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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I love this recipe. I would like to try adding broccoli next time. If I do, should I partially cook the broccoli first?
That sounds like a delicious addition. If you chop them small enough you can add them raw. For larger chunks you can partially cook them.
I made this dish for my family and it was absolutely awesome! I plan to make it for Christmas Eve breakfast with waffles. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Sherry!
Can crescent rolls be added to this recipe?
I have not tried this with crescent rolls so I can’t say for sure how they would cook.
Holly, every recipe I have made by you has been delicious! Thank you so much!
Made this using hash brown sticks on base of casserole, then layered sausage, red & green peppers, omitted onions & used Hebbs De Provence in egg, cheese and 2% milk mixture. It was an instant Winner in our house, almost a coffeecake like texture!
Thank you Holly, I have a huge crowd to feed for breakfast too so anything I can make ahead of time and freeze is a time saver. Thanks again.
I made this recipe before and it was delicious! This time, I sauteed the red pepper and onion in olive oil til softened and slightly golden brown. I then cooked the fresh shredded hash browns in olive oil for 6 minutes each on both sides til somewhat golden and crispy. When the hashbrown and pepper/onion mixture cooled I added previously oven cooked bacon which I had chopped. After I combined everything including the 1.5 cups of blended Italian cheese, I poured the 8 egg and evaporated mixture over the top. I then sprinkled with the remaining cup of cheese and refrigerated. The next morning I only cooked the casserole for 30 minutes as everything in it was already cooked. Delicious!!
I’ve made this every week for the last three weeks as an easy hearty breakfast during the week. I’m diary free at the moment so had to make some substitutions using goat cheese or sheep cheese and then coconut milk instead of evaporated milks. Super tasty, even modified! This has made it to my “pinned” recipes note in my phone. Big fan!
Good recipe. Similar to other breakfast casseroles, I find that adding a half stick of butter gives it a five star taste. Albeit at the expense of added calories.
I’m looking forward to making this for a tailgate this weekend. I’m going to make two pans and transfer to crock pot to keep warm. Is there any reason why that wouldn’t be a good idea?
Hi Angie, if you wanted to just make a breakfast casserole right in the crockpot we have this delicious recipe for slow cooker breakfast casserole. But I don’t see why your idea wouldn’t work too.
I make this every year for Christmas and Mother’s Day. My family loves it.
Looks so good but would dearly like to use shredded hashbrowns but I can’t seem to find them anywhere in my area in Canada. Been looking for a long time for them because there are a lot of recipes using them. I can get diced but I don’t think they would work as well in some recipes.
Depending where you’re located, you can get Western Family brand shredded hash browns at SaveOn Foods/BuyLow and McCain shredded hash browns at Superstore (which means Loblaws may have them too). I hope that helps!
I also cannot find anywhere in my area in Canada! I am hoping this works well with diced.
Can this be made and then frozen for a freezer friendly meal?
Hi Amanda, you will want to fully thaw the casserole before cooking. I would take it out of the freezer the night before, thaw it in the fridge, and let it sit on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking. If it’s still a bit cold, it might need a bit of extra cooking time. I hope that helps! :)
Do you bake it first and then freeze it or can it go on the freezer uncooked? Thank you!
It can go in the freezer uncooked.
I’ve made this before and people love ot every time. I’m trying to make 6 for a breakfast fundraiser. Do the eggs taste spongy if you cook first and freeze? Im trying to see what would be the best way to save time the morning of…. Or do you recommend baking them the morning of, but two at a time? If so, how would that impact the cooking time?
Hi Lid, I always bake before serving but prep the night before. I make this recipe every Christmas and often have leftovers, we just store them in the fridge and reheat when serving and the texture of the eggs has always been fine. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
So easy and delish!! Great for a crowd, everyone loves it! Will make again and again!
You can’t beat an egg bake and with most of the recipes out there you can tweak it to what your family likes or what you have on hand keeping the moisture balanced. I used sausages links and cut them into coins, grape tomatoes, green peppers, green onions, fresh Amish eggs, evaporated milk, spices as listed only more of them. I liked that there was no condensed cream soup and if I didn’t find my cream bad I would have used it instead of the evaporated milk, This is a great basic dish to play with. I have so many things I want to try in it…spinach, mushrooms, etc but I need to go to the grocery store. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can you freeze this casserole ahead of time?
Hi C.B, this recipe freezes well, just thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Holly, every recipe I have made by you has been delicious! Thank you so much!
I added a few things of my own. I also roasted the hashbrowns. My friends loved it.
How did you roast the hash browns. I used the recipe above and felt like the potatoes were not done.
I think I will cook the hashbrowns first so they are crispy then put the egg mixture over- and cook again! I hate a soggy bottom layer.
Me and my boyfriend ( mind you he is one of the most picky eaters I have met) made this and we could get enough
Great recipe. Will make again and again. Kids loved it. I used a 30 ounce bag of hashbrowns from Aldi so did 12 eggs, 1 lb sausage tho and 1 and 3/4 c milk. 3 c of cheese. Did in a larger pan. Wonderful