A Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is perfect when you need to feed a crowd first thing in the morning.
This breakfast casserole recipe is a full meal with eggs, sausage, peppers, and hashbrowns all topped with cheese and baked until perfect golden brown.
Best of all, prepare ahead of time and in the morning, just pop it into the oven. Serve with a fresh fruit salad, and keep the coffee coming (or mimosas)!
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Ingredients in Breakfast Casserole
Hashbrowns – I use shredded hashbrowns, but any style of hash browns work well in this recipe, or even leftover home fries or roasted potatoes!
Sausage – I prefer pork sausage (like Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sausage). Swap it out for turkey sausage, ham, or crispy bacon (or even leftover ground beef from last night’s tacos)!
Veggies – I add bell peppers to this casserole but add whatever veggies you have on hand. Mushrooms (cook them first so they don’t get watery), asparagus, or even steamed broccoli are great.
Cheese – Shredded sharp cheddar cheese is our favorite, but pepper jack cheese or other bold flavorful cheeses work well. Save a little for the top to get a nice golden layer of cheese.
This hash brown casserole recipe is very forgiving; you can change the add-ins according to your preferences or what you have on hand. Try leftover meats, veggies, and cheeses of all kinds. Just chop or shred and toss them into the mix.
How to Make Breakfast Casserole
Frozen hash browns make this breakfast casserole super easy to whip up.
- Spread thawed shredded hash browns in the bottom of a baking dish per the recipe below. Mix in cheese, sausage, and pepper/onions.
- Whisk eggs, milk, and seasonings in a large bowl.
- Pour over the hashbrown mixture.
Bake Now or Make Ahead
The great thing about this hash brown breakfast casserole recipe is that it can be baked right away or prepared ahead and baked before brunch. It’s perfect for holidays like Christmas morning or even Easter.
Cook it now or refrigerate overnight Once prepared, bake right away or you can cover, refrigerate overnight, and bake this breakfast casserole fresh in the morning.
To Bake Now Pour the egg mixture over top and bake. Unlike strata or french toast, you do not need to wait as there is no bread to soak up the mixture. So just make and bake.
To Bake Later Cover the mixture tightly and refrigerate for up to 48 hours (or 3 days if using pasteurized egg product). Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking (while preheating the oven).
This bakes at 350°F for 55-65 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If you’ve let it sit overnight, it may need a few extra minutes if it’s still quite chilled from the fridge.
To prepare in the Crock Pot, I recommend our slow cooker breakfast casserole.
Just like egg muffins, leftover breakfast casserole is perfect for busy weekday mornings. Keep leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven.
Yes, you sure can! This will last in the freezer for up to four months. Wrap individual pieces and store in freezer bags. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave or the oven.
More Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Casseroles
If you’re tired of the same old breakfast or want a meal to prep ahead, you’ll love these breakfast casserole recipes. They’re perfect for reheating throughout the week or for a special holiday breakfast and best of all, they’re all prepped ahead of time.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 ounces shredded hash browns thawed
- 1 pound ground pork sausage cooked, crumbled, and drained
- ¼ cup finely diced onion
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 8 eggs
- 12 ounces evaporated milk 1 can, or 1 ⅓ cups milk
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or your favorite herbs and spices, optional
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (if baking immediately). Grease a 9×13 inch pan or a 3qt baking dish or spray with cooking spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until no pink remains. Drain fat.
- In the prepared dish, add the hashbrowns, cooked sausage, onions, bell peppers, and 1 ½ cups of cheese. Gently mix the ingredients together and spread evenly in the pan.
- In a large bowl, add the eggs, evaporated milk, salt & pepper, and Italian seasoning to a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour the egg mixture over the hashbrown mixture and sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
- Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate overnight if desired, or bake immediately.
- Bake uncovered for 55-65 minutes or until cooked through.
Video
Notes
- The casserole can be assembled and baked immediately or covered and refrigerated for up to two days before baking. If using pasteurized egg product, it can be prepared three days in advance.
- Sausage can be swapped for 1lb of bacon, cooked crisp. You can use any type of shredded cheese you have on hand.
- If the casserole is refrigerated overnight, remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. It may require an extra 10-15 minutes of cooking time.
- Evaporated milk can be substituted with 1 1/3 cups of light cream, milk, or non-dairy milk of your choice.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Casserole
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This was so delicious, everyone loved it and asked for the recipe! I used sausage, ham, bacon, onion & red pepper. I precooked everything to removed excess water/grease. Placed on paper towel to remove even more. Put it all together the night before and baked in the morning! Saving this recipe for sure! Thanks
Question: directions say to put the hash browns on the bottom of the dish but photo seems to imply that the hash browns and sausage, peppers, cheese, onions etc are mixed into the hash browns before pouring the egg/milk mixture over it.
