Every slice of this simple egg breakfast casserole is thick, flavorful, and satisfying; plus, the recipe is an extremely handy breakfast alternative because it’s make-ahead and infinitely adaptable. Like quiche, you should utilize your favourite seasonings and cheeses, greens like peppers and mushrooms, meats like sausage or bacon, or you may make it vegetarian. The very best half is that you may assemble this dish forward of time so breakfast is a breeze within the morning!
Breakfast casserole is an all-in-one hearty meal that may be made forward of time, feeds a crowd, reheats effectively, and makes nice leftovers. My household devours it. For all these causes and extra, I’ve made it practically 100x (no exaggeration there) for breakfast, brunch, and, sure, dinner.
I initially printed this recipe in 2015 and have simplified it through the years. Let me present you the way it comes collectively so you can also expertise this crowd-pleasing superhero meal.
This Simple Breakfast Casserole Is:
- Adaptable to no matter greens, meats, cheeses, and herbs you may have available.
- Simple to make forward of time.
- Fast to throw collectively.
- Nice as a fast weekday meal or a lavish weekend or vacation brunch.
- Wonderful for entertaining a crowd.
- Made with some bread to absorb moisture, however potatoes work too!
- Prepared in your favourite egg toppings like salsa, pico de gallo, inexperienced onion, cilantro, parsley, avocado, every part bagel seasoning, sizzling sauce, and so forth.
4 Most important Parts
When gathering components for this recipe, I like to think about it as having 4 separate parts. From there, you possibly can have enjoyable with variations.
- Greens
- Meat (or additional greens)
- Starch for absorbing moisture
- Egg, cheese, & milk combination
Right here Are the Countless Add-ins & Taste Choices
- Greens: Choose which greens you’d like within the dish. Usually, the preferred with friends is bell peppers, spinach, and mushrooms. However I’ve additionally made this with broccoli/peppers, kale/mushrooms, and spinach/zucchini. Attempt to stick to three–4 cups of greens whole. Cook dinner the greens down with some flavor-enhancing onion and garlic.
- Meat: Friends often favor meat within the casserole, so I add sausage. Or strive utilizing floor turkey, diced bacon, floor beef, or floor hen. I often buy raw sausage for this and brown it with some dried rosemary or Italian seasoning to offer it a bit of additional taste, however that’s non-obligatory. If the meat you’re utilizing is pre-cooked, similar to diced ham or shredded hen, you possibly can combine it with the cooked vegetable combination earlier than layering it into the dish.
- Starch: Like when making breakfast strata, sausage stuffing, and cream cheese French toast casserole, the bread ought to be barely stale so it will possibly absorb moisture. Crusty sourdough is FANTASTIC right here. You can too use do-it-yourself artisan bread, a loaf of French bread, crusty baguette, biscuits, bagels or do-it-yourself bagels, and even day-old croissants (have you ever tried do-it-yourself croissants?!). To make it gluten free, use gluten-free bread or potatoes.
- Eggs, milk, & cheese: Whisk a dozen eggs with a bit of half-and-half or milk and stir in some shredded cheese. Just like the greens and meat, use no matter cheeses you want finest, similar to sharp cheddar, pepper jack, feta, and/or smoked gouda.
Variations: One in every of my favourite variations of this recipe is every part bagel breakfast casserole. It’s a BIG HIT and persistently will get rave evaluations. Or strive my totally different methodology/recipe for biscuit breakfast casserole with do-it-yourself biscuits baked proper on high.
Can I Use Potatoes?
Sure, you possibly can exchange the bread with diced hash brown potatoes—the sort you discover within the freezer part of the grocery retailer. Friends have *cherished* this model. Use about 3 cups (round 380g) of hash browns rather than the bread. You could possibly additionally peel and cube recent potatoes, however you’ll must rapidly prepare dinner them on the skillet for 10 minutes earlier than utilizing on this dish.
Do I Must Use Bread?
Bread or potatoes, sure. Apart from eggs, bread is the principle ingredient. To keep away from a spongey, moist dish, this breakfast casserole wants construction on the backside. You see, when eggs bake, they launch a variety of liquid. Chunks of crusty bread (or hash brown potatoes) absorb some liquid so the casserole is chunky and textured, not flat and moist. For those who’re searching for one thing with out this starchy addition, crustless vegetable quiche is a good choice.
In Footage: Tips on how to Make Breakfast Casserole
First, place the items of bread (or potatoes) within the backside of a greased 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe dish. I often use (affiliate hyperlinks) this glass pan or the pictured purple ruffled baking dish, which is available in a set with different sizes—positively a splurge, however I’ve discovered the standard to be glorious. Exhibiting you the bread scattered within the pan in addition to the non-obligatory potato substitution:
Set that apart and pre-cook your greens and meat (if the meat is just not cooked already). You are able to do this all in 1 huge skillet on the range, including onion, garlic, and non-obligatory herbs like dried rosemary or your favourite seasoning mix. As that’s scorching on the range, whisk the eggs, milk, and cheese collectively:
Now it’s time to assemble, and I’ve made this course of quite a bit simpler through the years. Spoon the entire greens/meat combination on high of the bread. Pour the egg combination throughout that:
Success Tip: Refrigerate In a single day
At this level, you possibly can both bake it straight away or refrigerate the casserole in a single day and for as much as 24 hours. Throughout this time, the flavors mingle collectively and the bread has an opportunity to absorb a few of the liquid and taste. Get up and all you must do is slide it into the oven. For those who’re in a rush, I do advocate at the least half-hour within the fridge earlier than baking, in case you can spare it!
