Breakfast Casserole Recipe

I love breakfast foods and this Breakfast Casserole Recipe is very high on my list of favorites. I love it for so many reasons: it takes almost no time to put together, it can feed a crowd and can easily be scaled up or down, it’s a great make ahead dish and it’s delightfully indulgent.

How to Make This Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Ingredients for Breakfast Casserole

Tools You Will Need

• knife
• cutting board
• wooden spoons
• fry pan
• mixing bowls
• baking dish

Process

• Preheat oven. Lightly grease baking dish and set aside.
• Brown sausage in a pan, breaking up as it cooks. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a large mixing bowl. Discard and excess fat and liquid from pan.
• Add more oil to pan and sauté onions and bell pepper until vegetables just begin to caramelize. Season with salt and pepper and stir together. Transfer vegetables to bowl with sausage.
• Add diced potatoes, some shredded cheese, some chives, and salt and pepper to sausage and vegetable mixture. Toss together until fully combined.
• Separately whisk together eggs and milk and pour mixture over sausage vegetable mixture. Fold together.
• Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and top with more cheese.
• Cover casserole tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
• Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until eggs are set.
• Top casserole with remaining chives, black pepper and serve.

Tips and Tricks for Breakfast Casserole Success

While this breakfast casserole recipe is a simple one, there are still a couple things that can come up and a couple things I can recommend to make this the best experience possible!

Common Issues and How to Solve Them

• Runny Casserole – Baked egg dishes can sometimes fall victim to being watery after it’s baked. This is often due to high water content in some vegetables and dense meats that are used in these dishes. Browning /cooking the meats (and draining off any excess liquid) and sautéing the vegetables before cooking often helps this issue. It’s also important that the potatoes are fully thawed and any excess liquid is drained from them as well.
• Shredded Cheese Stuck to Foil – It’s best to avoid your shredded cheese topper from touching the bottom of your foil when baking. If your shredded cheese topper is flush or heaping above the edges of your baking dish, spray the bottom of the piece of foil you’re going to use with cooking spray. This will help to prevent your cheese from sticking to the foil.

Breakfast Casserole Tips

• Shred Cheese Yourself – Although it can be tempting to buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese (at times I’m totally guilty of it too!), I highly recommend shredded your own cheese. It only takes a minute or two and the results are way better! Pre-shredded cheese tends to have anti-caking agents mixed into the bag, to prevent the shreds from clumping up, but it also prevents the cheese from melting smoothly and evenly.
• How to Tell if Breakfast Casserole is Done Baking – If you’re unsure whether or not your eggs have fully set, take a butter knife and insert it into the center of the casserole. Push the knife slightly to the side, if you see some pooling occurring you need some more time, if not you’re good to go!

Variations for This Breakfast Casserole Recipe

• Steamed or sautéed spinach make a great addition to this breakfast casserole recipe. Just be sure to squeeze out as much water as possible before incorporating it into the dish.
• The sausage can be omitted and replaced with more bell pepper and onions to make this (and egg friendly) vegetarian version.
• Diced ham or crumbled bacon also make great protein options.
• Stir in a (15 ounce) can of well drained diced tomatoes, some well drained canned black beans, a pinch ground cumin and coriander, chopped cilantro, and top it with crumbled queso fresco for a little more of a Mexican vibe.

Make Ahead and Freezing This Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Make Ahead

This dish can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time. Tightly wrap pre-baked casserole with foil and store in the refrigerator. When ready to use, place casserole in hot oven (covered) and bake for an additional 5 minutes covered then instructed in the recipe.

Freezing

This breakfast casserole recipe can be assembled (except for shredded cheese on top) and frozen for up to 2 months. Tightly wrap pre-baked casserole with foil and place in freezer. When ready to use, transfer casserole to refrigerator to thaw overnight. Once thawed, uncover casserole and bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, top with shredded cheese and return casserole to oven and continue to bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes.

Other Easy Breakfast and Brunch Recipes You’ll Love

• Hash Brown Crust Bacon and Cheddar Quiche
• Easy Chilaquiles Recipe
• Simple Herb Baked Eggs
• Cheesy Skillet Hash Brown and Eggs
• Breakfast Scramble Stuffed Avocado
• Savory Herb French Toast
• Coconut Banana Pancakes
• Browned Butter Cinnamon Roll Cake

Check out our post for 12 Delicious Breakfast Ideas!