Full Irish Breakfast delivers the ultimate fry-up with crispy Irish bacon rashers, juicy pork sausages, black pudding, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, and potato farls, all served alongside thick-cut Irish soda bread slathered in butter. It’s hearty, smoky, and pure comfort – the kind of breakfast that powers you through a crisp Irish morning.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Serves: Serves 2
Dietary: Contains pork, gluten
From The Emerald Isle
This Full Irish Breakfast scores an E – in fact its almost off the scale – on the Nutri-Score scale due to high saturated fat from bacon rashers, pork sausages, black pudding, butter, and eggs, plus significant sodium from processed meats and baked beans. The tomatoes, mushrooms, and soda bread offer minimal balancing fibre and vitamins. Enjoy Full Irish Breakfast occasionally as a celebratory treat esspecially on St. Patricks Day.
Approximate nutrition per serving: 900–1100 kcal, very high fat (60g+), high sodium (2000mg+), moderate protein from meats/eggs, low fibre.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 rashers Irish back bacon (rashers), thick-cut
- 4 pork sausages (Irish bangers)
- 4 slices black pudding, about 1cm thick
- 2 slices white pudding (optional but authentic)
- 2–4 eggs, free-range
- 4–6 cherry tomatoes or 2 medium tomatoes, halved
- 100g button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
- 200g tin baked beans
- 2 potato farls or hash browns
- 4 thick slices Irish soda bread or brown bread
- 2–3 tbsp Irish butter (Kerrygold), plus extra for bread
- oil for frying
- salt and black pepper
Customise – Ingredient swaps that hold up
- Replace potato farls with leftover fried potatoes or boxty for a more traditional potato element.
- Try bacon and cheddar soda bread instead of plain soda bread for extra flavour that complements the bacon rashers.
- Use rapeseed oil instead of butter for frying if you want slightly less saturated fat in the fry-up.
Method
Stage 1 – Start the long-cook items (15–20 minutes)
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with a little oil, then add the pork sausages first since they take longest; turn them regularly so they cook evenly without splitting their skins.
- Add the black pudding slices and white pudding (if using) to the pan alongside the sausages after about 5 minutes; these firm up nicely and release fat that flavours everything else.
- Prepare the potato farls or hash browns by frying them in a second pan or oven-baking according to packet instructions so they’re golden and crisp when the meats finish.
Stage 2 – Cook bacon and heat beans (about 10 minutes, overlap with Stage 1)
- Push the sausages and puddings to one side of the main pan once they’re nearly cooked, then lay in the Irish back bacon rashers; cook until the fat renders and edges crisp but the bacon stays juicy.
- Heat the baked beans gently in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally so they warm through without sticking – season lightly if needed but remember the bacon rashers and black pudding bring plenty of salt.
- Remove cooked meats (sausages, puddings, bacon) to a warm plate covered loosely with foil so they stay hot while you cook the vegetables and eggs.
Stage 3 – Sauté vegetables in bacon fat (about 5 minutes)
- Leave about 1 tbsp bacon fat in the pan (add a little butter if needed), then toss in the mushrooms; sauté until golden and tender, which only takes a few minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add the tomatoes cut-side down to the same pan alongside the mushrooms; let them soften and caramelise slightly without letting them burst or turn mushy.
- Season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper, then remove to the warm plate with the meats when cooked.
Stage 4 – Fry eggs and toast soda bread (about 5 minutes)
- Wipe the pan clean if needed, add a fresh knob of Irish butter, then crack in the eggs; fry sunny-side up over medium heat until whites set but yolks stay runny – cover briefly if you want firmer whites.
- Toast the soda bread slices under a grill or in a toaster until crisp, then generously butter while hot so it melts into the warm bread.
- Warm serving plates in a low oven during this stage so everything stays piping hot when plated.
Stage 5 – Assemble and serve immediately
- Arrange everything on hot plates: eggs in the centre, then bacon rashers, sausages, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes around them, potato farls at the sides.
- Spoon heated baked beans into a ramekin or small dish on the side to avoid sogginess.
- Serve with buttered soda bread, strong tea, and orange juice – dig in while everything’s hot and the Full Irish Breakfast magic happens.
What can you serve with this
- Strong Irish breakfast tea – Barry’s or Lyons tea, strong with milk, cuts through the richness of bacon rashers, black pudding, and buttered soda bread perfectly.
- Irish Coffee – if you’re really going for it on St. Patricks Day