Each slice of this easy egg breakfast casserole is thick, flavorful, and satisfying; plus, the recipe is an incredibly convenient breakfast choice since it’s make-ahead and infinitely adaptable. Like quiche and breakfast egg muffins, you can use your favorite seasonings and cheeses, vegetables like peppers and mushrooms, meats like sausage or bacon, or you can make it vegetarian. The best part is that you can assemble this dish ahead of time so breakfast is a breeze in the morning!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. I’ve also simplified the recipe instructions.
Breakfast casserole is an all-in-one hearty meal that can be made ahead of time, feeds a crowd, reheats well, and makes great leftovers. My family devours it. For all these reasons and more, I’ve made it nearly 100x (no exaggeration there) for breakfast, brunch, and, yes, dinner. It’s one of my favorite Easter brunch recipes to serve each year, too.
Let me show you how it comes together so you too can experience this crowd-pleasing superhero meal.
One reader, Mary, commented: “Love it! It is literally the perfect recipe. I’ve made it a few times now and everyone loves it, including my in-laws. We’ve made it for a crowd and also done it for the week as a meal prep for my husband and I. We love that it’s all in one (protein, veggies, carbs, etc.), easy to make, and can be made ahead. I cannot recommend this recipe enough! ★★★★★“
This Easy Breakfast Casserole Is:
- Adaptable to whatever vegetables, meats, cheeses, and herbs you have on hand.
- Easy to make ahead of time.
- Quick to throw together.
- Great as a quick weekday meal or a lavish weekend or holiday brunch.
- Excellent for entertaining a crowd.
- Made with some bread to soak up moisture, but potatoes work too!
- Ready for your favorite egg toppings like salsa, pico de gallo, green onion, cilantro, parsley, avocado, everything bagel seasoning, hot sauce, etc.
4 Main Components
When gathering ingredients for this recipe, I like to think of it as having 4 separate components. From there, you can have fun with variations.
- Vegetables
- Meat (or extra vegetables)
- Starch for soaking up moisture
- Egg, cheese, & milk mixture
Here Are the Endless Add-ins & Flavor Options
- Vegetables: Select which vegetables you’d like in the dish. Generally, the most popular with guests is bell peppers, spinach, and mushrooms. But I’ve also made this with broccoli/peppers, kale/mushrooms, and spinach/zucchini. Try to stick to 3–4 cups of vegetables total. Cook the vegetables down with some flavor-enhancing onion and garlic.
- Meat: Guests usually prefer meat in the casserole, so I add sausage. Or try using ground turkey, chopped bacon, ground beef, or ground chicken. I usually purchase uncooked sausage for this and brown it with some dried rosemary or Italian seasoning to give it a little extra flavor, but that is optional. If the meat you’re using is pre-cooked, such as chopped ham or shredded chicken, you can mix it with the cooked vegetable mixture before layering it into the dish.
- Starch: Like when making sausage & herb stuffing, breakfast strata, and French toast casserole, the bread should be slightly stale so it can soak up moisture. Crusty sourdough or homemade ciabatta bread are FANTASTIC here. You can also use homemade artisan bread, seeded oat bread, whole wheat bread, a loaf of French bread, crusty baguette, biscuits, bagels or homemade bagels, or even day-old croissants (have you tried homemade croissants?!). To make it gluten free, use gluten-free bread or potatoes.
- Eggs, milk, & cheese: Whisk a dozen eggs with a little half-and-half or milk and stir in some shredded cheese. Like the vegetables and meat, use whatever cheeses you like best, such as sharp cheddar, pepper jack, feta, and/or smoked gouda.
Variations: One of my favorite variations of this recipe is everything bagel breakfast casserole. It’s a BIG HIT and consistently gets rave reviews. Or try my different method/recipe for biscuit breakfast casserole with homemade biscuits baked right on top.
Can I Use Potatoes?
Yes, you can replace the bread with diced hash brown potatoes—the kind you find in the freezer section of the grocery store. Guests have *loved* this version. Use about 3 cups (around 380g) of hash browns in place of the bread. You could also peel and dice fresh potatoes, but you’ll need to quickly cook them on the skillet for 10 minutes before using in this dish.
Another wonderful make ahead option with fresh potatoes is this ham and potato casserole that is egg free, but just as delicious.
Do I Have to Use Bread?
