TO: Recipe | What is a Full English Breakfast? | The Timing Strategy | Ingredients and Substitutions | More Slow Carb Breakfasts | FAQ

I made this for my family over the winter holidays as a celebration breakfast (and an excuse to have them test my Earl Grey tea blend with cardamom and pink peppercorns).

A Full English breakfast is one of those meals that looks intimidating but is really just about timing. It’s a matter of juggling pots and pans on the stovetop and getting the eggs, bacon, sausages, beans, tomatoes, toast and tea to the table while they are still warm. And as it turns out, if you skip the toast, the whole thing is consistent with the slow carb diet (Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Body Diet)

What Is a Full English Breakfast?

A Full English breakfast, which is sometimes called a “fry-up”, is a traditional British breakfast that fueled field workers, travelers, and weekend lie-ins for generations. It’s hearty, protein-heavy, and meant to keep you full until dinner.

The classic components include:

• Eggs (fried, sunny-side up or over easy)
• Bacon (British back bacon is traditional, but American bacon works)
• Sausages (links, often called “bangers” in Britain)
• Baked beans (in tomato sauce, not American-style with molasses or pork)
• Grilled or fried tomatoes
• Rustic toast or fried bread
• Black pudding or blood sausage (optional but traditional)
• Mushrooms (optional)

Tea is a must. Strong black tea with milk is standard. I served my breakfast with a tea blend I developed for the Minnesota farmers’ markets, which adds cardamom and pink peppercorns to a standard Earl Grey tea.

What Makes This Slow Carb Friendly?

Most of the Full English is naturally slow carb compliant:

• Eggs, bacon, and sausages are high-protein
• Baked beans are legumes, which are allowed on slow carb as long as there is no added sugar. Canned baked beans were one of the most common slip-ups I saw. Almost every brand, British or American, has sugar in the sauce. For a slow carb plate, warm rinsed white beans in a little tomato sauce with salt and pepper instead.
• Tomatoes are compliant fruits as long as you don’t overdo it

The only non-compliant element is the bread. Skip it or save it for a cheat day, and you have a filling, high-protein breakfast that fits the plan.

Here’s my full slow carb food list if you’re just getting started.

How Do You Time Everything?

The challenge with a Full English Breakfast isn’t any single component. Rather it’s getting everything to the table while the ingredients are still warm. Here’s the order that works:

Start first (longest cook time):

• Sausages in a skillet over medium-low heat (12-15 minutes, turning occasionally)
• Bacon in the oven at 400°F on a sheet pan (or in a second skillet). Once the bacon comes out, turn the oven down to 200°F, crack the door for a minute, and slide in heat-safe plates to hold everything as it finishes.

Start second (medium cook time):

• Baked beans in a small saucepan over low heat (just warming through)
• Tomatoes cut in half, placed cut-side down in a skillet with a little oil (5-7 minutes)

Start last (quick cook time):

• Eggs fried in the bacon fat or butter (2-3 minutes for sunny-side up)
• Bread fried in the remaining fat or toasted
• Black pudding/blood sausage (if using): Slice into rounds and fry 2-3 minutes per side in the same pan as the sausages.

The key is keeping finished items warm. I use a low oven (200°F) with heat-resistant plates inside, transferring items as they finish.

Full English Breakfast Ingredients and Substitutions

Beans: This is where Americans often go wrong in terms of keeping with British tradition. British baked beans are in tomato sauce, not the sweet molasses-based American version that often includes pork. Look for Heinz or Branston beans, or use Amy’s Vegetarian Baked Beans (no pork, tomato-based).

Do not use Bush’s or other American-style baked beans if you want the breakfast to be truly British.

Sausages: British sausage (bangers) have a different texture than American breakfast sausage. They are typically less dense with more bread filler. Use any good quality pork link sausage. I used a combination of grocery store sausage links and blood sausage that I got at our local butcher shop.

Bacon: British back bacon is leaner and meatier than typical American bacon. Either works. I used American bacon here.

Blood Sausage: Blood sausage (or the British black pudding) isn’t for everyone, but it’s traditional. If you can find it, try it. If not, skip it. The breakfast is still complete without it.

Tomatoes: Use ripe, in-season tomatoes if possible. I grow heirloom tomatoes on my farm and this is a great use for them in summer. Off-season, go with the best grocery store tomatoes you can find. Add plenty of salt and grill them to increase flavor.

Bread: Rustic, thick-sliced bread fried in bacon fat is traditional. Any sturdy bread works, and you certainly don’t have to fry the bread. I found fried bread to be a little over the top, so I just toasted it and added good butter. Skip the bread entirely for slow carb.

Tea: Strong black tea, served with milk. I used my Earl Grey with Cardamom and Pink Peppercorns blend that I sell at the Minnesota farmers’ markets. For more on black tea, see my complete guide to tea.

Did You Know? Black pudding is a type of blood sausage, but it’s a specific variety from the UK and Ireland known for using oatmeal or barley as a filler, distinguishing it from other global blood sausages 

More Great Slow Carb Breakfast Recipes

Breakfast is a mainstay on Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Body diet (aka the slow carb diet). Here are a few breakfast recipes that my clients found appealing when I was coaching:

High Protein Blueberry Smoothies

Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Skillet

Swiss Chard and Nested Eggs

For lunch, keep the British theme going with a ploughman’s lunch of cheddar, crusty bread, and pickle.

FAQ