Made with your favorite veggies and protein, this breakfast casserole is an easy option for meal prepping or feeding a crowd. You can even make it in advance! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Easy Breakfast Casserole (Make-Ahead Friendly!)
Today’s breakfast casserole is what meal prepping dreams are made of! Not only is it easy to make and (mostly) hands-off, it makes quite a few servings AND can be frozen for a quick and nutritious meal option. Oh, and it’s entirely customizable too!
Around here, we like to serve this recipe for brunches and holiday breakfasts with a side of cinnamon rolls or buttered sourdough bread. It feeds our whole family (and then some), and any leftovers are enjoyed throughout the week.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Protein packed with some veggies too. I include instructions for adding more veggies or removing the meat, if you’d like to make it vegetarian.
- Makes 12 servings, but you can easily double, triple, or quadruple (!) the recipe for even more (we usually do this during the holidays!).
- Can be made in advance, if you want to prep the casserole one day and bake it the next (or simply bake and reheat).
- Bakes for 40-45 minutes, which gives you enough time to prepare a batch of buttermilk pancakes, French toast, or waffles too. Or, bake my French toast casserole at the same time–it uses the same temperature and takes the same amount of time!
This recipe may look similar to my quiche lorraine recipe, but they are just a bit different. The main difference between the two is that quiche is baked in a pie crust (preferably my easy pie crust recipe) and breakfast casserole is not. Try them both and see which you prefer!
Ingredients
I won’t review every ingredient (the full list is below), but I do want to highlight a few you may have questions about.
- Breakfast sausage. You could substitute bacon for the sausage, but my taste testers (and I) all preferred the sausage version. Alternatively, you can also make this breakfast casserole meat free; just cook the veggies in 2 Tbsp of butter and start checking the casserole sooner (around 35 mins).
- Frozen hash browns. There is no need to thaw the potatoes before adding them; they will reheat as they bake. You can use either shredded or cubed hash browns–either will work fine here but I prefer the cubed.
- Veggies. I stick with just peppers and onions, but feel free to add mushrooms, spinach, kale or similar soft veggies.
- Tabasco. This adds flavor without making the breakfast casserole too spicy. If you are especially sensitive to spice though, you can always leave it out.
- Shredded cheese. While I use cheddar cheese, you can really use your favorite. Swiss, pepper jack, mozzarella, and monterey jack are all great options here!
SAM’S TIP: Add a pinch of nutmeg! It adds such a lovely flavor like it does in my quiche (and fettuccine Alfredo).
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Breakfast Casserole
Before we jump in, I just want to note that the photos and instructions below are just meant to be helpful, visual guidelines to accompany the written recipe (at the bottom of the post) and aren’t intended for you to try and bake from. I provide these photos and details because I think they’re helpful, but for the full recipe in its entirety scroll down to the recipe card.
- Add the hash browns to the bottom of a greased baking dish, spreading them in one even layer. Set aside.
- Cook the sausage in a skillet until browned and crumbly, then layer over the potatoes. I use a slotted spoon to do this so any grease stays in the skillet.
- Cook the peppers and onions in the same pan until softened. Note that if you do not have any grease left in the pan from your sausage, you can add 2 tablespoons of butter for sautéing the veggies. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then spoon the veggies over the sausage layer.
- Add the cheese to the potatoes and sausage and stir until the mixture is well combined.
- Whisk the eggs very well and remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl until well combined.
- Pour the egg mixture into your baking dish.
- Bake until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly, about 45 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes or so before slicing and serving.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure to give your egg mixture a good and thorough whisk so everything is combined. This also encourages fluffy eggs (just like when you’re making scrambled eggs)!
Make This Recipe Work for You!
Make it ahead: may prep the casserole and bake it another day, or you can bake the casserole, refrigerate/freeze, and reheat it before serving. I provide detailed instructions for all of this in the recipe card below.
Customize your add-ins: get creative with your veggies, cheeses, and meats; just try to keep the add-ins under 8 cups and be mindful of the type of veggies you add, as some may need a bit longer to cook than others. Other than that, this recipe is very versatile! Some combinations we like include spinach, onion, and feta; broccoli, ham, and cheddar; sun-dried tomato, basil, and mozzarella; and bacon, jalapeño, and Monterey jack (reminds me of bacon jalapeno popper dip!).
Make egg muffins: use this recipe to make egg muffins! To do this, divide all of your veggies and cooked meats into a lightly greased muffin pan (silicone would also work well for easiest removal), then pour in the egg/cream mixture. Top with the cheese and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until set. This recipe should make 15-18 egg muffins.
We love making this breakfast casserole during the holidays; I’ll often make a few different flavors so everyone can choose their favorite!
Note: if brunches are a thing in your family, definitely check out my brunch recipes for more recipes like this one!
Enjoy!
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Breakfast Casserole
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Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 345kcal
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Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and lightly grease the sides and bottom of a 13×9” (33x22cm) baking dish with butter.
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Spread diced potatoes evenly over the bottom of the prepared dish, set aside.
2 cups (255 g) diced frozen hash browns
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In a skillet over medium/high heat, cook sausage until browned, crumbling as you go. When cooked through, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to the baking dish (to drain the oil from it) and layer over the potatoes.
1 lb (453 g) breakfast sausage
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Using the same skillet you cooked the sausage in (I do not drain it unless I have more than a Tablespoon or two of grease remaining, conversely if you don’t have any grease remaining add 2 Tablespoons of butter to the pan to cook the pepper and onion), cook pepper and onion over medium heat, stirring frequently and cooking until softened (about 5 minutes).
1 (140 g) small onion, 1 (120 g) red bell pepper
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Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mixture over the sausage.
2 teaspoons minced garlic
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Sprinkle cheese into the baking dish and gently stir everything together until ingredients are well dispersed.
8 oz (226 g) shredded cheddar cheese
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In a separate, large mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs until well combined.
12 large eggs
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Add milk, cream, tabasco, pepper, nutmeg, and salt into your eggs and until well combined. Pour evenly into baking dish.
¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream, ¼ cup (60 ml) whole milk, 5 dashes tabasco sauce, ½ teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ⅛ rounded teaspoon nutmeg
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Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until edges are set and the very center is only slightly jiggly. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Storing
Allow casserole to cool then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. It may also be frozen for up to a month. May be reheated in the microwave (don’t over-cook it, heat in short bursts) or in a 350F (175C) preheated oven covered with foil until heated through.
Making in advance
Prepare the casserole through step 8. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. The next day, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes while the oven heats to 375F (190C), gently stir, then bake as indicated in preheated oven. Note that it may take a bit longer (5-10 minutes) to bake if the pan is still cold.
To bake in advance: Follow above instructions for storing and, for best results, reheat in the oven as indicated (this will likely take 30 minutes or so).
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 227mg | Sodium: 549mg | Potassium: 328mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 994IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 185mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.