The only thing I hate more than a sink full of dirty dishes is WASHING a sink full of dirty dishes. So this “No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Bread Bowl” post is dedicated to everyone who hates doing the dishes as much as I do!
“Perfect for feeding an army. You can make ahead, eat it with your hands and I swear, there is not a single dish or pan or utensil to be washed!”
In my next life, I hope to be reborn with slim hands and long, elegant fingers instead of pudgy, midget hands. My friends call me “Baby Hands”. Truly! I do everything I can to avoid “hand shots”, but sometimes it just has to be done.
Enough about my Baby Hands, let’s put the focus back on the food. If I wrote this post like my other posts, it would go on for pages as I ranted on and on about why I think these No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Bread Bowls are so nifty. So I’m going to do both of us a favour and simply list out the pros and cons!
PROS
1. NO WASHING UP – no pots, no pans, no baking tray, no cutting board, no bowls. These are baked wrapped in foil which you need to do otherwise the bread roll burns before the egg cooks. The only kitchen equipment you’ll use is a knife to cut the top off the rolls. If you’re as lazy as me, you’ll just run a dishcloth along the blade and put it right back in the knife rack!
2. FAST TO MAKE – it will take you all of 4 minutes to assemble 4 to pop into the oven. Possibly 3 minutes. And if you like your yolks really runny like I do, these will be out of the oven in 10 minutes.
3. EAT WITH YOUR HANDS – just like a burger!
4. FEED A CROWD – FAST. You can make loads of No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Bread Bowls in one go – as many as you can fit in your oven!
5. MAKE AHEAD. Yes, you really can! The only thing is to make sure the bread bowls are properly lined with ham to stop the egg from seeping through to the bread. Just assemble completely and wrap with foil, then leave them in the fridge until you need them. Then pop them in the oven!
6. VERSATILE. Get creative! These are pretty boring – just ham, eggs and cheese. Fill it with whatever you want! The only thing to ensure is that you line the bread with ham so the egg doesn’t soak straight into the bread. I tried making these with bacon once but because it is thicker and not as pliable (especially after you fry it), you can’t mould it into the bowl as well so I struggled to make enough space for even an egg, let alone anything else.7. BUDGET. Ham is cheaper than bacon. And you don’t need to use any fancy bread for this. Just ordinary bread rolls. Even stale is fine. Once stuffed and baked, you won’t be able to tell if they are fresh or stale bread.
8. FOOD ON THE GO. Because you can eat this with your hands, it’s great for on the go! I was munching on this while wandering around packing up the props after taking the photo!
9. GREAT FOR A CAMP OUT. Can you imagine how great this would be cooked over a campfire?? Just place it on the edge of the fire near (not on) hot coals. The foil traps the heat well and it will cook in no time!
10. ONLY 339 CALORIES PER SERVING. Believe it. It’s only 1 bread roll, 1 egg, 1 small slice of ham and 2 tbsp of cheese. Actually, I just realised it’s less than 339 calories because I didn’t factor in that the centre of the bread roll is removed.
11. SO, SO TASTY. Why I haven’t put this as #1 is beyond me!
“This is a great way to use up bread rolls that are slightly stale. Once stuffed and baked, no one would ever be able to tell whether the rolls are fresh or not!”
CONS
1. Eerm….no greens? Though I DID add a sprinkle of parsley on the No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Bread Bowls. Isn’t that enough?
OK, so perhaps I’m being completely pig-headed by not coming up with more cons. I am the excitable type and can get blindsided. So if you’re the sensible type and can think of more “cons”, leave a comment below and I’ll update the list!
Aren’t my wrapping skills shocking? You should see the presents I wrap! Well, you won’t, because I won’t ever be showing you!
Don’t toss the bread you scoop out! Save it to make croutons or breadcrumbs. Or how about this Chicken and Spinach Bread Bake or this Creamy Bacon, Chicken and Broccoli Bread Bake?
Love to hear what you think, or any other suggestions you might have for other fillings! Just leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to respond :). – Nagi x
MORE BREAKFAST EGG RECIPES
-
Frittata – the classic done right!
-
Shakshouka – baked eggs made exotic
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No Washing Up Ham, Egg & Cheese Bread Bowls
Ingredients
- 4 bread rolls (soft or crusty)
- 4 small slices of ham , or 2 big ones cut in half
- 4 eggs , at room temperature
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Cut the tops off the bread rolls.
- Scoop out the centre and reserve (see notes for ideas to use). To be neat, use a small knife to cut a round outline before scooping out the centre.
