These Christmas Breakfast Sandwiches have been our family tradition for decades.
This overnight breakfast casserole is so easy. While you are busy opening presents on Christmas morning, these sandwiches bake and are ready to eat when you are.
A delicious make-ahead Christmas breakfast. Bread, cheese, and cold cuts topped with beaten eggs. This sandwich casserole is perfect for the holidays.
Do you have family traditions in your home? Certain things that are a must each holiday season? We sure do. Now we have more fun with grandkids in the mix. After all these years, my family still says this is the best breakfast for Christmas morning.
Holiday foods are so delicious, and we have a slew of favourites here.
- Holiday croissants are great for weekend brunches. They even make a quick dessert idea too.
- Cranberry Sweet Rolls are great on the brunch menu.
- Holiday Cream Cheese Pinwheels have all the flavours of the holidays all wrapped up.
- Rum and Eggnog Latte is a must for tree trimming and movie watching.
- Festive Granola is always a great stocking stuffer or gift for the teacher.
- Boozy Bourbon Fudge is the ultimate food gift for holiday parties.
- Ultimate Cranberry Sauce is always a hit (serve some with these sandwiches too).
- Easy Gravy made from scratch is a must for mashed potatoes and stuffing.
As for Christmas breakfast, well you already know what we have. One year I thought of making something different. OMG, my adult kids went nuts. Even my grandkids now insist on only eating these breakfast sandwiches on Christmas morning.
Holiday Breakfast Sandwich Ingredients
It seems like such a long time ago that I first made these sandwiches. I wanted to have an easy breakfast recipe ready to put in the oven while we opened presents. This savory holiday breakfast casserole is perfect.
Christmas morning is a little busy. Preparing breakfast was one thing I did not want to worry about. After all, I would be in the kitchen soon enough getting the holiday dinner on the table. This is the easiest holiday breakfast hands down. Make as many pans as you need.
- Sliced Bread of any kind. I like to use the Texas Toast thick cut. Of course, home-baked bread is always a delicious option.
- Deli Meat – I use a combination of turkey and ham. Sliced chicken is another great option.
- Butter – to help make the sandwiches nice and brown.
- Eggs – white or brown.
- Milk – but you can always use cream if you prefer.
- Cheese – a variety that melts nicely.
Make Ahead Christmas Morning Sandwiches Assembly
Before we go to bed, my daughter and I assemble this breakfast sandwich casserole and place it in the fridge for the morning.
We make our little assembly line, chat, and get it done! Be sure to check the recipe card for detailed instructions.
These easy breakfast sandwiches are like a grilled cheese, stuffed French toast fusion. Similar to a croque monsieur but in a baked version. Full instructions are in the recipe card.
- Prepare your baking pans.
- Butter the outside of the bread (like for grilled cheese)
- Layer the cheese and meat, and top with the other slice of bread.
- Cut the sandwiches in half, and place them in the baking dish.
- Mix the milk and eggs (like for french toast).
- Pour over the sandwiches, cover with foil, and place in the fridge.
In the morning I put on a pot of coffee and head down to the family room. Stockings, presents, excitement, love, and laughter fill the room.
When things start to settle down, I go upstairs and turn on the oven (and make another pot of coffee). Once the oven is ready, I take the pans of sandwiches out of the fridge and place them in the oven. This usually gives us about another 30 minutes or so to finish up with the presents. By now everyone is starting to get hungry.
We head upstairs to the dining room. Pans of sandwiches are placed on the table and everyone helps themselves. See, I told you this would be easy. Our Christmas morning tradition lives on.
Substitutions / Recipe Tips
- Foil pans are great for this recipe. Clean-up is a breeze.
- Any kind of bread will work, but you want it to be able to soak up the milk/egg mixture.
- Deli meat is a personal preference for sure. You can use any kind you like. You can also place more or less in the sandwiches.
- Milk can be replaced with cream, or non-dairy oat milk is an option.
- Eggs can be white, brown, large, or extra large.
- Butter can be replaced with a good-quality margarine spread.
- Cheese slices have lots of options. Be sure it melts nicely. I love using Provolone, but Swiss, Gouda, Edam, and Cheddar would be great choices.
- Store leftovers wrapped in foil in the fridge. Reheat in a moderate oven until warm enough to eat.
What Is The Most Common Christmas Breakfast?
There is no end to delicious options for your holiday breakfasts and brunches.
In our house, the holidays are all about spending time together and our special family traditions. I hope you give this festive breakfast casserole a try. It just might become your family tradition too. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Christmas Morning Breakfast Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 12 slices bread (your choice)
- 6 ounces deli ham
- 6 ounces deli smoked turkey
- 6 ounces provolone cheese (or cheese of your choice)
- 10 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter optional
Instructions
- Spray your baking pans with cooking spray, and set aside.
To prepare the Sandwiches:
- Butter the outside of the bread slices (like for grilled cheese). Use 2 slices of buttered bread per sandwich.
