• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Recipe Life

  • Food & Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Main Dish
    • Side Dish
    • Snack
    • Appetizer

Easy English Muffins | The Best Breakfast Sandwich!

June 5, 2026 by Julie - The Recipe Life Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Sharing is caring!

  • Share
  • Tweet
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This Easy English Muffins recipe uses pantry staples and simple methods to produce soft yet chewy and perfectly sturdy homemade English muffins for your breakfast sandwiches.

Our family loves a good breakfast sandwich. These English muffins deliver! They make an amazing breakfast sandwich of scrambled eggs(with a spoon of cottage cheese.)(Cottage cheese scrambled into eggs makes eggs fluffy with a slight tangy taste. Yum!), sausage(We buy premade sausage patties from the store to keep it simple), cheese, and bacon. Mix and match any of these breakfast sandwich ingredients to build a hearty, beautiful breakfast sandwich. Then, add a layer of homemade strawberry jelly for the secret to a seriously good breakfast sandwich. You can thank me later! 😉

Whether you like to keep it simple or not in the sandwich department, this Easy English Muffins recipe makes tasty, easy-to-make English muffins that are great for feeding your family. No weird extra persatives. Just simple ingredients and a little time. Once you figure out the process and what the dough should look like, you can even just eyeball this recipe. Almost there! lol. I haven’t yet mastered making consistently-sized muffins, though. We call ours select-a-size muffins, little ones for little bellies, and big muffins for bigger bellies.

How to Make Easy Homemade English Muffins

These English muffins are simple to make and keep your family full! Once you figure out the basics of dry frying the muffins, there’s no going back. Homemade English muffins are the best!!

Tip*: I tend to make English muffins (and sometimes the eggs) the evening before I want them for breakfast. Then they become a delightful snack (who can resist a warm, freshly baked English muffin?) and an easy breakfast (I am not that much of a morning person!). Kids can reheat the sliced muffins in the toaster and assemble the sandwiches themselves.

Ingredients for Easy English Muffins

  • 1¼ cups warm water, 110°F, it will feel warm on your wrist
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast Rapid-rise yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons oil (canola, vegetable, olive, or avocado oil)
  • 2 ¾ cups flour plus up to 1/2 cup extra
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons cornmeal for dusting
Ingredients for an easy homemade English muffins recipe: warm water, flour, yeasts, sugar, salt, oil, and corn meal.

Instructions for Homemade English Muffins

First, add the warm water to a medium-large bowl. Then, sprinkle the sugar over the surface of the water. Then, sprinkle the yeast over the water. Set the bowl aside for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate and foam. (If it does not foam up or get cloudy, your yeast is likely dead. It could be that it’s old or the water was too hot.)

Testing water temperature with a digital thermometer.
Yeast and sugar on top of warm water in a medium to large bowl.
Proofed yeast thats growing and healthy.

Next, add the oil, salt, and flour to the activated yeast and mix until the dough forms. The dough will be sticky and soft. Transfer it to a floured surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding a little flour at a time until it’s no longer sticky. (Most times, I will knead it in the large bowl, adding flour while kneading the dough inside the bowl.)

Flour, oil, and salt add to the yeast water.
The mixed English muffin dough. It should look sticky.
Complete English muffin dough thats been kneaded and flour added until smooth and not sticky.

Now, cover the bowl with a loose towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

Towel covering muffin dough in bowl to rise for 1 hour in a warm spot.

Then, once the dough has doubled, form it into muffins. Transfer it onto a floured surface and split the dough into 10-12 dough balls. Split the dough in half and half again using a spatula. Then, make three dough balls by ‘strangling’ the dough between your thumb and pointer finger. Roll them into a ball in your palm.

Risen English muffin dough.
The risen dough split into 4 equal parts.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle the cornmeal on the paper. Then place the dough balls evenly on the cornmeal. Flatten the dough until they are 3/4 inch thick. Then spray them lightly with cooking oil and sprinkle them with more cornmeal on top. Again, cover them with a loose towel and let them rise for about 20 minutes.

A large rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkled with corn meal.
Unbaked English

Next, dry fry the muffins. Using a large griddle or cast-iron skillet on medium-to-low heat, spray it with cooking oil, then place muffins 1/2 inch apart. Then cover the pan and cook the muffins for 7-9 minutes until they are a deep golden brown. Check halfway through the 9 minutes so the bottom doesn’t burn. If the muffins are cooking too quickly, reduce the heat.

Then flip the muffins, cover, and cook the muffins for 4-5 minutes. (Depending on the size of your pan and whether you have 10 or 12 muffins, you might have to do two or three batches. Lightly clean out the pan with a paper towel between batches.)* To check for doneness, insert a digital thermometer into the side of a muffin. A done muffin will be 200°F.

Finally, cool the English muffins on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Then slice and enjoy!

