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!!
Namrata Cooks
It’s so good to have family traditions especially over holidays. I cook Chinese meal for Christmas lunch.
Homemade & Yummy
Yes traditions are so important.
Julie
I always love hearing about other family’s holiday traditions. This is a great idea – easy to make on crazy Christmas morning and I like the idea of something Savory. There’s a certain point in the holiday season where I feel like I’m in a sugar coma. Its nice to start the day (which is sure to be filled with cookies and candy and dessert) with a savory breakfast.
Homemade & Yummy
Yes my family LOVES this and it’s as important as the gifts.
Nicole
These sandwiches look really tasty and easy to make! A great start to a long day as everyone is up at the crack of dawn !
Homemade & Yummy
Yes….it is a great way to start the day.
Elizabeth | The Recipe Revival
This sounds like a great Christmas morning breakfast! I love ham and cheese sandwiches. I ate them all the time as a kid.
Homemade & Yummy
These really are so good, soon we will be eating them.
Sara [Real Balanced]
These look so delicious!!! Perfect for holiday meal leftovers!
Homemade & Yummy
We never seem to have leftovers.
Michelle
These look gorgeous – and so much healthier than what we do ever year!
Homemade & Yummy
Well Christmas morning should be whatever you want to eat…but this is what we want.
Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade
I love easy breakfast sandwiches like this! They’re of course great for holiday mornings, but these would also be a hit for any lazy weekend or even a brunch
Homemade & Yummy
Yes they are brunch perfect.
Samantha H.
This is so funny! One year my little sister (she had to be maybe 5 at the time) decided that our Christmas tradition would be eating grilled cheese and tomato soup on Christmas morning. And she has held us all to it! Reminds me of that.
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAHHA…well there you go. You know what I am talking about.
April
Yum! Sandwiches in the morning sounds good to me, however I don’t eat pork. I wonder if I could use another type of meat or maybe use beef bacon.
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAA…my son-in-law does not eat pork either. I just make his ALL turkey instead.
Stephanie
I love family traditions – especially for Christmas! We always have cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning 🙂
Homemade & Yummy
Yum, those wound delicious too.
Daniela
I love learning about people’s Christmas traditions. My family doesn’t have one for Christmas morning, but we do make a big roast on Christmas Eve. Also, these sandwiches look delicious!
Homemade & Yummy
My family would not have anything else Christmas morning here.
Tiffany
I love this! One of our traditions is to go to midnight mass and then come home and make Taylor ham and cheese on croissants with mimosas. We love our Taylor ham and look forward to it every Christmas.
Homemade & Yummy
Enjoy the holidays…and your very special tradition.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
What a great way to start Christmas morning. Sometimes we over complicate recipes and a sandwich is always a favorite. I’m sure our kids and grandkids would go nuts over it. In a way it reminds me of a Monte Cristo sandwich. YUM I’ve always wanted to make one. I can see why your family insists on this breakfast.
Homemade & Yummy
Yes very similar to a Monte Cristo sandwich.
Julia
What a delicious idea! Sort of like a mix between french toast and savoury strata! I love it. I usually make croissant sandwiches and then pour egg and milk mixture on top. It’s a bit more eggy than your sandwiches but the idea is the same. I’m definitely going to try your version!
Homemade & Yummy
Enjoy….and Happy Holidays!!
Denise Wright
I’ve upgraded my thoughts on sandwiches for breakfast to genius! I don’t recall ever doing anything all that special for Christmas morning but this is doable and tasty. As a matter of fact I think I’m going to have a Christmas Morning Sandwich for lunch today. Hahaha!
Homemade & Yummy
Enjoy….hope you like them as much as we do.