Onion Rings Are The Perfect Crunchy Addition To Breakfast Sandwiches

Classic breakfast sandwiches are already nearly perfect, but nearly perfect isn't always enough. The basic combination of eggs, cheese, and breakfast meat on bread is an enduring staple of on-the-go eaters and home cooks alike, with a salty, melty alchemy that does the most important thing a sandwich can do: become greater than the sum of its parts. It doesn't matter if you go bacon or sausage, English muffin or bagel, the basic ingredient math of breakfast sandwiches just works. In fact, a simple breakfast sandwich works so well it doesn't even need condiments, and things like aioli or ketchup can distract from what makes them good instead of adding anything. But, that doesn't mean there isn't anything missing from breakfast sandwiches, and one clear oversight is some crunch. That's why you should consider adding onion rings.

As good as they are, most breakfast sandwiches are soft all the way through, with the only texture coming from a toasted piece of bread or some crumbly bacon. Traditional sources of sandwich crunch, like lettuce or pickles, don't go great with the flavor profile of breakfast sandwiches. One thing that does work are hash browns, but those won't give you the sweet, savory taste of onion along with the crunch. Fried, savory onion rings are a great complement to cheese and meat, and just a few rings can add a satisfying texture to your whole breakfast that few other toppings can match.

Now, we aren't recommending you make onion rings from scratch just for one sandwich; it's the morning and you are tired and hungry. Ideally, you have leftovers, but onion rings are also some of the better frozen food products, and both options crisp up nicely in the oven with minimal effort. An air fryer is also a nice option that will crisp up your rings well while you cook and assemble the rest of your sandwich. You also don't need to worry about waste when the leftovers can stay frozen and you are only grabbing a few at a time. If you really want that fried flavor and crunch, you can cook them in a thin layer of oil in a skillet at the same time you fry your meat and toast your bread.

There is one final onion ring hack that can make your breakfast sandwich not just delicious, but more structurally sound too. If you have a big enough onion ring, after you crisp it up, you can put it in a skillet, crack open an egg, and cook the egg inside the ring itself. You'll get a perfectly contained and cooked egg surrounded by a circle of crunchy onion ring, which will fit perfectly on an English muffin or roll. It works so perfectly that it almost feels like onion rings and breakfast sandwiches were meant to be together.