California-Style Breakfast Sliders Recipe

Despite being home to some of the most notoriously health-conscious people in the nation, California also boasts an excellent burger scene. Rumored to be the birthplace of the cheeseburger, the Pacific coast is no stranger to patties piled high with cheese, onions, and tomatoes. As you move out of the state and eastward, menu items bear tribute to California's burger game, using a combination of avocado, bacon, cheese, and aioli. These toppings are referred to as California-style, likely because the state produces the nation's most avocados and famously douses burgers in flavored mayonnaise (we're looking at you, In-N-Out). 

Little surprise, this fresh and crunchy burger combo works in breakfast sandwiches as well, as bacon and avocado pair deliciously with tender eggs, melty cheese, spicy mayo, and sprouts. In this recipe by Michelle McGlinn, the classic breakfast sandwich gets the Cali-style slider treatment, complete with soft-scrambled eggs, spicy pepper jack cheese, thick-cut bacon, and creamy smashed avocado. Easy to put together and filling for a small crowd, these sliders are the perfect way to start any day of the week.

To make these sliders, you'll start with breakfast basics like bacon, eggs, heavy cream (or milk), salt, black pepper, and butter. To put the sliders together, you'll first need slider buns. These can be any small roll or brioche bun measuring around 2-3 inches across — a little more than half the size of a standard hamburger bun. From there, you'll just need sliced pepper jack cheese, mayonnaise, sriracha, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts. Feel free to sub in your favorite kind of cheese in place of the pepper jack, and if you can't find alfalfa sprouts, you can swap them for microgreens, arugula, or spinach.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Arrange bacon slices on a foil-lined sheet tray.

Bake until just crispy, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs and cream in a large bowl until smooth. Season with 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper.

Melt butter in a large skillet.

Add egg mixture and stir constantly with a rubber spatula, until curds form into a soft scramble. Remove from heat.

Add the bottom halves of the brioche rolls to a sheet tray and top with scrambled eggs.

Add a cheese slice to each bun.

Add bacon on top of the cheese and place sliders in the oven until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and sriracha.

Once the cheese has melted, squeeze sriracha mayo over the bacon.

Top the bacon with alfalfa sprouts.

In a bowl, mash the avocados and season with the remaining salt and black pepper, or to taste.

Spread mashed avocado on the top brioche buns.

Close the sliders, and serve immediately.

Prepping California-style breakfast sliders ahead of time is not an easy task: Eggs, cheese, sprouts, and avocado are all best enjoyed fresh. While you can't make these sliders completely in advance, you can still set yourself up for success the day before serving. The most important prep step you can do is prepare the bacon: Bake it just until crispy up to 4 days in advance, draining the slices on paper towels once cool to touch and then storing them in a sealable container in the refrigerator. 

You can also prepare the eggs in advance by scrambling and storing them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Scrambled eggs get more dense (and therefore less fluffy) the longer they are stored, but if you need to save time and energy the day of, it's another easy step to take care of in advance. The last thing you can prep confidently ahead of time is the spicy mayo. Simply mix the mayonnaise and sriracha together and transfer it to a squeeze bottle, where it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. This is especially helpful for leftover spicy mayo, which can be used again for tuna melts, hamburgers, or fish tacos.

With the bacon, eggs, and mayo prepared in advance, the sliders become a little bit easier to put together day-of, shaving off nearly 20 minutes of cook time. Just add the warmed eggs to the sliders and follow the recipe as written for easy, 10-minute sliders.

In this recipe, the partially assembled sliders go into the oven so the cheese can melt into the eggs. This means it's even more important to scramble the eggs perfectly so they aren't rubbery and overcooked. While you may be used to scrambling eggs until they are firm, bouncy, and dense in the skillet, soft scrambled eggs should be cooked for less time. 

To start your perfect soft scramble, keep the heat low and melt the butter completely. Once warm, pour in the well-whisked egg mixture and immediately grab a spatula. Carefully draw the eggs from one side of the skillet to the other with the spatula, moving them around as the curds slowly solidify. Have patience and don't raise the heat; once the curds start forming, the egg will scramble quickly, so watch closely. As soon as the last bit of liquid solidifies, cut the heat. Do a few final stirs through the still-wet mixture, then remove the skillet from the heat completely. The hot eggs will continue to cook for several seconds, but they should still stay soft and resemble cottage cheese in texture.