A traditional full English breakfast with beans is a hearty way to begin the day with eggs, sausages, bacon, beans, and tomatoes.

Something for the weekend. Or something to cure a hangover. This traditional English breakfast, also known as a fry-up, is probably the heartiest, most copious way of starting the day.
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What is a full English breakfast?
The word โfullโ refers more to the fact that your plate will be full of different kinds of foods and not necessarily that you will get all the items that are commonly associated with an English breakfast at once.
The most important items are, of course, the bacon and the eggs, accompanied by those delicious short and thick, meaty British sausages. On top of those, you can also have grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, and, depending on where you find yourself in Britain, several other accompaniments like baked beans and black or white pudding in England, potato scones in Scotland, soda bread in Ireland or laver bread in Wales.
Well, the best full English breakfast I had was in Wales, it didn't have any laver bread, but toast fried in lots of oil, potato scones (sooo good) and baked beans.
Other things that can be part of a full English breakfast are jam or marmalade, marmite, kidneys, kippers, hash browns, and sauces: ketchup or brown sauce. And drinks like tea, coffee, or fresh juice.
The history of English breakfast
The history of the English breakfast is century-old, tracing its roots back to the 14th century. According to the English Breakfast Society its tradition โfirst began with the gentry, before being adopted by the Victorians who refined the tradition into an art form.
Then came along the the Edwardians who standardized the ingredients, giving us the English breakfast that we mostly eat today and in doing so, created a truly a national breakfast tradition and an icon of British culinary culture.โ
The gentry was a privileged layer of the English society who were proud in keeping the traditions of a typical English country lifestyle. They used to serve an impressive breakfast at social gatherings or other ceremonies, such as weddings. As weddings usually took place in the morning breakfast would be the first meal that the newly-weds would eat together after the ceremony.
The breakfast table was a good occasion for the gentry to display the wealth of their estates, so you can imagine how loaded those breakfast tables were.
Later on, the Victorians also saw the breakfast as a way of displaying their wealth and social position. They refined the typical breakfast served by the gentry earlier, transforming it into a fine and elegant affair.
But it was during the Edwardian era, during the height of the British empire, that the English breakfast started to transform into something more similar to what we know today. It was during this time that it became a standard meal to be served in restaurants and hotels and to use the standard ingredients that we associate with it today.
Another quite traditional thing to do while eating the English breakfast is to read the newspaper. It is perfectly acceptable, part of the tradition, to inform yourself about the news of the day while eating breakfast and more or less ignore the other people at the table, except for commenting on something you have just read in the paper. ๐
How to make Full English Breakfast
English breakfast beans
The baked bean recipe serves 4, while the fry-up serves 2. If making English breakfast for 4 persons, double the ingredients used for the fry-up.
- Start with the beans, if you want to serve them, and I definitely would, for me they are almost the best part of the breakfast. You can choose a good brand of canned baked beans, if you like, I have done it myself a couple of times. However, making British breakfast beans yourself is really easy and really worth the time.
- You can use either dried beans, which have to be soaked overnight and then cooked until tender or you can make the sauce with canned white beans, both versions are quite delicious.
- You can prepare the beans one day in advance and reheat them before serving.
Sausages
- When ready for breakfast, start frying up or grilling the sausages. I prefer to grill them in the grill pan; they are fatty enough as they are, and I don't feel I need the extra oil.
- Use rather short, thick pork sausages. English ones would be best but, unless you live in Britain, it might be difficult to get those. So, use a good quality, meaty pork sausage.
- If you want to use frozen sausages, have a look at How to Cook Frozen Sausages. I often do that during the holidays, when I plan to make this breakfast but I know that the shops would be closed, so buying fresh meat would not be an option.
- One sausage per person should be enough if you ask me, but depending on who's eating, you might want to cook a few more. And if the sausages are very small, you can count two per person as well.
- Turn the sausages in the pan to make sure they are nicely browned and crispy on all sides. You should also make sure that they are cooked through before you serve them. Cooking the sausages should take about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on their size.
Bacon
- When the sausages are almost cooked through, you can add the bacon to the pan, about 2 rashers of bacon per person. This will only work if you cook for two people or so. If you are cooking for more, cook the bacon after you are finished with the sausages and the tomatoes.
