We've partnered with If You Care to highlight Father's Day-ready recipes that are big on flavor, but don't require a ton of cleanup. Here, we're sharing an all-star American breakfast that's low on mess thanks to one simple trick: use a parchment-lined sheet pan!
When it comes to holidays like Father's Day or Mother's Day, my parents have only ever wanted one thing: a homemade card. So year after year, I'd whip out my colored pencils and a few sheets of printer paper and—after they were asleep—scribble together something thoughtful and at least decently artistic. My crowning achievement: a dire wolf illustration for my Game of Thrones-obsessed dad; it's still featured prominently in his office, almost six years later.
As I got older, though, making a simple card just didn't feel like enough to thank the two people who have loved and supported me through, well, everything. So about the time I was in eighth grade, I started to throw in a homemade breakfast to sweeten the deal.
Since my goal was to have breakfast ready to go before my parents woke up—and without making a huge mess in my mother's pristine kitchen—sheet pans were the name of the game.
Even though sheet pan recipes are most closely associated with weeknight dinners (like this genius chicken and pea traybake or sheet-pan brown rice with sweet potatoes), they're actually the perfect vehicle for a.m. foods like potatoes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and more. And as a bonus, they leave little in the way of dirty dishes or grease splatters.
Case in point: this American sheet-pan breakfast that just so happens to be dad's favorite Father's Day present (second only to my card, of course).
With a few strips of crispy, oven bacon, thinly shredded hash browns cooked to crunchy, buttery perfection, and two fried eggs with browned edges and runny yolks, this all-star recipe couldn't be simpler to throw together—even at the last minute.
You'll need just three ingredients (plus, salt, pepper, and butter, which I'm guessing you probably already have on hand), a sheet pan, a frying pan, and parchment paper (remember what I said about easy cleanup?). You might be wondering why you need a frying pan for a sheet-pan recipe, but trust me, you're going to want it for the eggs. While the hash browns roast in the oven, you'll give the eggs a quick flash in the pan to help set the whites and get a little bit of crisp on the bottom. Then, you'll spatula them onto the sheet pan with the bacon and potatoes to finish them off in the oven.
If you want to feed the whole family (I don't know about you, but my dad could easily finish off this whole lineup in one sitting), simply double up the recipe with a second sheet pan. Make enough for everyone you live with, and your dad won't be the only one to thank you for this tasty Father's Day gift.
| 4 | slices bacon |
| 1 | Russet potato, washed but not peeled |
| 2 | tablespoons butter |
| Salt and freshly ground pepper | |
| 2 | eggs |
| 4 | slices bacon |
| 1 | Russet potato, washed but not peeled |
| 2 | tablespoons butter |
| Salt and freshly ground pepper | |
| 2 | eggs |
Father's Day breakfast gets even easier when you use If You Care's unbleached, chlorine-free, greaseproof, and totally non-stick parchment paper. When you whip up crispy bacon, perfect fried eggs, and crunchy hash browns all on a single, parchment paper-lined sheet pan, you're not just doubling the flavor, but also minimizing the cleanup. Which leaves you that much more time to enjoy sharing a meal with the people you care about.
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