Cheesy Breakfast Casserole
The best and easiest make-ahead breakfast casserole loaded with sausage, potatoes and cheesy goodness!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That’s a given. Too bad it’s usually skipped with a hot cup of coffee or a quick drive-thru at McDonald’s for those 2-for-1 sausage egg mcmuffin deals. And a giant maple bar at your local donut store.
Wait, is that just me?
No, but really, with this make-ahead breakfast casserole here, breakfast really becomes the most important meal of the day. It’s so important, you’ll end up having this for dinner too. After all, breakfast foods taste so much better at nighttime anyway, right?
Cheesy Breakfast Casserole
The best and easiest make-ahead breakfast casserole loaded with sausage, potatoes and cheesy goodness!
Ingredients
- 2 small russet potatoes, diced
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 Italian sausage links, casing removed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Place potatoes and 1/4 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and place into microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until tender; drain well and set aside.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat. Stir in bell peppers and potatoes until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese until well combined.
- Place sausage mixture evenly into the baking dish. Pour egg mixture evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.*
- Place into oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the eggs are firm.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*This can be covered and placed in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When ready to reheat, let the covered casserole sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Did you make this recipe?
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Have made this many times for family gatherings. It’s a great make ahead dish and I usually double the recipe. I do sauté some onions to add. Always a hit!
We have made this many times, and it is very good every time!!! Thank you, Jack & Polly
Thank you kindly for the recipe. It was really good. I might try to add something else next time, but the recipe was good as is. Many “thank yous” !
Sooooo good! I did ham and bacon instead of sausage links because I was broke and that’s what I had already but this was perfect for breakfasts for a week! So good the first time (I love the soft potatoes and blend of flavors) and it reheated well unlike other recipes I’ve tried. Thank you!
replaced potatoes & peppers with potatoes O’brien from Ore-Ida in freezer section.
Making this bake for the 3rd time this morning! My SO doesn’t usually like breakfast (what a weirdo) but he actually gets excited about having this. This morning I’ve added extra peppers, onions, and mushrooms, but it’s one of those recipes you can dress up however you like. Much like other reviewers, I like this recipe because it doesn’t use frozen hash browns and 50 million eggs. Thanks for the new family favorite!
I made this for brunch with friends and it was a hit! Doubled to fill a deep oval casserole that fits 13×9 recipes. I used a 1-lb tube of turkey breakfast sausage and added spinach (which is probably why it turned out a little watery in the end, not cooking the spinach down long enough with all the other veggies. If you do the same thing, be careful). Along with the bell peppers I minced in a tiny jalapeno that added a nice subtle warmth to the flavor.
I loved the tip about par-cooking fresh potatoes instead of using frozen hash browns; since my kitchen is stuck in the 1940s without a microwave I boiled the diced potatoes for a few minutes in a pot of water.
The make-ahead nature of the recipe was super convenient too; I transported the filling in the baking dish and the egg mix in a glass jar. Get to friend’s kitchen, pour eggs over filling, top with shredded cheese, outline a bat shape with purple bell pepper strips because it’s almost Halloween, bake, serve hot 🙂
Best version of a breakfast casserole I have seen in years! No bread!
I added an extra egg, a splash more of milk, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt (or to taste), and 1/3 cup of diced onion to the vegetable sauté. . . And a bit more cheese.
I prepped the vegetables and meat the night before, adding egg mixture right before baking.
This is my go to breakfast dish now! You will not be disappointed!
Never knew about the microwave potato trick! Thank you for that. Loved everything about this breakfast bake. I know I can count on your recipes being awesome every time.
Made this and it is very tasty! I modified using Beyond Meat Italian sausage and you would never know the difference. Will be making again!
I just made this because I actually had leftover breakfast sausage links and looked for a recipe using all the ingredients I had in my freezer.
I had to cook it in a cast iron skillet in the oven because I had no pan.
It was excellent! I used frozen peppers and onions, because I had them. Thank you for my PANDAMNIT recipes! I haven’t had to leave to go to store in over a month! I have sent my husband, but one of us has to stay “clean”.
I’ve been searching for a breakfast recipe that my entire family will eat, and am so happy to finally run across this one. I love the fact that it uses fresh potatoes vs frozen hash browns! My daughter, who doesn’t like eggs, even loves this. I’ve made this several times, following the recipe as is although I add onions and additional cheese.
We LOVE this dish at my house! My son asks for it at least once a week!
Haven’t tried it, just resent the way you call us old and geezers!
Very tasty, however I did a lot of mods:
I did a number of mods. Based on what I had at home:
Added 1/2 and onion to the peppers during sauté it really needs the onion!
I Used sambal for the heat plus paprika @ serving
I used left over taco spiced meatloaf mix as the meat… this was surprising good in this dish.
For cheese I used cheddar and pepper jack
Seasoned with paprika and appearance when serving.
Excellent! I made this vegetarian by using “Beyond Meat” hot Italian sausages that I cooked and cut into thick coins. I also added some left over asparagus that I cut into small pieces. Easy peasy and nice and hearty! Thank you from NH
Made this today for day after Thanksgiving. Doubled it, used leftover hah, added spinach a bit of red onion (I only had one pepper:) and it was delicious!! Everyone is loving it. It will last only minutes. Thank you so much for sharing. Will be making for Christmas.
Can you tell me what size baking dish you used to double this? tks
Cooked this recipe this morning for me and the wife and we loved it will definitely be making this dish again a lot more often.
If I want to freeze this (I’m meal prepping for a friends baby#2) would you cook it and then freeze it? and how you recommend reheating?
Freezing sounds like an amazing idea (especially for friend’s baby #2!) but unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. However, this can be made ahead of time and placed in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When ready to reheat, let the covered casserole sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Hope that helps, Nicole!
I made this but instead of sausage I used chopped yellow onions (I dont eat meat). I also added about 3 small cloves of minced garlic. Turned of fantastic and the husband smashed 3 pieces in under 3 minutes!