Bread or potatoes, yes. Besides eggs, bread is the main ingredient. To avoid a spongey, wet dish, this breakfast casserole needs structure at the bottom. You see, when eggs bake, they release a lot of liquid. Chunks of crusty bread (or hash brown potatoes) soak up some liquid so the casserole is chunky and textured, not flat and wet. It’s almost like the way we need an English muffin with our eggs benedict—to help soak up all that eggy goodness.
If you’re looking for something without this starchy addition, crustless vegetable quiche or an easy frittata are great options.
In Pictures: How to Make Breakfast Casserole
First, place the pieces of bread (or potatoes) in the bottom of a greased 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe dish. I usually use (affiliate links) this glass pan or the pictured red ruffled baking dish, which comes in a set with other sizes—definitely a splurge, but I’ve found the quality to be excellent. Showing you the bread scattered in the pan as well as the optional potato substitution:
Set that aside and pre-cook your vegetables and meat (if the meat is not cooked already). You can do this all in 1 big skillet on the stove, adding onion, garlic, and optional herbs like dried rosemary or your favorite seasoning blend. As that’s sizzling on the stove, whisk the eggs, milk, and cheese together:
Now it’s time to assemble, and I’ve made this process a lot easier over the years. Spoon all of the vegetables/meat mixture on top of the bread. Pour the egg mixture all over that:
Success Tip: Refrigerate Overnight
At this point, you can either bake it right away or refrigerate the casserole overnight and for up to 24 hours. During this time, the flavors mingle together and the bread has a chance to soak up some of the liquid and flavor. Wake up and all you have to do is slide it into the oven. If you’re in a rush, I do recommend at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking, if you can spare it!
Bake until the edges are golden brown. Because it’s so egg heavy, the casserole puffs up in the oven like a cheesecake and then sinks back down as it cools. Cool for 5–10 minutes before slicing and serving.
What to Serve With Breakfast Casserole
For side dishes, fresh fruit and yogurt are light, simple, and quick. For healthy recipe ideas, see my complete list of 30+ healthy breakfast recipes. However, if you’re entertaining—or if you have several hungry teenagers in your house— you’ll love pairing this breakfast casserole with:
- Easy Cinnamon Rolls
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls
- Maple Chicken Breakfast Sausage
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls or Pumpkin Crumb Cake
- Banana Muffins or Blueberry Muffins
- Baked Oatmeal
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Banana Bread or Zucchini Bread
- Apple Cider French Toast
- Dark Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Cake, a Cinnamon Roll Wreath, or Cranberry Cake (great options around the holidays)
- A Dutch baby piled high with your favorite sweet toppings
- Or any other of my make ahead breakfast ideas!
Your brunch guests will be beyond satisfied. Yes, even the teenagers!
Print
Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This easy breakfast casserole is infinitely adaptable and you can find variations and suggestions in the recipe Notes below. The version written below with sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, and cheddar cheese is generally the most popular with guests. You can assemble the entire dish and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (175g or 6 oz) cubes of crusty bread*
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground pork sausage, casings removed*
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or Italian seasoning, optional
- 3/4 cup (100g) chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups (275g or 9–10 oz) chopped bell peppers
- 1 cup (100g or 3 oz) sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh spinach
- 12 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup (160ml) milk or half-and-half*
- 1 cup (100g or 3.5 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
- optional garnish: green onion and/or chopped parsley
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe dish. Arrange bread cubes in an even layer in bottom of pan.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and rosemary/Italian seasoning, if using, and break up the sausage into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula as it begins to cook. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach and cook until everything has slightly softened and sausage is mostly cooked through, about 5–6 minutes.
- Remove sausage and vegetable mixture from heat and spread in an even layer on top of bread.
- Whisk the eggs, salt, pepper, milk, and cheese together. Evenly pour over sausage/vegetable mixture. Add another sprinkle of salt and pepper on top.
- Cover casserole with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. (When ready to bake, allow to sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes as oven preheats.)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Bake the casserole, uncovered, until the top is golden, edges are crisp, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40–45 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave to your liking.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: This is an excellent make-ahead recipe because you can assemble it before baking up to 24 hours in advance. See step 5. You can also cook the sausage and vegetable mixture up to 24 hours in advance, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Freezing & Reheating Instructions: To freeze, prepare and assemble through step 5, cover with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and then bring to room temperature before baking as directed. You can also freeze the baked casserole for up to 3 months and when doing that, I suggest baking it in a disposable aluminum pan. Cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. When ready to eat, thaw it for about 24 hours (covered) in the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap layer, then bake in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 25–30 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Dish or any 3–4-quart Oven-Safe Dish | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Bread: Crusty sourdough is fantastic in this recipe, or use any crusty, hearty bread. The crustier or more stale, the better. If your bread is fresh and/or flimsy, cut into cubes and bake on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes. It’ll be slightly crisp and ready to use in this recipe. No need to wait for the bread to cool before layering into the baking dish.