- Streaky bacon is good and back bacon, which is somewhat meatier, would be great as well.
- You can fry the bacon as long as you like it, turning it once; it can either be very crispy or less crispy.
- Our German bacon is very, very thin, so a couple of minutes on each side are quite enough.
Tomatoes
- I use rather small tomatoes when preparing an English breakfast; this way, it doesn't take forever for them to be cooked through. Tomatoes with fewer seeds, like plum tomatoes, are a good choice. One tomato per person should be enough, especially if you are serving fried mushrooms as well.
- If they don't fit together in the pan, cook the sausages in a regular pan and use the grill pan for the tomatoes.
Eggs
- Always cook the eggs last. I think fried eggs are the most common way to prepare eggs for this kind of breakfast. But, if you like, you can poach the eggs or make scrambled eggs.
- To fry the eggs, use a clean pan and fry them in a little oil or butter. The egg yolk can be runny or set, just the way you want it.
Bread
- I prefer to toast the bread in the toaster, just before serving it. For this particular breakfast, I used wholemeal toasties, but the more traditional would be white bread.
- You can go all the way and fry the bread in oil or another kind of fat. I have had it like that, it was delicious, but it is not something I would do at home.
Drinks
- Prepare the drink just before serving the breakfast. Freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, or English breakfast tea.
How to serve?
- Arrange the breakfast baked beans, sausages, bacon, and tomatoes on a large, heated plate. Add the fried egg on top. Serve the bread on the side. Bring some ketchup and brown sauce to the table, together with some butter, jam, or marmalade.
- I went a bit further this time and served the breakfast in the whole meal of toasties. Place the lower half of the toasted bread on the plate, put some bacon on it, and cover it generously with baked beans. Cut one sausage lengthwise and place the halves on the pile of beans. Add the fried egg and the second bread half. Arrange the grilled tomatoes on the side.
- So, if you are in for a real treat for breakfast anytime soon, do give the traditional full English breakfast a try; it is definitely the kind of meal you should at least try once in your life. And I am pretty sure that you will like it so much.
More breakfast ideas
Recipe
Full English Breakfast with Baked Beans
Ingredients
Baked beans:
- 250 g dried small white beans 9 oz, like cannellini (See note)
- 1 onion
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ยผ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 can tomatoes 400 g/ 14 oz
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons salsa or ketchup
- 3 bay leaves
Fry-up:
- 2-4 small pork sausages depending on size and appetite
- 2-4 rashers smoked streaky bacon or back bacon depending on size and appetite
- 2-4 small tomatoes preferably plum tomatoes, depending on size and appetite
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon oil or butter
- salt and pepper
To serve:
- 4 bread slices
- ketchup
- brown sauce
- jam or marmalade
- butter
- tea coffee
- freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- The baked bean recipe serves 4, while the fry-up serves 2. If making an English breakfast for 4 persons, double the ingredients used for the fry-up.
Baked beans
- Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight. 250 g dried small white beans
- Cook the beans in fresh water for about 40 minutes or until tender. The cooking times depend on the size and age of the beans, so keep checking and don't let them turn to mush. Drain well. You can use two cans of beans instead.
- Chop the onion finely. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion until golden and softer, about 5 minutes. Add the smoked and sweet paprika and stir well for another minute.1 onion + 1 tablespoon oil + ยผ teaspoon smoked paprika + 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Simmer: Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices, cooked beans, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, salsa or ketchup, bay leaves, some salt, and pepper. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.1 can tomatoes + 1 tablespoon soy sauce + 1 tablespoon sugar + 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar + 3 tablespoons salsa or ketchup + 3 bay leaves
- Adjust the taste with more salt and pepper and depending on taste with more sugar. If I make the beans with ketchup, I usually don't need to add any sugar anymore, in the case of salsa I might add a pinch more, depending on the brand of salsa I use.
