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 made it with spicy pork sausage and added a shallot along with the onion and bell pepper. Super delicious! Thanks for a great recipe :)
Mmm, that sounds amazing Jennifer! You’re welcome!
Made it with chorizo and it turned out great! Another great recipe. :)
Thank you Caroline! So happy to hear that!
Written recipe and video are bulls**t. If they are for the same dish they should be mirror images. Mine turned out like a soup sandwich after 95 minutes of baking. Nice waste of time
We do make recipes multiple times Anthony. I can assure you that the recipe and video are not BS, and this recipe has a rating of 4.99 from over 700 reviews. What type of hashbrowns did you use? Were they thawed? Did you use evaporated milk, or a lesser amount, as listed, of regular milk?
Clearly you did something wrong. I’ve done this recipe for years maybe you didn’t add enough hash browns or too much egg or milk?
I made this for Christmas breakfast and my family loved it. It was YUMMY!!!
To freeze, do you cook it and then reheat when you want to eat it or do you mix it all together, freeze, and then cook when you want it?
I bake it and freeze individual servings.
I made this for Mother’s Day and it was a total hit!! If I was to do a half recipe (8×8 pan) do you think the cook time would be significantly less?
I’ve not tried half a recipe, but think the time would be similar. You may want to check it about 15 minutes before the end of the cook time to see how it is.
Can I bake this in a cast iron skillet? If so how long?
I haven’t tried it Kat, but I’d think you’d bake it the same amount of time. You may want to check about 15 minutes earlier to see how it is going. Let us know if you do try it in a skillet!
I made this for my family today and it was a huge hit. I was worried about the long cooking time but it was definitely worth the wait. My extremely picky toddler ate it with no issues! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
So glad that you love the casserole so much! Always makes life happy when a picky youngster loves a dish, right? You’re very welcome!
Me again. I forgot to add I used a package of chopped ham instead of sausage and it was delicious
This was really good! I made it the night before for a “ladies night” breakfast. I loved the addition of the italian seasoning, it gave it that “hmmm, what is that special ingredient” flavor. I also liked that it took only 8 eggs. I used 1% milk instead of evaporated and didn’t add the onions (not a big fan), and used low fat mexican blend and full fat cheddar. I’ve tried many breakfast casseroles and this is my favorite so far. Thanks
You’re welcome Larine! Love hearing that!
Could you cook it in a crock pot? If so for how long?
Yes, you can find my slow cooker breakfast casserole here Dot. Enjoy!
Bake covered or uncovered? Thanks!
It is baked uncovered. Enjoy!
Would maple flavored sausage be good in this or just stick with regular?
I’m sure that’d be delicious Emily!
Your recipe calls for a pan vs a dish. Can I use a glass casserole dish? If yes, do I need to decrease the temperature?
You sure can, no change needed. Enjoy Donna!
Hi Holly,
I want to make it for my family on Mother’s Day. I want to substitute the sausage with ham. Do I need to brown the ham?
No need Erika! Enjoy the casserole! Happy Mother’s Day.
Thank you, Holly and Happy Mother’s Day to you.
Thank you!
I made this last week but with cubed hash browns. It was amazing!!!! My husband can’t wait for me to make it again, I loved it so much and it was so easy that I’m willing to make it on Mother’s Day! I just have a quick question, can you substitute some of the eggs for egg whites? And if so, what would you recommend? Thanks for the amazing recipe!
While I’ve never tried it Erin, I think that would work just fine. Enjoy and Happy Mother’s Day!
Hi, I have 2 pans prepared for 2 brunches (tomorrow and the next day) do I bake them uncovered or covered?
They can be baked uncovered.
Really good recipe, I have made it about 6 times now and is a really easy thing to make for dinner and have leftovers the next day. First time I made it per the recipe exactly and it was fine but the modifications I have made that I really feel make it better are lowering the cook time to ~40 minutes(I like the softer moister texture), using some more seasoning like paprika and adding more cheese.
Can you use the reconstituted hashbrowns that come in a carton?
They do not need to be cooked, just rehydrated. Enjoy Patty!
I would love to make this for a work meeting. Could I use cupcake liners in muffin pans for individual servings?
I’ve never tried that Pam, but it sure sounds like a fun idea! I’d suggest greasing the muffin liners. Let us know if you try it!
This came out well! Can’t complain! I used freshly shredded potatoes instead of frozen and whatever stuff I had one hand. Yum!