- Using Potatoes Instead of Bread: You can replace the bread with diced hash brown potatoes—the kind you find in the freezer section of the grocery store. Use about 3 cups (around 380g) of frozen hash brown potatoes, no need to thaw. You could also peel and dice fresh potatoes, but you’ll need to quickly cook/brown them on a skillet with 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes before using.
- Sausage or Other Meat: If using pre-cooked sausage links or ham, cut into slices/chunks, and there is no need to cook either. Simply stir into the pre-cooked vegetables before layering into the dish. You can replace the sausage with ground turkey, beef, or chicken—simply pre-cook with the vegetables according to the instructions. If using bacon, I recommend reducing to 1/2 pound and cutting into bite-size pieces. Cook separately from the vegetables until browned. Drain, then mix with the vegetables before layering into the dish.
- Other Vegetables: Feel free to replace all or some of the bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach with other vegetables such as chopped broccoli, sliced zucchini or squash, or kale. Pre-cook as directed.
- Vegetarian Option: You can leave out the meat and replace with another 1 cup of vegetables.
- Milk: For the richest, heartiest texture, I recommend half-and-half or whole milk. You can use lower-fat milk or dairy-free milk if desired.
- Cheese: I usually use a blend of regular and sharp white cheddar cheeses. Use whatever cheeses you like best, such as pepper jack, feta cheese, Swiss, and/or smoked gouda.
- Half Recipe: You can halve this recipe by halving all of the ingredients and using a 9×9-inch square pan. Bake time is slightly shorter, about 32–36 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 3.1 g
- Sodium: 343 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.2 g
- Protein: 12.5 g
- Cholesterol: 205.4 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Love it! It is literally the perfect recipe. I’ve made it a few times now and everyone loves it, including my in-laws 🙂 We’ve made it for a crowd and also done it for the week as meal prep for my husband and I. We love that it’s all in one (protein, veggies, carbs etc), easy to make and can be made ahead. I cannot recommend this recipe enough!
I plan to try this recipe this week for Christmas morning. Will this bake evenly if I expand it proportionately to a 4 qt baking dish?
Absolutely! This recipe bakes well in a 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe dish. Enjoy!
My wife used to use garlic bread in this recipe. Its slight change and really good. I’m make this for Christmas morning every year.
I only have 9 eggs instead of 12. Do I need to make any adjustments accordingly?
Hi, does anything change if I don’t use bread/potatoes on the bottom? Thanks.
Hi Marie! This recipe is designed to have bread or potatoes in it. Perhaps our frittata recipe is what you’re looking for, instead. You can use these add-ins there. Let us know if you give it a try.
Thanks so much for answering – I will use a casserole dish!
Hello. What temp would you suggest to prevent browning the eggs, ugh?! I realize it will take longer, but I don’t mind letting this cook more slowly to prevent that. Thank you for any suggestions – and all the help!
Hi Camilla, did yours brown too much? You can try baking at 350 instead.
I am planning to make this to bring to someone’s house. Would it work to make it in an aluminum foil pan so I can dispose of it afterward? Or would that affect the cook process or final texture? Thanks so much!
Hi Katie! A foil pan wouldn’t be our first choice for this casserole – it may bake more unevenly and the flimsy nature of a foil pan can be difficult to handle.
Do I need to cook the frozen shredded hash brown potatoes? It would seem that the base would be too soggy if not precooked.
Hi Anne, see Recipe Note #5 – Using Potatoes Instead of Bread. No need to thaw frozen potatoes if that’s what you plan to use!
Can this dish be made in a crockpot?
Hi CB, we’re sure you could, but for best texture we don’t recommend cooking this recipe in a crock pot.
Hi, this will be my second time making this dish. I love it. Can I try using chopped up sweet potatoes as the base layer on the bottom? Thanks for your help.
Hi Gary, that sounds delicious! Let us know how it turns out!
Use the potato version (ideally hash browns) unless you’re a psychopath. Great recipe though, and amazing for breakfast meal prep!
