A traditional full Irish Breakfast that is a rich and hearty meal perfect for a weekend breakfast or a cozy, weeknight dinner. This spread is the ultimate comfort food that's worth keeping in your back pocket.
Looking for more fun breakfast ideas? Try my Dutch Hagelslag, German Pancakes, or Japanese Pancakes.
There's nothing like a hearty meal to start or end your day. This traditional Irish breakfast includes a combination of eggs, meats, beans, and veggies making it the perfect fare to serve for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
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🍳 What is an Irish breakfast?
A traditional full Irish breakfast comprises bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, beans, Irish Soda Bread or toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, and white or black pudding.
For those wondering, black pudding coagulates the pig's blood into a sausage form. The white pudding is simply a pork sausage, usually flat.
Since black pudding is something Americans generally aren't fond of and a commodity that can be hard to find in the states, I've adapted this spread to omit that part. But for those of you who enjoy the blood sausage, by all means, include it!
The meal was traditionally cooked in Ireland to prepare you for a long day of work on the farm on a cold winter day. I prefer eating it for dinner as it is a hearty meal, but it can still be served for breakfast if you prefer.
🥘 Ingredients
- Sausages
- Eggs
- Tomatoes
- Bacon
- Pork and beans
- Sliced mushrooms
- Soda bread
- Potato pancakes or hash browns
- Black or white pudding (if you can find it)
- Butter
🔪 Instructions
- Cook sausages and bacon in a frying pan.
- Sauté the mushrooms and tomatoes for a few minutes or until tender.
- Fry the eggs sunny-side up with a runny yolk.
- If using pre-made hash browns, heat them according to the package directions.
- Heat the pork and beans according to the directions on the can.
- Serve all of the cooked ingredients with a side of soda bread.
💭 FAQs
Traditionally, tea and orange juice are served with Irish breakfast. Fun fact: Did you know the Irish drink more tea than the English?
While these two breakfasts are very similar, there are a few key differences between the two. English breakfast is served with fried bread, whereas Irish is served with soda bread. Irish breakfast is also served with white and black pudding, which is less common with an English breakfast.
🥞 More breakfast recipes
- Homemade Hawaiian Acai Bowl
- Strawberry Nutella Crepes
- Classic Crepes
- Belgian Liege Waffles with Cookie Butter
- Austrian Pancakes
- Shakshuka with Feta
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! I’d love it if you could add a star rating ★ and a comment below. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
📋 Recipe
Traditional Full Irish Breakfast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 breakfast sausages
- 4 eggs
- 4 tomatoes
- 8 pieces bacon
- 1 can pork and beans
- 1 container of sliced mushrooms
- 4 frozen hashbrowns
- ½ tablespoon butter
- soda bread
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until browned. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- In the same pan, add the bacon. Fry until crispy. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add ½ tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Sauté the mushrooms and tomatoes for a few minutes or until tender.
- Fry the eggs in the skillet. For sunny-side up with a runny yolk, heat the pan over medium-high heat. Drop the eggs onto the hot pan and cover. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the eggs reach the desired consistency.
- Heat the hashbrowns according to the package directions.
- Heat the pork and beans according to the directions on the can.
- Serve all of the cooked ingredients with a side of soda bread.
Veronika says
I can have this breakfast every morning! it's so hearty and delicious 😉
Tammy says
This looks like such a delicious breakfast! I love it! Irish Soda Bread is one of my favorites too and I honestly make it throughout the year 🙂
Enri Lemoine says
This is precisely my kind of Sunday breakfast. I made it today for brunch, and we are all happy campers. I only skipped the mushrooms because my children don't like them. Thanks for the recipe and inspiration.
Amy Liu Dong says
Wow! My kind of breakfast all year round! Everything from this iris breakfast looks amazingly delicious and yummy! Got to have this asap!
Jamie says
A perfect breakfast to make. It is so easy and delicious!
Yum!
Ann says
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! This looks like a breakfast fit for a king! Excited to make this!
Elaine says
I love this type of breakfasts when I travel. The variety of yummies on the plate always makes it so fun!
Dennis says
I treated my family to a full Irish breakfast this morning and they loved it. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Mindy says
So delicious! We made this this weekend and will definitely be making it again!
Jessica says
So interesting how different breakfasts are around the world! Anything that includes beans and is hearty enough to get my day started, and I'm in!!
Kathryn says
I love all of these items for breakfast so I would eat this any day. This is such a hearty, wholesome, and delicious breakfast plate- we loved it!
Marta says
This really took me back to the days I spent living in Ireland. I sauteed fresh portobello mushrooms until they were caramelized for added goodness and the entire dish was filling and tasty!