The Cheeses Required For The Best Denny's Moons Over My Hammy Copycat

Moons Over My Hammy may not have the silliest name in breakfast items – that honor, of course, belongs to IHOP's (in)famous Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity pancakes – but it does run a close second. The dish seems to take its name from the 1941 musical comedy "Moon Over Miami," which is about three Texans who go to Florida hunting for rich hubbies. The movie's namesake sandwich is no gold digger's delight, though, but is instead a down-to-earth breakfast sandwich made of scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese.

So what makes Denny's breakfast sandwich different from something you might order at any old drive-thru? Susan Olayinka, who developed a copycat recipe for Mashed, tells us "I think the addition of ham makes it a bit more different," but we think it's probably also the combo of cheeses. According to Denny's website, the sandwich is made with two different types of cheese. There's American cheese, as might be expected (although Denny's restaurants in Canada use what they refer to as "processed Canadian cheese"), but there's also a slice or two of Swiss in the mix.

The ingredients for Olayinka's copycat Moons Over My Hammy adhere pretty closely to the ones disclosed on Denny's website: ham, scrambled eggs, Swiss cheese, and American cheese. Denny's also uses unspecified "artisan" bread, although Canadian Denny's 'fesses up and says it's sourdough, which is the type Olayinka chooses. Denny's sandwich comes with hash browns on the side, though, while Olayinka's preference is for "fruit salad to bring some freshness."

Not only can you switch up the sides, but you can also alter the ingredients to suit your preferences. If you don't care for the sourness of sourdough bread, ditch it for white or wheat. You can also swap out the processed American cheese in favor of cheddar or trade in the Swiss for provolone or pepper Jack. Olayinka says that the meat, too, is subject to switching, since she tells us, "Readers can definitely add spicy sausage to this to make it a bit more different, or somebody can even do a vegetarian one and use a vegetarian ham substitute." If you really want to make this sandwich special, though, you can do as Denny's did once upon a blue moon and give it a food coloring makeover. While the chain used blue-dyed bread in a bizarre sandwich meant to commemorate the Halloween astronomical event of 2021, home cooks would probably find it easier to add a few drops of color to the eggs, instead.