- Layers as follows: 2 slices of turkey, 2 slices of cheese, then 2 slices of ham.
- Cut sandwich diagonally and arrange in a sprayed casserole dish, cut side down. (I try to stagger the sandwiches in the pan).
- Beat the eggs and milk in a measuring cup and pour over the tops and sides of the sandwiches.
- Cover with foil and place in fridge until ready to bake.
To bake in the morning:
- Preheat oven to 375º F
- Place sandwiches in oven uncovered and bake for about 30 minutes until crisp and golden.
- Remove from oven and ENJOY!!
Helene
Now that is breakfast I would make for our Christmas morning. I am more on the savory side and I do like ham with my breakfast. Luckily they started to sell proper ham here a week ago (yay!) so I can go back to my European food habits in Goa. I like your food tradition Gloria! 🙂
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give it a try….my family would eat it all year long for sure.
Veena Azmanov
Oh these look so cute for a festive occasion not just Christmas.. I love the idea of baking these. I usually make french toast and a variety of cream cream cheese and fruit fillings.
Homemade & Yummy
Christmas morning cannot happen here without these sandwiches.
Olivia @ Olivia's Cuisine
Christmas morning would be even more special with these. Even better that they can be made ahead! Love it!
Chef G
Yes it is a GREAT time saver for sure….which is awesome on such a busy morning!!
Sandra @ Heavenly Home Cooking
I love Christmas traditions like this! Such a great idea to prepare them ahead of time and then bake them Christmas morning. Stress-free. Pinning this!
Chef G
Yes we love this tradition….and it does make things easier Christmas morning!!
Stephanie | The Foodie and The Fix
These look delicious! I love the idea of being able to make a ton of these at once! I loved them so much I included them in my buzzfeed post, “10 Incredible Make-Ahead Breakfast To Serve Your Hungry Overnight Guests” @ http://bzfd.it/1TLZjEu 🙂
Chef G
Thanks soooo much for including my in your BuzzFeed post….they are a hit when you have to feed a crowd!!
Noel
Love this! I’m always looking for something special to add to our Christmas breakfast. Our tradition is cinnamon rolls, but there’s got to be something savory for the non-sweet loving folks!
Chef G
Well this has been a family favourite for many years….we really love them!!
Angela @thechewylife
Wow, what a decadent and resourceful sandwich, Gloria! This needs to be a part of my life as well 🙂
Chef G
We love it…so easy…so tasty….love our tradition!!
Teresa
What a nice tradition! I’m going to do something along those lines this year, too. My parents are coming over for Christmas brunch and I’m juggling their meat-eating preferences with my partner’s vegan breakfast requests. Having a breakfast casserole ready to go is going to save me. 🙂
Chef G
You can always make one with just tomatoes and cheese….that would work!!
Alanna @ One Tough Cookie
What a terrific idea, Gloria! I’d never heard of egg-coated (or pan-baked, for that matter) sandwiches before, but this seems like a dream way to cook brunch for a crowd! Thanks for sharing!
Chef G
Perfect for crowds….just make as many pans as you need!!
Isabelle @ Crumb
These look delicious! Our Christmas morning tradition is to go out for dim sum with the rest of the family, but I love the idea of staying in and enjoying a hearty make-ahead breakfast like this… especially when there’s cranberry sauce involved, because who doesn’t love an excuse to keep eating cranberry sauce once the big Christmas meal is done? 🙂
Chef G
Hahah…well I love cranberry sauce too….and yup it’s a great excuse to make extra to enjoy with this breakfast!!
Sarah | (Cooking for) Kiwi & Bean
Oh wow — can you make my Christmas morning breakfast? 🙂 Christmas breakfast is often an afterthought for me. I’m so focused on the gift-wrapping and dinner prep that I forget to plan something for breakfast. Argh. But this is great inspiration and looks absolutely delicious!
Chef G
Well is has been a wonderful tradition for many years…since my kids were little. Now that I am a gramma…my daughter loves helping me get it ready the night before….traditions live on!!
Heidi @ Food Doodles
This is an awesome idea! This is our first year not at gramma’s house for breakfast so I need an easy breakfast to make and something that can be made ahead is even better! 🙂
Chef G
Well as a “gramma” I can say this has been a tradition for a long time…and now my grandchildren will be enjoying it as well.
Candice | everybody loves pretty
I love breakfasts that can be made the night before!! We have our Christmas morning breakfast traditions as well!! These sandwiches look pretty delish though – maybe we will try something new this year 🙂
Chef G
Well they have been on our Christmas morning breakfast table for many many years….and from what I hear…many more to come!!
Tara | Deliciously Declassified.com
Yum! These are kind of like a baked croque monsieur! I bet the kids would love this 🙂
Chef G
I know my kids sure do!!
Sarah
Such a great, and filling, tradition! These looks delicious and I bet it gives everyone plenty of fuel for the day!
Chef G
We totally love them…would never think of making anything else…my kids won’t let me!!