Fried eggs are always a quick and easy option for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner. And what goes better with eggs than bacon?
My family loves this Italian rendition of traditional bacon and eggs. These pancetta fried eggs cut cooking time significantly since the pancetta is cooked over the eggs, as opposed to in the microwave or another pan like traditional bacon.
Pancetta, bacon…same difference, right? Wrong.
Bacon and pancetta are both made from pork bellies. While bacon is brined and then smoked, pancetta is made by seasoning a pork belly side with salt and pepper. It’s cured, but it isn’t smoked, which makes it fresher and lighter tasting than North American bacon.
Most of us think of bacon in terms of breakfast as an accompaniment to eggs, or as an extra ingredient in a burger. Add to that short list the occasional BLT, and this is pretty much the extent to which North Americans consume bacon.
On the contrary, Italians adore their pancetta and include it in as many dishes as possible-it’s used to flavour other foods, such as sauces and stews, and it’s almost always included in an antipasto platter.
And let’s not forget, pasta carbonara-one of Italy’s greatest gifts to North American cuisine!
Back to the recipe, if you can even call it that. All you need are eggs and pancetta-and of course a little extra virgin olive oil for frying.
The joys of living in a small town in the Italian countryside (if only for two months during the summer) is that there is always at least one person you know who grows their own produce, makes their own cheeses and meats, and has the odd chicken or two in their yard.
Locally cured pancetta and local eggs-it doesn’t get more organic and fresher than this.
These pancetta fried eggs take minutes to prepare since there’s no need to wait for the bacon to crisp up in the pan or microwave, and they’re just as delicious as traditional fried eggs with bacon-with an Italian twist, of course!
If you try this recipe (and love it!) be sure to snap a pic and tag me onInstagram with #bitesforfoodies so I can see your creation!
“Most of us think of bacon in terms of breakfast as an accompaniment to eggs, or as an extra ingredient in a burger. Add to that short list the occasional BLT, and this is pretty much the extent to which North Americans consume bacon.”
Clearly written by someone who has never met an American.
Hi Jason, I actually have many good friends who are Americans. This wasn’t meant to belittle Americans in any way, or Canadians for that matter. Many people love bacon with breakfast or in a burger, but I’d say that not everyone prepares it in a variety of ways. Based on your reaction to the post I’d say you’re a home chef who enjoys cooking up bacon every way possible! 😉
Oh, no offense taken! It’s just that the limited burgers-breakfast-BLT dynamic (to which I would add diced on salads) is probably 15 years out of date–we Americans have become much more innovative in our bacon consumption since then, with consumption approaching 18 pounds/yr/person on average. Diced into mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese, slices on grilled cheese sandwiches, wrapped around peppers or asparagus or shrimp or even hot dogs, ground into ice cream, bacon-infused cocktails, baskets of bacon on “bacon night” at one of our local bars, even bacon-flavored chewing gum! It’s been years since I’ve been in a restaurant that didn’t have at *least* one bacon-using item on the menu–and often not a sandwich. This is to say nothing of bacon ties, bacon T-shirts, bacon decals, and other bacon-related non-edibles.
(I suppose if you look at just “cooking in the home” that we are not using nearly as much bacon as Italians use pancetta. But the original phrasing was “consume” not “cook,” so I was thinking in the broader sense.)
Wait, bacon-favoured chewing gum??! I’m a fan of the Food Network so I’ve seen so much done with bacon. Maybe I’m in denial since I haven’t eaten bacon for years, lol! Thanks for clarifying….didn’t want to unintentionally offend anyone 😉
All the cooks in my family make extensive use of bacon in a variety of dishes.
This looks so delicious! Hubby usually makes us big breakfast on the weekends and he has never tried this recipe. He will be trying this weekend though:)
Great! Let me know how it turns out 😉
Oh this looks so delicious, such a great take on normal eggs. I’d like to try this for my son, he loves egg but needs to eat more meat.
