This Brunch Patty Melt Sandwich takes a traditional patty melt and combines it with two breakfast favorites, an "egg in a hole" & bacon. This patty melt is a nod to the trend of fried eggs on burgers and makes a delicious sandwich!
Traditional Patty Melt Sandwich
Traditional patty melts generally include a burger sandwiched between 2 slices of bread with Swiss, cheddar and fried onions. Think of it as a grilled cheese hamburger with the buttery grilled bread on the outside that mimics my favorite burger buns that are best enjoyed toasted
Egg in a Hole
Egg in a hole is a go-to breakfast for my family. Take a slice of bread, cut a circle in the middle using the rim of a glass or a sharp knife, remove circle, and place in the bottom of a buttered skillet. Crack an egg into the hole and cook 2 minutes. Flip over and cook another minute or two depending on how runny you like your yolks.
My kids love helping with this breakfast and you can make it extra fun by using cookie cutters to cut out the bread into fun shapes. This breakfast could not be simpler, but there's just something about it that is just so good!
Components of Brunch Patty Melt Sandwich
Onions - Start by frying up the onions. Thinly slice a whole white onion and place it in a skillet with melted butter. Sauté the onions 10-15 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized. Remove the onions from the pan into a small bowl and set aside.
Bacon - Instead of standing at the stove frying bacon in a skillet, I have a much easier way! Lay out bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until crispy. Cooking the bacon in the oven lets it cook evenly and gets it so nice and crispy. This is the only way I cook bacon now. While it's cooking I can easily work on something else.
Burgers - To season the burgers, I rely on my simple go-to burger seasoning. Season both sides of the burgers with seasoned salt and black pepper. That's it! Seasoned salt contains salt, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder making it an essential spice in your spice drawer.
In the same skillet you used to fry the onions, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add burgers and cook 4-5 minutes before flipping and cooking another 4-5 minutes or until the burgers are done to your liking.
With the kiddos in our family, we opt for at least a medium-well to well for our burgers. When the burgers are just about done, place a slice of Swiss cheese on each.
Bread - Take 4 slices of bread and cut a 3-inch hole in the middle. You don't want the hole to be any bigger as I've found it causes the egg to spread too much and will be too thin to stick to the bread when flipping. Butter both sides of these slices.
Take another 4 slices of bread and only butter one side. Thick-cut bread works best for Brunch Patty Melt Sandwiches as it holds up to all the fillings. I prefer white bread for these but feel free to use wheat or even rye!
Sandwich Assembly
- Place one "holey" bread slice and a full bread slice butter side down in the skillet. Top full bread slice with a slice of cheddar cheese, cheeseburger, bacon and a good helping of fried onions.
- Crack an egg into the hole on the other piece and season with salt & pepper. At this point, you are basically making a grilled cheese getting the bread nice and grilled, the cheese melted and the egg cooked. After about 2 minutes flip the egg bread over and cook until the yolk is at your desired doneness. Place egg piece on top of burger.
- I prefer my egg yolks more on the hard side, while my husband loves a runny yolk. These can totally be customized to each person!
How to Serve
Serve these Brunch Patty Melt Sandwiches immediately with chips, fries or fresh fruit. Cut the patty melt in half to reveal the delicious layers of cheese, burger, onions and egg. You won't want to wait any longer to enjoy these awesome burgers!
Look at that runny yolk!
Other sandwich recipes:
Sloppy Joes with Chicken Gumbo Soup
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Brunch Patty Melt
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 white onion thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 ¼-1/3# beef burgers see note below
- 2 tsp. seasoned salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- extra butter for bread
- 8 slices thick-cut white bread slices
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 slices swiss cheese
- 4 eggs
Instructions
Cooking Bacon
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bacon slices in a single layer and cook 20-25 until done. Remove from oven and place bacon on a paper towel to drain.
Fried Onions
- In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add thinly sliced onions and sauté 10-15 minutes until onions are soft and caramelized. Move onions to a bowl & set aside.
Burgers
- Season each burger with ¼ tsp. seasoning salt & ⅛ tsp. black pepper. Flip and repeat on the other side.
- In the same skillet as you fried the onions, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add burgers and cook 4-5 minutes on each side until desired doneness. During the last couple minutes, add a slice of Swiss cheese to each burger. Place burgers on a plate & set aside.
Patty Melts
- Take 4 slices of bread and cut a 3 inch hole in the center. Remove the inner bread and butter both sides. For the other 4 slices, only butter one half.
- Heat skillet or griddle to medium heat. Place one bread slice with hole and one full bread slice butter side down in the pan. Put a slice of cheddar cheese on the full bread slice and top with burger, fried onions & 2 slices of bacon.
- Crack an egg into the hole in the other slice of bread. Season with salt & pepper, if desired. Cook 2 minutes and flip egg piece. Cook another minute or 2 until yolk is done to your liking. Top burger with this slice.
- Place on a plate and cut in half diagonally. Serve immediately.
Helpful Equipment & Ingredient Links
Notes
- Cooking these ⅓# burgers 4-5 on each side will get them pretty medium-well. Adjust this cooking time if you like them more rare or if your burgers are thinner.
- Wheat or rye bread could also be used instead of white. Thick-cut bread holds up better to all the fillings of the patty melt.
- You don't want the hole for the egg any bigger than about 3 inches or the egg will spread out too much and the middle will be too thin and be prone to breaking. A glass rim works well or I often just use a sharp knife and cut out the circle.
Beth says
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this a try! My hubby and daughter are going to love this!
Ashley says
Thanks Beth! I hope your family enjoys it!
Anjali says
Omg what a fun and creative brunch recipe!! We do brunch as a family every Sunday and I can't wait to add these patty melts to our menu this weekend!
Ashley says
Thanks Anjali! Weekends are perfect for brunching!
Genevieve | Fitty Foodlicious says
A patty melt is such a classic meal and I love that this one is a brunch version. Looks delicious!
rika says
That looks so good. I love patty melt. I can't wait to give it a try.
Jo says
The whole family loves it! Will definitely make this again!