Bake till the perimeters are golden brown. As a result of it’s so egg heavy, the casserole puffs up within the oven like a cheesecake after which sinks again down because it cools. Cool for five–10 minutes earlier than slicing and serving.
What to Serve With Breakfast Casserole
For aspect dishes, recent fruit and yogurt are gentle, easy, and fast. Nevertheless, in case you’re entertaining—or if in case you have a number of hungry youngsters in your home—pair this breakfast casserole with:
Your brunch friends will probably be past happy. Sure, even the youngsters!
Description
This simple breakfast casserole is infinitely adaptable and you could find variations and strategies within the recipe Notes under. The model written under with sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, and cheddar cheese is mostly the preferred with friends. You possibly can assemble your complete dish and refrigerate for as much as 24 hours earlier than baking.
- Grease a 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe dish. Prepare bread cubes in a fair layer in backside of pan.
- Warmth olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add sausage and rosemary/Italian seasoning, if utilizing, and break up the sausage into bite-size items with a picket spoon or rubber spatula because it begins to prepare dinner. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach and prepare dinner till every part has barely softened and sausage is usually cooked by means of, about 5–6 minutes.
- Take away sausage and vegetable combination from warmth and unfold in a fair layer on high of bread.
- Whisk the eggs, salt, pepper, milk, and cheese collectively. Evenly pour over sausage/vegetable combination. Add one other sprinkle of salt and pepper on high.
- Cowl casserole with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at the least half-hour and as much as 24 hours. (When able to bake, enable to take a seat at room temperature for 10–quarter-hour as oven preheats.)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Bake the casserole, uncovered, till the highest is golden, edges are crisp, and a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out clear, about 40–45 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
- Leftovers hold effectively within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Reheat within the microwave to your liking.
Notes
- Make Forward Directions: This is a superb make-ahead recipe as a result of you possibly can assemble it earlier than baking as much as 24 hours upfront. See step 5. You can too prepare dinner the sausage and vegetable combination as much as 24 hours upfront, cowl and refrigerate till prepared to make use of.
- Freezing & Reheating Directions: To freeze, put together and assemble by means of step 5, cowl with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge, after which carry to room temperature earlier than baking as directed. You can too freeze the baked casserole for as much as 3 months and when doing that, I counsel baking it in a disposable aluminum pan. Cool fully, cowl with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. When able to eat, thaw it for about 24 hours (lined) within the fridge, take away the plastic wrap layer, then bake in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 25–half-hour.
- Bread: Crusty sourdough is incredible on this recipe, or use any crusty, hearty bread. The crustier or extra stale, the higher. In case your bread is recent and/or flimsy, lower into cubes and bake on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes. It’ll be barely crisp and able to use on this recipe. No want to attend for the bread to chill earlier than layering into the baking dish.
- Utilizing Potatoes As a substitute of Bread: You possibly can exchange the bread with diced hash brown potatoes—the sort you discover within the freezer part of the grocery retailer. Use about 3 cups (round 380g) of frozen hash brown potatoes, no must thaw. You could possibly additionally peel and cube recent potatoes, however you’ll must rapidly prepare dinner/brown them on a skillet with 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium warmth for 10 minutes earlier than utilizing.
- Sausage or Different Meat: If utilizing pre-cooked sausage hyperlinks or ham, lower into slices/chunks, and there’s no must prepare dinner both. Merely stir into the pre-cooked greens earlier than layering into the dish. You possibly can exchange the sausage with floor turkey, beef, or hen—merely pre-cook with the greens in response to the directions. If utilizing bacon, I like to recommend decreasing to 1/2 pound and slicing into bite-size items. Cook dinner individually from the greens till browned. Drain, then combine with the greens earlier than layering into the dish.
- Different Greens: Be at liberty to interchange all or a few of the bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach with different greens similar to chopped broccoli, sliced zucchini or squash, or kale. Pre-cook as directed.
- Vegetarian Choice: You possibly can pass over the meat and exchange with one other 1 cup of greens.
- Milk: For the richest, heartiest texture, I like to recommend half-and-half or complete milk. You should use lower-fat milk or dairy-free milk if desired.
- Cheese: I often use a mix of standard and sharp white cheddar cheeses. Use no matter cheeses you want finest, similar to pepper jack, feta cheese, Swiss, and/or smoked gouda.
- Half Recipe: You possibly can halve this recipe by halving the entire components and utilizing a 9×9-inch sq. pan. Bake time is barely shorter, about 32–36 minutes.
Key phrases: breakfast casserole, in a single day breakfast casserole
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