Egg & Cheese Rolls

Egg and Cheese Rolls are a cheap and easy meal for family, and a great way to use up leftover hard boiled eggs. They are kid-friendly and surprisingly tasty, too!

Egg and Cheese Rolls are probably one of the weirdest meals we make at our house. To clarify, I don't mean that they are weird in the "exploring unique flavor profiles" or "discovering world cuisine" sort of way. I mean it in the "this is just plain weird" way.

We were first introduced to this recipe years ago by my girls' Uncle Lucky and Aunt Brenda, and I'll be honest: if I hadn't eaten them first and I'd simply ran across the recipe online, I probably would have never tried them. Which is all to say, give them a chance - they may surprise you, too!

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love this Easy Family Dinner
• Ingredients
• How to Make Egg & Cheese Stuffed Bread Rolls
• Top Tip: How to Hard Boil Eggs
• Storage & Leftovers
• More Egg Recipes
• What to Serve with Egg & Cheese Rolls
• Egg & Cheese Rolls

Why You Will Love this Easy Family Dinner

Beyond the fact that they are ridiculously tasty in a strangely familiar, comforting sort of way, Egg and Cheese Rolls offer some nice perks: 

• They are super easy to make. (Your kids can help!) 
• The ingredient list is short and inexpensive.
• They can be prepared ahead of time.
• They make excellent leftovers.
• They are a great answer for what to do with leftover Easter eggs. 

And the most compelling reason: inexplicably, everyone seems to love them. 

If you have more than three people in your family, you know how hard it is to find meals that everyone enjoys. My kids love them so much, in fact, that Egg & Cheese Rolls are consistently still one of the most requested meals when they return home for a visit. 

Ingredients

• Hardboiled eggs:  If you have the choice between boiling the eggs you bought today and the ones you bought last week, use the older eggs. Older eggs are usually easier to peel. (This recipe is a great way to use up leftover hard-boiled Easter eggs!)
• Velveeta: We prefer Velveeta Light. If you can't bring yourself to go here, give this Homemade Velveeta a try.
• Tomato sauce: We like to use tomato sauce with garlic and onions, but plain works fine too.
• Garlic: Use 4 cloves. Do not double the garlic in this recipe (I see you!) It will overwhelm the other flavors.
• Chopped olives: Use chopped black olives.
• Hard rolls: Hard rolls are bakery rolls that have a sturdy interior and a crisp, hard crust; making them perfect for filling and reheating.
  • In a pinch, we've used soft rolls for this recipe, but they don't stand up to the filling and baking as well as hard rolls do.

Fun Fact: Hard rolls were originally a version of Kaiser rolls made in New York State, renamed “hard rolls” during the first World War against the German Kaiser.

How to Make Egg & Cheese Stuffed Bread Rolls

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).

Cut a flap on the top of each roll and hollow out the inside, leaving about ½-inch of roll all around. Set aside. (If the flap comes off, it's totally OK. It just makes it a little easier to close them after they are filled.)

To make the cheesy egg sauce, begin melting the cubed Velveeta cheese over very low heat.

When the Velveeta starts to melt, add in the tomato sauce, chopped garlic, and chopped olives. Stir until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is well blended.

Remove from heat. Add the chopped eggs to the melted cheese sauce and stir to incorporate.

Fill hollowed out rolls with egg mixture. Replace the top on each roll, and wrap in parchment-lined aluminum foil so that the parchment is next to the roll, and the foil is just holding everything together.

Rolls can be wrapped individually, or in small groups of 3-4 rolls. (Either way works - it just depends on how you plan to serve them.)

Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 20 minutes. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before unwrapping.

Top Tip: How to Hard Boil Eggs

It seems as though there are nearly as many ways to hard-boil eggs as there are cooks to make them. Below is the method we prefer, but you do whatever works best for you. 

Start with room temperature eggs. Cold eggs added to boiling water are more likely to crack.

Fill a pot of water 2 to 3 inches deep and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium, and use a slotted wooden spoon to gently lower the eggs into the boiling water. Don't crowd the eggs: they should be in a single layer in the pan.

Simmer the eggs on medium-low to low, uncovered, for 12 minutes.

While the eggs are simmering prepare an ice bath. Fill a bowl large enough to hold all the eggs with room to spare halfway with ice. Add enough water so that it is level with the ice.

After 12 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the hot water and immediately transfer them into the ice bath to cool. Let the eggs set in the ice bath for 15 minutes before peeling.

Peel the eggs under cold water; or refrigerate them if you don’t want to peel them right away.

According to the USDA, hard boiled eggs will last a week in the refrigerator, peeled or unpeeled.

Storage & Leftovers

Store any uneaten rolls in a sealed container in the fridge. Rolls will stay good for 3-4 days.

Reheating Leftovers: Individual rolls can be reheated in the microwave by wrapping in a paper towel and zapping for 30-60 seconds. (Just don't overdo it, or the roll may get too chewy.) To reheat a large number of rolls, rewrap in parchment and foil and place in a 325°F (163°C) oven for 10-12 minutes.

More Egg Recipes

What to Serve with Egg & Cheese Rolls

These egg-stuffed rolls make an easy, satisfying meal all by themselves; however, you can round out the with any number of tasty sides. Some of our favorite pairing include a fruit salad or carrot salad, Brussels sprouts, or potato pancakes.

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Originally published April 22, 2015