- Line the bread bowl with a layer of ham. Try to use one whole piece if you can because then there is less chance of egg seeping through and being soaked up by the bread.
- Crack in an egg.
- Top each with 2 tbsp of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of parsley (optional).
- Put the top back on each roll. Wrap with foil and place in oven to bake for ~15 to 25 minutes. Take a peek at 20 minutes to check them. 20 minutes = runny yolks. 25 minutes + = just cooked yolks. (See notes for more information)
- Remove from oven, unwrap and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
a) Your oven. Mine is a fan forced oven which cooks food faster than normal ovens.
b) How many you are making - the more you are making, the longer it will take.
c) How thick the bread bowl walls are. The thicker the wall, the longer it will take for the heat to get to the centre of the bread to cook the egg. I made mine quite thin - about 1cm/1/3".
d) The type of bread you are using. A dense bread like a sourdough will take longer. I used soft standard bread rolls.
e) Whether the eggs are at room temperature or are cold, straight out of the fridge.
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
No Washing Up Ham, Egg and Cheese Bowls recipe video!
Barbara Schieving says
This is the kind of breakfast my husband would love.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Better treat him then!
Laurie Houghton says
This is my new favorite dish since it meets my family’s odd and varied dietary needs. We make it with sourdough buns which #1 don’t allow the egg to soak through and #2 don’t need to be wrapped. No ham for us, just egg and cheese (all different varieties, under and over the egg. And our favorite thing is to butter and parmesan the “lids” and put them on the baking sheet. They get crispy and wonderful. Thanks for your ideas!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I LOVE that idea of using the lids! Why didn’t I think of that???! 🙂
Dawson says
The egg didn’t cook at all after 10 min, then 15, then 20, and now I am now cooking them for an extra 30 min.
Idk if the egg will ever cook.
Barbara says
Everything I’ve seen on this site looks wonderful, Trying the garlic cheese crack bread today to take to a family party. Just assuming it will taste as good as it looks, I mean with, crusty bread, butter, garlic and cheese, how can you possibly go wrong!
Rich says
What temperature do you bake the bread rolls at?
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Exactly!! It’s a no fail formula 🙂 The great thing about this is that you can actually make it in advance – even cooking it – to take to a party. Then just pop in the oven to reheat! Or you can of course assemble then bake at the party too. Hope you love it!
Emily says
So excited to try these!!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thank you Emily! Hope you love them!
Misia says
I made these this morning with spinach,bacon and tomatoes and they were delicious!! 🙂 The cooking time was longer for me- 30 minutes.
Steph G says
This. After 18 minutes, the egg whites were still clear. I bumped to 400 for another 15 minutes.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
So glad you loved it Misia!! Yes, I know the baking time can vary wildly. 🙂 It took around 20 minutes for me yesterday, then 25 minutes at my mum’s the other day. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it though!! N x
Darren says
Great idea but no mention that the foil sticks to the rolls
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Darren! That’s odd, foil should definately not stick to the rolls! Not unless you put cheese on the outside. 🙂
anna says
I’d like to subscribe to your recipe newsletter, I don’t like washing ups either.
Jane says
Awesome idea! Love it! Making this today. Thanks! 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Ooh! Hope you love it Jane!
Yoshiro says
It tasted great, it only took me 1 whole hour to get the egg to harden, i have an electric oven. But after that the egg was extremly fluffy and jummy.
Eileen says
Was she shiny side of the foil inside or outside? If it was outside, it reflects heat away from your food and makes it take longer to cook. The shiny side needs to be inside so that heat is directed to the food.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m glad you loved it! But wow! 1 hour? Gosh, that’s a long time 🙂 Try making the walls of the bread thinner and turning up the oven? Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts!! 🙂
Dilcia Tebrow says
By the looks of this recipe, I know that it’s a pleaser. What type of bread did you use? I want to prepare this for my family. And I think I’ll want to make it with a mixture of gruyere cheese, spinach and artichoke.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Dilcia! I just used ordinary white rolls! 🙂 And that combo of flavours sounds absolutely divine! Please make sure you use ham to line the bread bowl so the egg doesn’t soak in too much!!
AMC says
I have some vegetarians in my crowd. Do you think lining the bowel with spinach leaves or very thin sliced cheese would work?