Mine aren’t really into meat that much either…they do love prosciutto and pancetta though!
I would love to try this one out. This would be great for breakfast!
I love pancetta and this looks so yummy! I am a big fan of eggs for any meal of the day!
Me too! I usually don’t have them for breakfast, but rather for lunch or dinner!
Yum!! This looks so delicious. I’ve never had pancetta before, but I imagine it tastes somewhat like bacon? I’ve been having eggs for breakfast every morning and I’m loving this easy recipe idea.
It tastes like bacon but has a nice, smokey flavour. I’m sure you could make this with bacon however, I’d definitely flip the eggs so as to cook the bacon directly on the heat as well!
My goodness, this looks so yummy & delicious. I love how eggs & pancetta are combined together to prepare a healthy toast. Going to be a great snack idea or breakfast with bread.
My husband and kid loves this breakfast. They make it every week-end. It’s healthy and delish! Sometimes I will add some cheddar sprinkles in there too 🙂
Cheddar sounds delicious! I don’t eat dairy so I don’t think about adding to recipes, other than pasta, tex-mex, etc.
Hmmm, So can I come to your house for breakfast? I mean that looks AMAZING and I bet it taste even better then amazing! =P
Great looking breakfast! Wonderful idea to use pancetta.
I actually just made this…for lunch! 😉
These look absolutely wonderful. Eggs and bacon together – yum! I’m definitely going to be trying this very soon.
Thanks! It’s a two in one meal…no need to cook the bacon in the microwave or in pan…just throw it on top off the eggs!
Those Pancetta Fried Eggs look so YUMMY! I love breakfast foods so much (and bacon and eggs are the best!) <3
Me too…I actually hardly ever eat this for breakfast. It’s usually breakfast for dinner 😉
This is the perfect combination! I love that it is so easy and different. Why are your eggs numbered?
The date is written on each egg! They were gifted to us by a family member….from farm to table!
My son loves his eggs cooked like this. I bet he would love this recipe!
omg i love eggs and bacon and this looks amazing and so simple! thanks for this share!!
Thanks!
I tend to make eggs + bacon every weekend for my husband and I. Doing it this way in the one pan, looks like it’s so much easier/quicker.
It is! lol! You should try this 😉
Mmm! Will have to try this out. I will need to buy some foccaccia bread though. Do you recommend any other bread styles?
We love focaccia but you could use any bread of choice! I think pita bread or a baguette would be a great option!
I always find it fascinating to discover the foods that are common in other countries and to hear how they view our foods as well. This looks like a great dish, especially adding the pancetta to the eggs.
Me too! I love visiting Italy every summer because I learn so many new recipes and so many different ways of preparing normally simple ingredients!
LOVE pancetta! It’s a mainstay over here. I can’t believe I never thought to add it to our eggs- thanks for the tip!
I couldn’t believe I had never thought of it either…my mother-in-law gets total credit for this recipe!
Farm fresh eggs yum! I’m going to try this with turkey bacon – and thanks for teaching me to cover with a lid like that!
Turkey bacon sounds delicious too…covering it all with a lid is the trick-it cooks everything evenly 😉
Never seen this method before but looks and sounds delicious! My first thought was that I wanted to toss the egg and pancetta on some doughdough bread, add some lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and make a PLT. 🙂
*sourdough. lol.
Yum! That sounds delicious!! I actually hadn’t thought of making this into a sandwich…thanks for the idea 😉
The first day of our first stay in Italy, when breakfast was delivered to the hotel room, my husband was mortified. Hahaha I wish I’d have had a picture of his face. They did send along some fluffy delicious breakfast rolls w/the pancetta that were so good!
Lol! I can just imagine his face!! If you’re used to the typical North American breakfast, you’d definitely be in for a surprise!! However, there’s nothing wrong with some fresh croissants in the morning 😉
What a great idea! Definitely trying this one.
There’s really nothing to it! Also, I much prefer this version and I find it so much lighter than traditional bacon and eggs!