Breakfast Casserole

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

55 Comments

5 from 15 votes
10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
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Breakfast Casserole made with eggs, bacon, shredded potatoes, and cheese is the PERFECT make-ahead breakfast for busy mornings or holidays!

During the holidays we love going overboard for breakfast with delicious Breakfast Casserole Recipes and sweet treats like Easy Cinnamon Rolls (in 1 Hour!).

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole is a go-to on the holidays because it’s really EASY and stress free to throw together for breakfast or brunch. You can prepare it ahead of time and just pull it out of the refrigerator when you’re ready to bake. We use bacon in this casserole recipe, but you can use any of the usual breakfast meat options like sausage or ham if that’s what you have.

This is typically a breakfast recipe (or brunch), but we’re not above serving this for dinner on a semi-regular basis. It’s crowd-pleasing and easy to make during busy weeknights. We prefer the texture of the shredded hash browns, but Diced Hash Browns will work, too.

You can customize your breakfast casserole with any of your family’s favorite omelette fillings. This is also a great way to use up odds and ends of leftover vegetables or meats. Just make sure any fillings are already cooked and drained well before dicing them up and stirring into the egg mixture.

If you’re serving this casserole for a crowd, serve it with a batch of Buttermilk Biscuits on the side. Eggs and biscuits make the perfect breakfast combo, and it also gives people more variety to choose from at the table.

HOW TO MAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE 

  • Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a baking dish with vegetable oil spray.
  • Add bacon, onion, and bell pepper to a large skillet on medium high heat and cook until just shy of being done, then drain fat.
  • Add the bacon mixture to a large bowl with hash browns, butter, eggs, cheddar and cottage cheese.
  • Mix ingredients well and bake, uncovered, for 60-70 minutes until set.

More Delicious Breakfast Casseroles

Frequently Asked Questions

How to you know when Breakfast Casserole is done?

This breakfast recipe is done when the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. If you used frozen hash browns without defrosting, it may take a few more minutes to cook through. Take this out of the oven just as it sets, it will keep cooking as it cools down. You don’t have to worry about the bacon or sausage because you browned it ahead of time.

Just make sure the middle of the pan has set. You may feel like it is done if you’re testing the edges of the pan but you need to test the middle of the pan before you pull it out of the oven for good.

Should I bake a Breakfast Casserole covered or uncovered?

You don’t have to cover an egg breakfast casserole while it’s baking. If you start to notice it browning too quickly around the edges, you can cover with tinfoil to prevent burning and check the oven temperature. Then remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes to get the golden brown color on the top.

How do I reheat a Breakfast Casserole?

If you’ve frozen the casserole, defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until casserole is heated through. If you reheat a piece in the microwave, the eggs may become overcooked.

Is Breakfast Casserole Gluten Free?

This dish is naturally gluten free, but check any packaged things for added ingredients that vary by brand.

Bacon Breakfast Casserole

 

Key Ingredients in Breakfast Casserole

  • Eggs: You will use 10 large eggs for this recipe. It’s a good idea to crack the eggs one by one in a small bowl before adding to a larger bowl to beat. This way if there is a spoiled egg, or if a lot of shell gets into one, you can remedy it quickly without ruining the entire batch.
  • Bacon: Use any favorite variety of bacon, thick or thin sliced. Dice the bacon while it’s cold so that it’s easier to handle, and the pieces will separate and crisp up nicely when browned.
  • Hash Browns: Frozen shredded hash browns make this Breakfast Casserole quick and easy to prepare. Just make sure you defrost them well and pat any excess moisture with paper towels to help prevent the casserole from becoming watery.
  • Veggies: Minced yellow onion and diced green bell pepper add an aromatic flavor that complements the salty bacon and cheese. They add a nice bright color and crunch along with extra flavor to make your Breakfast Casserole taste almost like a fancy omelette.
  • Cheese: It’s best to buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself with a cheese grater. This lets the cheese melt into the casserole without adding any grittiness from the anti-caking agents that are often added to pre-shredded cheese. You can use mild, medium, or sharp cheddar depending on your preference.