Fry-up:
- Cook sausages: Heat a grill pan. Add the sausages and cook them on medium-low heat, turning often, until nicely browned and crispy on all sides. To make sure they are cooked through I usually cut one in the middle (the one I am eating myself afterward). Depending on the size of the sausages, cooking them might take between 10 and 15 minutes.2-4 small pork sausages
- Grill tomatoes: Halve the tomatoes, lightly sprinkle the cut side with salt and cook them on the cut side until done and slightly caramelized. This should take about 10 minutes. Turn them on the other side for a minute or so at the end of the cooking process.I only have one grill pan, the one I use for the sausages as well, so I usually cook the sausages and tomatoes together. If they don't fit together in the pan, cook the sausages in a regular pan and use the grill pan for the tomatoes.2-4 small tomatoes
- Fry the bacon in the same pan for a few minutes on each side until the desired level of crispiness is achieved. Let drain on kitchen paper. If the pan is not large enough, fry the bacon after the sausages are ready; it will not take long.2-4 rashers smoked streaky bacon or back bacon
- Fry eggs: When ready to serve, fry the eggs in a little oil or butter. You can fry them to your liking; the egg yolk can be runny or set.1 teaspoon oil or butter + 2 large eggs
- Toast the bread.4 bread slices
- Serve: Arrange the beans, sausages, bacon, tomatoes on a large heated plate and place the fried egg on top. Serve with toasted bread, tea, coffee, orange juice, jam or marmalade, ketchup, and brown sauce.
- Or you can serve the breakfast between two slices of toasted bread or toasties as suggested above.
Wendy Klein says
This was helpful beyond words! The Love of my life is British and we often share information about our traditional ways, breakfast being the one meal most often spoken aboutโฆso I had to know!
Thank you SO much, I can see you are best choice, though, instinctually, you were my first. (An older woman living in the Southern United States).
Adina says
Hi Wendy. Thank you for the nice words, I am glad to help. ๐
AJ says
Great description of a full English! Loved reading this it is a great informative piece of writing. But can I just say fried bread ideally done in beef dripping or goose/duck fat for a special treat and some bubble and squeak too.?
Adina says
Thank you!
Barbara says
I was watching below deck sailing and guest ate beans every breakfast so I did a google search and found your post! You explained everything perfectly! Now this American needs to try to serve a proper English Breakfast!
Adina says
Hi Barbara. It seems unusual to have beans and sausage for breakfast, but it tastes amazing. And you will not need any more food until dinner! ๐
Chap Macduff says
Adina
As a Btit that was the best write up for a full English that I have ever has the pleasure of reading. All that detail was just marvellous. You are a very talented writer, especially considering English is not your first language.
I do love all the detail that you include with all your recipes. It makes your blog that extra bit special.
One inclusion that you mentioned, that my mum always youst to make for us, but that I haven't eaten in 30 plus years is fried bread. I guess that is a dying but best part of the full English for me in my memories. I guess as a nation we have become so much more health conscious these days..... But if you are going to go full monty and have a proper fry-up then the fried bread could be considered a wee treat and your main meal of the day.... Once again that you for a fantastic and entertaining blog. Keep up the good work.....
Adina says
Hi Chap. Your comment really made my day! Thank you.
Ben says
Why do I need to scroll through so much of your nonsense just to get to the recipe. Ffs stop.
Adina says
I need 8 to 10 hours to write a post and that pays my bills. If you are too lazy to even scroll down for 3 seconds, please stay away.
Jimmy Redox says
What is wrong with you? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the toilet?
StevenHB says
When are the beans added to the bean sauce?
Adina says
Sorry I missed that, Steven. Add the beans together with the chopped tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients.
StevenHB says
Thanks. That's what I did. They were great; though, I might omit the sugar altogether if I made them again (I used ketchup).
Adina says
So glad you like them, Steven. ๐
Nicholas says
I traveled throughout the UK sixty or more years ago -- what you delight in was NOT a British breakfast then. What I ate as a full British breakfast was overcooked fried eggs, cold toast (in a toast rack), bangers (inferior sausages), fried tomatoes (the only truly edible paet of the meal) and 10/40 strength British tea made drinkable by mixing it 1-3 parts with milk. Things have obviously changed, but what apparently has not is that the British fancy themselves connoisseurs when, really, they just eat to stay alive!
Adina says
Hi Nicholas. Things have changed tremendously in the food area in the UK. I have never managed to get any good fish and chips, but we often had wonderful traditional British pub meals. And not to mention the Indian restaurants, I would visit London anytime only for that.