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 is in the oven now! Making it for my fiance’s bachelor party as a hangover breakfast for the guys! To make it foolproof for them, do you recommend reheating in the oven with foil on or reheating it uncovered?
Thanks :)
This can be reheated uncovered!
Delicious!! Will be on our regular rotation for breakfast. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
Does this really only make 8 servings? I am making this for a bridal shower (50 guests – all female).
Hi Carol, that will depend on your serving sizes. For this recipe, we sliced it into 8 peices (approx 1 ½ cups per serving).
what size pan is used for this recipe. If it makes only 8 servings, maybe it isn’t a 9×13 pan.
As noted in Instruction number 5, it is a 9×13 pan. Enjoy the casserole Grace!
How much salt and pepper would you recommend using? Great recipe thanks!
Hi Ash, depending on how much salt and pepper you enjoy you can leave it out or add in ¼ to ½ a teaspoon each to start. I personally about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. I love an extra peppery dish so I always add more!
Are the Nutritional Facts PER serving? Or Total?
Yes, the nutrition information is per serving Sarah.
Giving this a try but I honestly think any veg/meats/cheese can be added too another bowl and mixed with the potatoes. I tried too layer it all in with no success. Ended up mixing it in the 9×13 and ending up with a huge mess. Almost forgot too put in any of the cheese before pouring the eggs over top.
I love this dish. This is the second time that I have made it. Is it best to leave the foil on after it has been taken out of the fridge from the night before?
Hi Gloria, we bake this recipe uncovered. So I would remove the foil before popping it into the oven the next morning.
Just the recipe I’m looking for. Do you layer the the ingredients or mix them together before adding the egg mixture?
Also, can the hash browns be cooked fijust to brown them ?
You can mix the ingredients if you’d like or simply add them to the dish. The hash browns can be browned ahead if you’d like.
Do you think his can be prepped the night before and tossed in the oven in the morning? Or is it best to make and bake in one fell swoop? Thanks!
Yes, you can cook it the next day! Just make sure you take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking it!
Delicious! I made this for a church breakfast and it was amazing! I used evaporated milk and added a little drained rotel in the veggie layer. I will definitely make it again. Thank you!
You’re welcome Trish! Sounds great!
I made this for Father’s Day brunch, and everyone loved it! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Katherine, so glad it was such a big hit!
If using 30 oz. size bag of hash browns (all I could find) would I need more eggs & milk? Planning on using evaporated milk, also 16 oz of diced ham.
Thanks!
Carol
You’d want to increase the other ingredients by half so that there is enough. It may take a little longer to bake as well. Enjoy Carol!
I made this recipe with diced ham. I’ve made plenty of egg casseroles in the past. This one seriously was my favorite. It smelled wonderful and tasted even better. I will continue to make this and share the recipe with others. Thank you!
You’re so very welcome!
Plan on using half sausage, half bacon. Do You suggest I cook the bacon before baking it like the sausage or can I put the bacon in raw? Thank you.
I would cook the bacon first. Enjoy Melissa!
At a recent trip to Costco we found that they were no longer carrying the breakfast item my husband likes to pack to take to work, so I went searching for something to make and freeze in portions. Enter this casserole which worked great. After sitting for a few minutes it sliced up neatly like a lasagna (I used slightly more hash browns than stated since the package came in 24 oz, and I went with the condensed milk). Since I had to dirty a pan to brown the sausage I did the onions and peppers stovetop also. I made it late in the afternoon so we had it for dinner and it was definitely a winner. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sounds Delish Kim!
Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole was a big hit in our home.
yum
Great recipe with turkey sausage that I tweaked with finely ground rosemary, sage and thyme along with crushed red pepper. I would have preferred more potatoes but I will fix it again. – making it my own.
Do you bake covered or uncovered?
It is baked uncovered. Enjoy!
After reading one recent review I was so nervous about how this recipe would turn out. It was my first time making it and I was having friends over for brunch, but I pressed on. I followed the recipe as written and it was a hit. Everyone really liked it and asked for the recipe. This is a definite keeper.
Thank you for your comment Ivette! I’m so glad that you love the hashbrowns casserole as much as we do!