This breakfast casserole is totally adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand–cheese, veggies, meats–and can be assembled the night before and baked off in the morning. Or eaten for dinner! Your choice!
On vacation, 5 o’clock pm, having too much fun to realize that nothing has been planned for dinner, fridge mostly empty, remembering that uh-oh, I’m the one in charge of feeding my friend’s children that night.
Oops!
Open the refrigerator door, see half a dozen eggs, half a carton of milk, some cheddar cheese, leftover sausage from biscuits and gravy the day before, a little broccoli, a leftover ear of corn (cooked).
Open the freezer and see half a loaf of sliced bread. Saved!
Whew. The kids will not have boxed mac and cheese for dinner.
What is a breakfast casserole?
Have you ever made a breakfast casserole?
The basic ingredients are eggs, cheese, milk, and bread. It’s the easiest thing in the world to put together. We have a sausage breakfast casserole on the site that is one of my favorites.
The great thing about a breakfast casserole is that you can add almost anything you want to the base. Italian sausage is my all-time favorite, but bacon or ham will do, too. Or make it veggie, with zucchini, broccoli, basil, and onions.
The first time I served this to the kids they insisted that it had to go on the website. The name they picked was “Open Fridge Breakfast Bake” because basically that’s what I did—opened the fridge, put everything I could find into a casserole dish, and baked it.
How to Make a Breakfast Casserole
The ingredients all basically come together in one big casserole pan, but there are a few steps I would recommend first. If you are using mushrooms, sauté them a bit beforehand to release some of their water. You can also add cooked, sturdy veggies such as broccoli into the casserole, or put it in raw. Just know you’ll have a crunchier veggie if you put in the casserole raw.
If you are using any meat, brown that and cook it, too, before adding to the casserole. Feel free to add any spices that you like—curry and cumin are good.
The proportions in this recipe are adjustable. If you add more eggs, it will result in a casserole that is more firm and less likely to deflate.
Stale bread works great with this kind of dish, but if you don’t have that, feel free to leave it out on the counter to dry out or toast it in the oven or toaster for a little bit.
What to Serve With a Breakfast Casserole
You hardly need anything else to eat with this, it’s so loaded with veggies and so filling. But it’s nice to have a small green salad if you’re having this for dinner, or a side of crispy hash browns or home fries.
If you are serving this as part of a brunch buffet spread, consider adding other options such as yogurt and granola and some fresh fruit.
Make This Ahead of Time!
Yes, you can assemble the whole thing the night before, stick it in the fridge, covered, and bake it off in the morning. No work when you wake up, and all reward.
How to Keep and Reheat a Breakfast Casserole
This will keep for a few days in the fridge, covered. You can microwave it until it’s hot, one slice at a time, or you can reheat the whole thing in a 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes until it’s heated through.
Do you have a favorite breakfast casserole combo? If so, please let us know about it in the comments.
MORE EASY, LAZY BREAKFAST BAKES, PLEASE!
- Tater Tot Casserole
- Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
- Baked Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Zucchini Breakfast Casserole
- Bagel Breakfast Casserole
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