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole

This is a great recipe for making breakfast in the slow cooker, but only use the low setting to avoid overcooking the eggs. Make an overnight breakfast casserole by setting the slow cooker before you go to sleep and waking up to breakfast!

  • Coat the slow cooker bowl lightly with cooking spray or butter (or use a crock pot liner).
  • Sauté bacon (or sausage), onion, and bell peppers until bacon is cooked through. Drain grease and add to slow cooker.
  • Add all other ingredients and stir everything together, with salt and black pepper to taste.
  • Bake for a total time of 7-8 hours on low, until eggs are cooked through.

More Breakfast Casserole Recipes

Variations on Breakfast Casserole

  • Add ins: Add your favorite omelette fillings such as cooked sausage or ham, spinach, kale, mushrooms, tomatoes (fresh or sundried), green onions, or broccoli.
  • Cheese: Instead of cheddar cheese, try mixing in Swiss cheese, goat cheese crumbles, shredded Pepper Jack, gouda, American cheese, or Italian cheeses like Parmesan, mozzarella, or fontina.
  • Tex Mex Breakfast Bake: Make this a breakfast Tex-Mex casserole by whisking in spices to the egg mixture and adding diced jalapeno or poblano peppers, spicy sausage, and topping with salsa and avocado before serving!
  • Meats: If you’re making a sausage breakfast casserole, breakfast sausage, sweet Italian sausage, or spicy Italian sausage all work well in this recipe. Depending on the fat, you should still drain any grease from the browned sausage before adding to the casserole. If you use leftover cooked ham from dinner the night before, you can skip the browning step entirely and make this a one-dish recipe!
  • Potatoes: Make tater tot breakfast casserole by swapping the hash browns for a layer of tater tots.
  • Toppings: Serve your Breakfast Casserole with a variety of condiments and toppings. You can put out sour cream, hot sauce, avocado slices, extra shredded cheese, or ketchup.
  • Mini Egg Casseroles: Instead of one large casserole, you can stir up the egg mixture in a bowl and spoon it into a greased muffin tin or mini loaf pans for individual servings. Decrease baking time to about 20-25 minutes.

How to Store Breakfast Casserole

  • Serve: Do not leave your Breakfast Casserole at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: A fully cooked breakfast casserole will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. If it makes it that long without being eaten. If you prepped this casserole ahead of time without baking, cover and refrigerate it for up to 1 day or overnight, then bake your overnight breakfast casserole the next morning.
  • Freeze: You can freeze this fully cooked easy breakfast casserole for 2-3 months. I recommend using a disposable catering dish if you’re going to do this so you don’t have to use a casserole dish. Make sure you wrap it tightly to prevent freezer burn. You can also portion into serving sizes and wrap each one individually for breakfast or brunch on-the-go throughout the week. Do not freeze this dish if you used an egg substitute as it will not freeze well.
Bacon and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

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Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole made with eggs, bacon, shredded potatoes, and cheese is the PERFECT make-ahead breakfast for busy mornings or holidays!
Yield 10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Breakfast Casserole
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound bacon , diced
  • 1/2 yellow onion , minced
  • 1 green bell pepper , diced
  • 4 cups frozen shredded potatoes
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
  • 10 large eggs
  • 3 cups cheddar cheese , shredded
  • 16 ounces small curd cottage cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking dish with vegetable oil spray.
  • Add the bacon, onion and bell pepper to a large skillet on medium high heat until cooked just shy of being done.
  • Drain the fat and add the mixture to a large bowl with the hash browns, butter, eggs, cheddar cheese and cottage cheese.
  • Mix the ingredients until they're well coated.
  • Put into a 9×13 baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 60-70 minutes.

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 566kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 254mg | Sodium: 758mg | Potassium: 499mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 910IU | Vitamin C: 16.8mg | Calcium: 322mg | Iron: 2.1mg

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Breakfast Casserole Collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I have made this several times and it was delicious. My family loved it. Even shared your recipe. Question. Can I freeze uncooked and then thaw and bake?