Great Breakfast Sandwich Ingredients for English Muffins

  • Eggs: Fried, Scrambled (try with a little cottage cheese), Dippy Eggs, Poached Eggs
  • Sausage Patties
  • Bacons Slices
  • Cheese Slices
  • Avocado
  • Butter
  • For a little sweetness- Jelly: Strawberry, Grape, Peach
  • For some heat- Franks Red Hot hot sauce

Storing Homemade English Muffins

To store homemade English muffins, cool them completely. Then choose if you want to keep them fresh for eating within a few days, a week, or a month. Store at room temperature for 3–4 days, refrigerate for up to a week, or slice and freeze for up to 3 months. -Be careful not to store them in the refrigerator for long, as they go stale faster because the starches break down. -No need to thaw frozen muffins. Place the fork-split halves directly into the toaster. Enjoy!

More Breakfast and Bread Recipes

Our top bread recipe, and it’s the easiest too! This peasant bread recipe requires no kneading, just time. The result? Soft, buttery bread, perfect for jelly, soups, and a little slice of heaven!

This lemon poppy seed bread recipe is amazing, easy bread recipe, and perfect for lemon lovers!

Start your day right with a delightful McGriddle-inspired breakfast bake! Enjoy the mouthwatering blend of savory sausage, gooey cheese, fluffy eggs, pancake mix, and sweet syrup all in one easy casserole.

Ground breakfast sausage browned with peppers and onions, and then mixed with hash browns, eggs, and Bisquick, is the basic idea behind this incredibly delicious but seriously sausage and hash brown breakfast bake recipe!

Easy English Muffins

This is an easy English muffin recipe made with pantry staples and simple methods. These muffins are chewy on the outside and soft, fluffy on the inside. They are perfect for simple jelly breads and amazing breakfast sandwiches. Start your day here!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 35 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Rise Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 12 English Muffins

Ingredients
  

  • 1¼ cups water warm  110°F, it will feel warm on your wrist
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast Rapid Rise Yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons oil canola, vegetable, olive, or avocado oil
  • 2¾ cups flour plus some extra, about ½ cup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons corn meal for dusting the muffins

Instructions
 

  • Add the warm water to a medium-large bowl. Then, sprinkle the sugar over the surface of the water. Then, sprinkle the yeast over the water. Set the bowl aside for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate and foam. (If it does not foam up or get cloudy, your yeast is likely dead. It could be that it's old or the water was too hot.)
  • Add the oil, salt, and flour to the activated yeast and mix until the dough forms. The dough will be sticky and soft. Transfer it to a floured surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding a little flour at a time until it's no longer sticky. (Most times, I will knead it in the large bowl, adding flour while kneading the dough inside the bowl.)
  • Then cover the bowl with a loose towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
  • Once the dough has doubled, form it into muffins. Transfer it onto a floured surface and split the dough into 10-12 dough balls. Split the dough in half and half again using a spatula. Then, make three dough balls by 'strangling' the dough between your thumb and pointer finger. Roll them into a ball in your palm.
  • Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle the cornmeal on the paper. Then place the dough balls evenly on the cornmeal. Flatten the dough until they are 3/4 inch thick. Then spray them lightly with cooking oil and sprinkle them with more cornmeal on top. Again, cover them with a loose towel and let them rise for about 20 minutes.
  • Dry fry the muffins. Using a large griddle or cast-iron skillet on medium-to-low heat, spray it with cooking oil, then place muffins 1/2 inch apart. Then cover the pan and cook the muffins for 7-9 minutes until they are a deep golden brown. Check halfway through the 9 minutes so the bottom doesn't burn. If the muffins are cooking too quickly, reduce the heat.
  • Flip the muffins, cover, and cook the muffins for 4-5 minutes. (Depending on the size of your pan and whether you have 10 or 12 muffins, you might have to do two or three batches. Lightly clean out the pan with a paper towel between batches.)* To check for doneness, insert a digital thermometer into the side of a muffin. A done muffin will be 200°F.
    Finally, cool the English muffins on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Then slice and enjoy!

Notes

Tasty breakfast ingredients for English muffins:
    • Eggs: Fried, Scrambled (try with a little cottage cheese), Dippy Eggs, Poached Eggs
    • Sausage Patties
    • Bacons Slices
    • Cheese Slices
    • Avocado
    • Butter
    • For a little sweetness- Jelly: Strawberry, Grape, Peach
    • For some heat- Franks Red Hot hot sauce
Keyword Easy English Muffins

Filed Under: Chicken, Food & Recipes, Main Dish, Pork Tagged With: breakfast, easy meal, kid-friendly, main dish

Previous Post: « Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi I’m Julie

Welcome to The Recipe Life! I hope that here you find a partner in all things food as I explore the world of recipes. Read More…

Seasonal Favorites

The skillet ready to serve.

Ground Beef and Potato Skillet

Close up of a sheet pan hamburger on a bun topped with cheese, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.

Sheet Pan Hamburgers

A delicious piece of flaky fresh bread topped with a brown sugar and butterscotch pudding glaze with caramelized pecans makes this subtle but sweet coffee cake!

Butterscotch Coffee Cake

About TheRecipeLife.com       DISCLOSURE, DISCLAIMER & PRIVACY POLICIES

Copyright © 2026 The Recipe Life
Website by Blue Valley Technologies