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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Yum
I can’t get hashed browns where I live… can I just use grated potatoes or is there a difference?
You can use grated potatoes but I would suggest cooking them until slightly softened in the microwave or in a skillet. Allow them to cool completely before adding the eggs.
Holly,
Can half and half be used in this recipe? Would it change the quality of the recipe? I have never liked evaporated milk since childhood. I am an avid fan LOVE your recipes and videos thank you for sharing. Also is it 1 and 1/3 cup milk??
Half and half will work just fine! And yes, 1 ⅓ cup of milk or cream
Holly, this recipe was amazing! Thank you so much.
Made and baked ahead of time, cooled well, sliced into portions and refrigerated. People reheated in microwave for breakfast throughout the long weekend.
This saved my sanity during Thanksgiving and my entire family requested this recipe.
This one’s a keeper! Thank you for putting a solid breakfast casserole out there that has everything you would want in one pan. My family loved this over the weekend and we had enough to split across 2 days.
Have made this this breakfast dish before and will make again today, very delicious and husband likes also. Thanks spend with pennies.
I want to make this for a potluck but I don’t have an oven in the area I do however have an electric frying pan do you think that I could use that instead of baking in the oven?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Tara, but we do have a Crock Pot version which would transport well to a potluck!
My friends all loved this, but my husband was a little take aback because the potatoes seemed too limp for him. Would it work if I sautéed the potatoes before putting them in the pan? Or would it not make a difference since they end up getting topped with egg anyway?
The hashbrowns will not stay crisp in this recipe, they soften with the liquid from the egg mixture.
I’ve seen similar recipes where you press the hash browns into the bottom of the (greased) pan and it acts as a crust. I may try that.
So I mixed this ahead of time to take to a family gathering and was going to cook the next morning but of course left it at home. Can I freeze this unbaked and then cook it for Christmas?
I haven’t tried freezing this uncooked although eggs freeze well so I do think it would work Shauna! I would suggest thawing in the fridge overnight. You may need to add some extra time for baking. Let us know how it goes!
I only have a 12 oz bag of hashbrowns Would this work or do I need to adjust ingredients or cook time?
I have only tried this as written; it would be more ‘eggy’ with fewer hashbrowns or you can adjust the ingredients (choose 5 servings on the “PRINT” page) and use a bit of a smaller pan. Let us know how it goes.
I just baked the casserole and froze it. What are the reheating instructions? Thaw and reheat or can I reheat it frozen?
Hi Leslie, we recommend thawing in the refrigerator overnight and reheating in the oven if possible. Enjoy!
I am making this recipe (which sounds amazing, by the way) for 3X. The alloted time to bake is the same for the original amount as it is for the 3X. Any idea if or how much longer I would need to bake it for a larger amount?
I would suggest baking in multiple pans to ensure that the center cooks through properly. Even with three pans, you may needs to add a few minutes of cooking time until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. I hope this helps Valorey!
Once again you knocked it out of the park with your recipe!! I made this today using your exact recipe and it was absolutely delicious. Your site is now my go-to when I am looking for a casserole recipe. Thanks for the delicious recipes!
This was absolutely delicious and exactly what I was looking for. I used 11 eggs because I needed to use them up, Impossible spicy “sausage” 1 1/3 cups of half and half, Simply Potatoes shredded hash browns, Auntie Nono’s everything seasoning and firecracker sea salt with some fresh cracked black pepper and probably more cheese than I care to admit. It is absolutely amazing and 15/10 would make again.
I have a 900 g bag of frozen hash browns. Do I use the whole bag?
This recipe calls for 20 ounces of frozen hashbrowns which is approximately 566 grams. I hope this helps Debbie.
I give this 5 stars. It’s definitely one of the best and I didn’t soak overnight just straight into the oven turned out delicious. I read the reviews and adjusted the seasoning. I used Shredded hashbrowns thawed, red bell peppers, diced onions, and Jimmy Dean Turkey crumbs cooked sausage. In my egg mixture I added garlic powder, salt, fresh ground pepper, Tony’s Creole seasoning and a little Trader Joe’s Umami mushrooms seasoning. I don’t measure seasoning just a few dashes each. I also added spring dried onions. No need to over salt because cheese has plenty of salt. I did spray my casserole dish with Canola oil spray before adding hashbrowns and I layered each main ingredient before pouring the egg mixer to this dish. I added cheese to the egg mixer and on top of this dish. I also used block cheese and shredded it. Cheese off the block melts better. I will definitely keep this recipe for years to come. And I would try to add fresh spanich and sun-dried tomatoes like the previous person suggested because that sounds awesome.
I think 50 minutes is enough time in a 9×12 pan. Definitely needed more salt. Maybe a hint of garlic too would’ve been nice. This is a great base recipe though
I saved this & my daughter made it for dinner tonight. It was by far the best breakfast casserole I’ve ever had! We did skip the green pepper because my family is not a fan. Other than that, she followed the recipe. This is definitely a keeper!
Over the years, we have tried numerous breakfast casserole recipes, some okay, some not. This one is, hands down, THE BEST one we have ever made. This is our go-to recipe and my adult kids request it every time I am asked to bring breakfast.
I am so happy to hear this recipe is a hit with your family!
I just made this today and you are absolutely correct. Hands down the best breakfast casserole I have made in years. I used Jimmy Dean Turkey Crumbs cooked sausage for lower calories and made mine Weight Watchers friendly by using low fat evaporate milk. I serving turned out to be 8 pts which if you know WW this is a nice change for a easy morning breakfast.
I left out the Italian seasoning. It needed more salt than the recipe specified.
Lovely delicious recipe. I halved the recipe, using a 8 X 8 pan, added some spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Used only a little cheese. Will definitely make this again.
Such a good basic casserole to work with! I only used onions(had no peppers) & cooked them with the sausage. Didn’t have shredded hashbrowns. But had 10 frozen hash brown Pattie’s. Cooked them in 9×13 pan alone for 8 min. Then chopped them up and spread them out. Then sprinkled crumbled meat mixture over top. Sprinkled cheese over that. Then poured egg mixture over that. Sprinkled the 1/2 cup remaining cheese on top and immediately cooked it for 25 min. Perfect!! And so yummy! You can also replace the has browns with cubed or torn pieces of bread. Enough to cover the bottom of 9×13 pan. Cook same way.
Best casserole for Christmas breakfast! My family loves it. I love all the recipes Holly posts, never had one we didn’t like.
Thank you so much Mari-Ann, I’m glad you’ve loved the recipes!