    Reply

    1. Freeze: You can freeze this fully cooked easy breakfast casserole for 2-3 months. I recommend using a disposable catering dish if you’re going to do this so you don’t have to use a casserole dish. Make sure you wrap it tightly to prevent freezer burn. You can also portion into serving sizes and wrap each one individually for breakfast or brunch on-the-go throughout the week. Do not freeze this dish if you used an egg substitute as it will not freeze well.

      Reply

  2. Getting ready to make this for Black Friday breakfast. I would like to use muffin tins. How many muffins will this recipe make and how full do I pour in the batter?

    Reply

    1. I make this all the time. Everyone loves it. I made it for a brunch gathering and mine was one of three and voted #1. The one woman said “I made it”(jokingly) It’s Delicious!!!

      Reply

  3. I made this today and it’s so easy and very good. I think it’s more like 15 servings for me, though, so I’ll freeze a lot of it.

    I think next time I might use roasted poblano pepper and leave out the bacon to make it a little lower in calories.

    To those of you who haven’t tried this and are wondering if you should, yes you should! It’s definitely a keeper.

    Reply

    1. Made this this morning and it was really good with a couple adjustments using the cubed hash browns with peppers and onions taking around 66 minutes in my gas stove.

      Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply

  6. Can I grate the potatoes instead of using the frozen shredded potatoes? Basically using fresh potatoes instead of frozen potatoes. Thank you.

    Reply

  7. GREAT recipe. Been making breakfast casseroles for several years for our adult kids when they visit for the weekend, and this got a “best yet” review from them. Omitted green pepper (1 kid STILL hates them) and used bacon grease instead of butter. Yum!!

    Reply

  9. Made this for the first time without any changes and my WHOLE family voted it a hit. There was one small piece left over and it was just as good heated up as it was on the day I made it.
    This recipe is a keeper!!
    6 adults and 6 kids loved it

    Reply

    1. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know, Shelley. I love when recipes are a hit with the whole family.

      Reply

    1. You can see it a bit but it’s not super obvious. Not sure if it’ll pass the picky-eater test or not, haha! Let me know if you decide to try.

      Reply

  12. Thank you for this amazing recipe! Everytime I make it , it disappears like magic. Everyone I’ve maded & shared this with, can’t believe how good it is!

    Reply

  13. This was delicious! I made it just as the recipe says. Next time I will try it with sausage. Very pleased with the results. Only took 60 minutes to bake in my oven.

    Reply

  14. I served this to both services Easter morning at our potluck. We got there early to assemble two double-size pans, and then baked it during early service. The folks polished off the first in just a few minutes, and I refrigerated the second for after the 10:30 service. Microwave on half speed worked just fine, and it didn’t get tough. Our world-famous tenor simply had to have the recipe, and another lady grabbed it from him to photo with her phone before he took it back. This recipe is absolutely delicious, especially considering we’ve always used the bread chunks, sausage, cheese, and eggs recipe before. Totally new for our crowd, and they loved the hashbrowns and bacon. Thank you, thank you!

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. I’m so glad that everyone loved it!

      Reply

    1. I haven’t tested it but my gut is telling me it would work. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!

      Reply

    1. Wonderful! So glad you loved it, thank you for coming back to leave a review! And on Christmas day, I so appreciate it. 🙂

      Reply

    1. I haven’t tested it but you could possibly subustitute with plan yogurt or ricotta cheese. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!

      Reply

  20. I love breakfast casseroles…this looks so delicious!! We just might be trying this one over the holidays! 🙂

    Reply

    2. I made this for dinner last night. I used breakfast sausages which I cut into half inch pieces (instead of bacon). I didn’t have frozen hash browns, so I grated a couple of potatoes. This was so good. I will definitely make it again. Thank you for such a fabulous recipe.

      Reply

      1. I’m so glad you were easily able to adapt it to what you had on hand, Cathy. Thanks for the 5 stars.

        Reply

      1. No, but it will take less time. I would check it around 40 minutes and go from there depending on what size pan you’re using.

        Reply