Hi Kathy, in step 5 we place all remaining ingredients in a 9×13 baking pan. We find the best results if you mix the hashbrowns, sausage, and veggies together before topping with the egg mixture.
Can you use diced hash browns instead of shredded in this recipe?
Hi Karen, I haven’t tried it but many readers have successfully used frozen diced potatoes instead of shredded. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
The recipe is good, but the hash browns are soggy. Would be a lot better if the hash browns were baked for a while first to crisp them, and then add the eggs, veggies and meat.
If you try that Cynthia, we would love to hear how it turns out for you.
The hash browns kind of disappears into a true casserole texture. Next time I think I will press the hash browns down and brown them before adding the other ingredients. It’s a texture thing so if you like fluffy omelets, this is definitely great.
Thanks, Gail. Glad you enjoyed it. If you try browning them first, we would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Hello, so I’m considering making this for a baby shower brunch and am wondering if it’s best to add the egg mixture on the casserole the night before when making ahead , or leaving that separate until the morning of ? It wasn’t clear to me in the instruction. Thank you in advance! The shower is in a few days!
Anne
Hi Anne, we fully prepare the casserole (besides baking), cover it tightly, and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Then remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking (while preheating the oven).
I made this for a Christmas breakfast brunch & everyone loved it. I would like to make it again but hoping if I cook it the night before it will still be good reheated the next morning. If you think that would work, how would I reheat & should I cover it when reheating?
Hi Dana, it should be fine prepped up to two days in advance. To reheat, I would let it sit on the counter while the oven is preheating then pop it back in for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. I would reheat uncovered but if the top starts to get too browned then I would cover it to keep it from browning further. Hope that helps!
I apologize for not thanking you sooner for your recommendations & this recipe. It turned out great- reheats beautifully & was delicious! Thankyou for another great recipe!
This looks great and I can’t wait to try it. Though if you print the recipe, it doesn’t tell you what to do with the hash browns, peppers and rest of the cheese.
It seems to be showing on my print copy. They’re added in step 5.
4. Set aside ½ cup cheese for the topping.
5. Place remaining ingredients in a 9×13 baking pan. Pour egg mixture over the mixture and top with remaining cheese.
I’m so Sorry! Thank you. I don’t know how I missed that.
If I wanted to make a smaller version, using 8×8 dish, how many eggs should I use? 6? Then just halve the hashbrowns?
If you want to change the recipe size you can click the “Print Recipe” button and adjust the servings to whatever you desire!
If I were to shred my own potatoes, should I soak and dry them first? Thanks!
I personally haven’t tried this Sarah, but other readers have used fresh shredded potatoes with great results! I don’t believe they had to soak and dry them first, but if you do we would love to hear how it turns out.
It’s really good, but always seems to take longer than an hour to bake. Can you clarify if you’re supposed to bake covered or uncovered?
This should be baked uncovered.
Hi there! If I prebake this the night prior, about how long should it take to heat up in the oven the next morning?
Hi Michelle, to reheat, I would let it sit on the counter while the oven is preheating then pop it back in for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
I usually make every Christmas morning so have more time with family then in kitchen. My family loved it. If just me & husband I half the recipe.
I make this every year for Christmas breakfast, and it’s a hit! I add veggie sausage and leave out onions and peppers on half for my kiddos. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
I made this for Christmas Eve breakfast 2021 and we loved it. Didn’t have the Italian seasoning so skipped them and it was still good. We really like this recipe.
I use Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute and Lawrys Seasoned salt, plus I eliminate sausage and use cut up Little Smokies instead . I also sprinkle on Italian Style bread crumbs with the cheese on top. This is our go to Christmas morning casserole! So yummy
I made this today with a few tweaks, no onions and bacon instead of sausage, added spinach and diced red pepper. It was delicious and easy to make. My family loved it. I’ll definitely keep this in rotation. Thank you!
Would this recipe with diced potatoes instead of shredded hashbrowns? The store only had diced potatoes! Would I need to make any changes to the recipe if I used diced potatoes? Thanks :)
I haven’t tried it but many readers have successfully used diced potatoes. If they are frozen (like O’Brien potatoes or home fries etc) no changes are needed. If they are uncooked or fresh potatoes (not soft) they will need to be pre-cooked and cooled.
What kind of sausage do you recommend? I have some mild Italian sausage but I’m not sure if that’s the right thing!
I usually use breakfast sausage but mild Italian sausage will work well too!
Any other suggestions for seasonings beside italian?
You can add any seasonings that you like but I would suggest either basil and oregano or a little bit of a homemade taco seasoning mix blend would be good too.