42 minutes•Medium•Serves 2
Winter Breakfast Caesar with Soft-Boiled Eggs & Bacon Panko
By @chef1
A savory winter breakfast twist on the classic Caesar. This version incorporates warm soft-boiled eggs and crispy bacon bits mixed into the toasted panko for a comforting, hearty start to the day.
Recipe Rating
Not yet rated by chefs
Ingredients
- ●2 Large eggs
- ●3 Thick-cut bacon strips, diced
- ●1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ●1 Romaine lettuce heart, washed and chopped
- ●1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shaved
- ●1 Garlic clove, minced
- ●1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ●1 tbsp Lemon juice
- ●1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- ●1/2 tsp Anchovy paste (optional)
- ●to taste Black pepper
Instructions
- 1Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Carefully lower the 2 eggs in and cook for exactly 6 and a half minutes for soft-boiled. Transfer immediately to an ice bath to stop cooking, then peel carefully.
- 2While water boils, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until rendered and crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan.
- 3Add the panko breadcrumbs to the hot bacon fat. Toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and toss with the cooked bacon bits.
- 4In a medium bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, anchovy paste, and a pinch of salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously to create a creamy emulsion.
- 5Toss the chopped Romaine lettuce with the dressing until evenly coated.
- 6Divide the salad between two bowls. Top generously with the bacon-panko mixture and shaved Parmesan.
- 7Nestle a warm soft-boiled egg on top of each salad, slice the egg open to let the yolk run, and finish with freshly cracked black pepper.
Recipe details
- Category
- Breakfast
- Preparation
- 22 minutes
Estimated total: 42 minutes. Planning estimate from stated duration midpoints and documented preparation/heating allowances; overlapping tasks counted once.
How these estimates were calculated
- Prepare and measure ingredients not already described by written steps: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Bring egg water to boil: 10 min planning allowance (boil_heat)
- Cool eggs in ice bath: 5 min planning allowance (ice_bath)
- Heat skillet while water boils: 3 min planning allowance (pan_preheat)
- Render bacon: 8 min planning allowance (saute)
- Lift bacon out, retain fat: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Peel eggs: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Whisk dressing: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Toss lettuce: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Divide salad and add toppings: 5 min planning allowance (assemble)
- Add eggs and serve: 2 min planning allowance (garnish)
- Large eggs: USDA large portion weight
- Thick-cut bacon strips, diced: USDA slice raw portion weight
- Using 'Pork, cured, bacon, unprepared' for thick-cut bacon strips.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Kikkoman manufacturer label, accessed 2026-10-21; fiber reported as less than 1 g is omitted rather than invented (https://kikkomanusa.com/products/panko/)
- Panko breadcrumbs: USDA cup portion weight
- Kikkoman panko label used as a disclosed brand reference; ordinary breadcrumb density is not used.
- Romaine lettuce heart, washed and chopped: Standard romaine-heart estimate: Susan Voisin recipe specifies about 170 g per heart; actual hearts vary. (https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/01/ridiculously-easy-grilled-romaine-salad.html)
- Standard 170 g romaine heart (Susan Voisin) with USDA raw romaine nutrients; actual heart weight varies.
- Parmesan cheese, shaved: Schuman Cheese shaved-Parmesan specification: 5 g per tablespoon; USDA hard-Parmesan nutrients. Shave size and packing vary. (https://doclibrary.com/MFR1313/DOC/DLZTO1003TasteofInspirationShavedParmesanBag12-10ozv15801.pdf)
- Schuman shaved Parmesan: 5 g/tbsp with separately sourced USDA hard Parmesan nutrients; shaving and packing vary.
- Garlic clove, minced: USDA clove portion weight
- Dijon mustard: generic prepared mustard reference; brand and style vary
- Dijon mustard: USDA tsp or 1 packet portion weight
- Using generic prepared yellow mustard as an approximation for Dijon mustard.
- Lemon juice: USDA tbsp portion weight
- Using bottled lemon juice from concentrate for lemon juice.
- Extra virgin olive oil: USDA cup portion weight
- Excludes optional Anchovy paste (optional)
- Black pepper: USDA tsp, ground portion weight
- Black pepper: Seasoning allowance: 1/4 tsp per 4 servings
- USDA black pepper; documented seasoning allowance applies only to to-taste/pinch amounts.
- Romaine lettuce heart, washed and chopped: original amount “1”; interpreted as “1”. Standard 170 g romaine heart (Susan Voisin) with USDA raw romaine nutrients; actual heart weight varies.
- Parmesan cheese, shaved: original amount “1/3 cup”; interpreted as “1/3 cup”. Schuman shaved Parmesan: 5 g/tbsp with separately sourced USDA hard Parmesan nutrients; shaving and packing vary.
- Instructions use unlisted salt: its mass is unknown; sodium omitted, no salt weight invented.
- Bacon uses USDA 28 g raw slice as a standard thick-strip estimate; actual strip weights vary. All rendered bacon fat remains in the breadcrumb preparation and is included.
- Large eggs: 100 g · USDA reference 171287
- Thick-cut bacon strips, diced: 84 g · USDA reference 168277
- Panko breadcrumbs: 30 g · Food reference
- Romaine lettuce heart, washed and chopped: 170 g · USDA reference 169247 · Portion reference
- Parmesan cheese, shaved: 26.67 g · USDA reference 170848 · Portion reference
- Garlic clove, minced: 3 g · USDA reference 169230
- Dijon mustard: 5 g · USDA reference 172234
- Lemon juice: 15 g · USDA reference 167748
- Extra virgin olive oil: 72 g · USDA reference 171413
- Anchovy paste (optional): optional ingredient excluded
- Black pepper: 0.57 g · USDA reference 170931
Caesar salad · soft-boiled eggs · bacon · panko
Estimated nutrition per serving
682 calories · 20.1 g protein · 16.8 g carbohydrate · 60 g fat
Source and basis: USDA FoodData Central and reviewed product references; ingredient-based calculation per serving. Documented USDA or manufacturer portion weights; all listed ingredient mass included before cooking losses. Excludes optional Anchovy paste (optional) Nutrients with incomplete inputs omitted. Full ingredient matches and assumptions below.
Recipe Context
This recipe was created with the following context in mind:
Thursday
breakfast
winter
intermediate