Good Recipe. I used ground turkey, white cheddar, and sourdough round for bread. I also used real parsley and sugar free cranberries for garnish. I felt it needed an extra ingredient like cranberries to tie in all the flavors. This is a recipe that you could easily add an extra garnish or maybe a cheesy drizzle sauce on top. I think some breakfast casserole can taste a little dry with all of the eggs in that have been baking for 40 minutes.
A real winner! My family and I loved this for Thanksgiving. It was delicious and a great texture (that breakfast casseroles often lack). Thanks again Sally!
Very well received by the family Thanksgiving morning before heading to Turkey Trot. Adaptable to whatever you have/like – I used the frozen diced potatoes and leftover taco meat! Also made your Cranberry Orange bread. All super yummy. I appreciate the reliability of your recipes. Thanks!
We served it this Thanksgiving morning and what I hit! I used shredded frozen potatoes for a crust, and used sautéed baby Bella’s and diced red pepper with sweet sausage. It took close to an hour to cook out of the fridge. It was quite an elegant spin.
I made this today Wednesday, for Friday morning breakfast. Will it be ok in the fridge for 2 days 40 hours?
Hi Jeanne! We recommend refrigerating for up to 24 hours before baking, or it could get too soggy.
How do you make it with frozen potatoes ?
Hi Ferry, see recipe note number 5, “Using Potatoes Instead of Bread”. You can use frozen!
This is a great recipe! I make it for my son so he can have a good breakfast before he goes to work. It lasts all week.
Mushrooms also release water when I cook them. Should I drain the mushroom liquid before adding to the baking dish?
If there is excess liquid, yes, we would drain it.
Delicious! glad you mentioned potato base and that’s what I did. Any idea if this will cook well in an air fryer if cooking in small portion?
We haven’t tried baking this casserole in an air fryer – let us know if you do!
Great for Sunday brunch!
Do you think this could be baked in a muffin tin and made into a breakfast muffin thing?
Hi Lori, you can absolutely turn this breakfast casserole into egg muffins. We would say it makes at least 2 dozen. (Though probably more!) Follow the same baking instructions as our egg frittata muffins.
This casserole was a home run!! I made it for my Sunday School class this morning and received SEVERAL compliments, they absolutely LOVE it!! I followed the recipe exactly (subbed frozen hash browns for the bread) and everyone raved about how good it is. I don’t eat pork nor whole milk but used both as written. Thanks so much!
Delicious! I cut this in half for the two of us and followed the recipe. I would like to make this for our daughter and her husband but can’t use the sausage. Not sure what to use that would be equally flavorful.
Hi Lucy, This breakfast casserole is very customizable. See the blog post above for more flavor inspiration using ground turkey, chopped bacon, ground beef, or ground chicken.
Delicious! I cut this in half for the two of us and followed the recipe. I would like to make this for our daughter and her husband but can’t use the sausage. Not sure what to use that would be equally flavorful.
Hi Lucy, you could use cooked and chopped bacon or another favorite cooked meat, or you can swap with more of another vegetable for a vegetarian version. So glad you enjoyed it!
Did you use an 8 x 8 baking dish when you halved the recipe, Lucy.?
What do you think about subbing tater tots for crusty bread?
We haven’t tested it ourselves, but several readers have reported success using tater tots. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hey Sally! Do you think I could do this recipe with frozen tater tots or frozen shredded hash browns instead of bread? Would it work the same as the cubes?
Hi Molly, yes, you can use frozen tater tots or frozen hash browns instead. No need to thaw before using. Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe twice now. Once at Easter for brunch. I used potatoes instead of bread. I wasn’t thinking and used ground pork instead of pork sausage the first time I made it. It was so bland but I blamed it on that. This time I made it using ground pork sausage and potatoes. It was still bland. It needs more salt or seasoning. I like the ratios of everything and it always comes out a good consistency but it needs more salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Maybe even more cheese too. Both times I used the unexpected cheddar from Trader Joe’s. I would double all the spices next time though. I would imagine it’s just as bland with bread. I’ll make this for a third time and up the salt and Italian seasonings.
We all loved this!! I made it last weekend when we had alot of guests for my son’s wedding and it was a hit! I made 2 pans (actually 2 nights ahead) and in one pan I toasted some croissants in the oven for 10 minutes and then tore those up and combined with ciabatta bread – YUMMY! Thanks for the great recipe! My family are not egg baker eaters until now :).
I am going to try this recipe. I ampleasantly surprised that the sodium content and calories are so reasonable.