VegLover says
Try using Tofurkey deli slices–they bake incredibly well (they actually get juicy and crisp on the edges), plus they’re healthy and add extra protein.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi there! Thin slices of pliable cheese might work! And a few layers of spinach leaves should also work. Basically it just needs to “seal” the lining enough so the egg doesn’t soak through into the bread! The other tip is to butter the inside of the bread, that helps seal it too! 🙂
Dr. Rais Fatima says
Hi Nagi, kindly modify cheese bread bowl with chicken instead of ham, and suggest. Instructions accordingly. Thank you
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi there!! This can be made with slices of chicken you can get at the deli instead of ham!! It won’t work as well with cooked chicken pieces though unfortunately. You need the ham/thin chicken slice to “line” the bread bowl to stop the egg from seeping into the bread. 🙂 I hope you can find the chicken slices! Here in Australia they are sold alongside ham at delis and the fridge section of supermarkets!
Jon says
What a fantastic recipe. I made it today for lunch after getting back from the shops. So quick and easy!
The cooking time was a little bit longer for me. I have a fan forced oven which I put on 160 celsius and it took 25mins.
I know it says 180 in the recipe but I tend to knock 20 off because I have a particularly hot oven!
I also added tomato before putting in the egg for a ‘healthy’ component.
Would definitely recommend this for brunch! Yum 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Jon! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 I probably should have specified in the recipe that I used fan forced.
Love the addition of tomato. I must say I haven’t tried it with tomato yet – I think I might try it for lunch today!!
Arlene says
Would love to know if anyone has tried these overnight in the crockpot?????
ricki says
Hi,
Made this the other morning for breakfast it was great. Put in a bit of hot salami as well and it was good. One question i did have, i like my egg yolks runny, just at the point before they turn yellow and set hard. With this i found that the very top of the egg had gone yellow and hard and the bottom was a little underdone.
Any suggestions?? i didn’t foil it, i wonder if that was the problem?
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Ricki! Yes, not wrapping in foil would have been part of the reason because there it sort of creates a mini oven in itself, distributing the heat better throughout the roll whilst also protecting the bread of burning 🙂 I’m glad you loved it though! And salami? Can’t go wrong adding that into anything!! 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Arlene! I think the bread will get very soggy in a crockpot. Sorry! 🙂
Arlene says
You are probably right. Guess I’ll need to bake in the oven and then keep warm in the crock pot. Thanks
Abhilasha says
Hi Nagi,
Really impressed by ur receipe will try out soon just wanted to confirm can i do a thin layering with lettuce and then sausages and then the filling part is this ok pls suggest i am new to cooking as we dnt eat ham or salmon
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m so glad you like the look of this! I would worry that lettuce and sausages isn’t enough to “seal” the bread to stop the egg soaking through. What I would suggest is buttering the inside of the bread (helps seal it more) and using a double layer of lettuce (making sure there are no tears in it). I presume you are using crumbled cooked sausages?
Stephen says
I made these this morning and they were delicious! My only comment is that it took much longer than 15 minutes (at 350F) to even start cooking the egg. I had mine in the oven for about 30 minutes. My husband loved them! Thank you!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m so glad you both loved them!! Yes, I’ve definitely gotten feedback that the cooking time varies, so many factors affect it. 🙂 I listed a bunch of them in the notes to the recipe. Thank you for coming back to let me know you loved it! N x
Crimison says
These look lovely! I’m just about to try these with turkey and cheese with my egg. Has anyone tested the freeze-ability of this recipe? I would love to be able to make these ahead of time and warm them up on the go.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
oooh, turkey is fabulous with this! Unfortunate it can’t be frozen because the egg whites become rubbery 🙁 Sorry to burst the bubble!
Lorri says
You can freeze these if you scramble the egg instead of breaking it in whole.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
You are absolutely right Lorri! 🙂
Kathy says
This looks delicious do u think it would be good on a camp fire?
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Kathy! Being a camping lover, I think I’d have to say that it won’t work very well on the camp fire. Reason being that the heat is not as evenly regulated so you’ll probably end up with a burnt roll before the egg cooks inside. The closest I can think of is using a cash iron pot, making a hole in the ground, filling it with coals, putting the pot in and placing a rack to elevate the bread bowls in the foil. Lid on, more coal on top and on the sides = camping oven 🙂 I haven’t tried this with that method but I have made all sorts of things this way, from roast chicken to even cakes! 🙂
Alexis says
These look delicious! Planning on making them for a brunch this week. The only concern is whether the eggs are cooked completely through or not? I have a pregnant friend that can’t consume raw eggs, so I’m wondering if I need to find a substitute for her. Thanks so much!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Alexis! I like my yolks runny 🙂 Just leave it in for an extra 3 to 5 minutes to be 100% sure the yolks are properly cooked through (I just take a peek a prod the yolk to make sure!)