The 2-Ingredient Trick That Turns Grilled Cheese Into Breakfast

A top-notch grilled cheese sandwich is an easy, tasty, and comforting treat at any time of day. To make grilled cheese more breakfast-y, though, there are a few things you can do. The idea is to combine the gooey, cheesy flavors with traditional breakfast staples, and two ingredients work particularly well: eggs and maple syrup.

There's no one specific way to add eggs and maple syrup to your grilled cheese. For the eggs, you can scramble them and put them inside or on top. If you prefer a runny yolk, use a fried egg instead. If you want to get especially fancy, soak the bread in beaten egg for a French toast-like feel. You can also add maple syrup to the egg mixture for a sweet note, or try frying your egg right in some maple syrup. One of the easiest ways, however, is to keep things simple and go for a cheesy scramble sandwich.

Heat a skillet, and butter two slices of your favorite bread. Layer in the cheese of your choice, like cheddar or American, onto each piece of bread. Meanwhile, add a beaten egg or two to the pan, then stir and fluff until scrambled and soft. It can take as little as 40 seconds to make luxurious scrambled eggs, so keep a close eye on them. Place the scramble into the center of the sandwich either before grilling on medium heat or after toasting both halves. Serve the golden-brown sandwich on a plate with maple syrup for dipping, or drizzle some across the top as a finishing touch.

It's easy to embrace this two-ingredient breakfast grilled cheese hack once you try it because the flavors simply work together. Sweet, savory, rich, and salty are all flavor profiles that meld into something truly decadent. More than that, eggs, cheese, bread, and syrup transform a sandwich from a snack into a full meal.

While this sandwich is simple, there are many refined sandwiches out there that this concept takes a hint from. The croque madame, which is different from a croque monsieur, involves a grilled ham and cheese sandwich that's topped with a poached or fried egg. It's often served with a side of sweet jam or syrup. A Monte Cristo sandwich is also generally served with jam or maple syrup — it consists of bread dipped in egg and milk, which is then fried into a grilled ham and cheese. Egg-in-a-hole grilled cheese involves cutting a hole in the center of both bread slices, then cooking an egg inside that round while the sandwich halves grill. People have been combining these ingredients for over a century, so you're in good company.

If you like this combination, you don't have to stop here. Consider adding bacon basted with a little maple syrup to the sandwich for additional salt and crunch, or top your sandwich with powdered sugar for a dessert-like feel. Don't be afraid to get creative – breakfast is called the most important meal of the day, and you should enjoy it.