This is by far my favorite holiday recipe.
This easy overnight breakfast casserole has lots of bacon and cheese in an easy strata style dish.
It’s perfect for brunch, holiday mornings, or lazy Sundays!
An Easy Overnight Breakfast Casserole
I have a hard time choosing between hashbrowns breakfast casserole and this one which my mom always made for Christmas morning!
- This overnight breakfast casserole recipe preps fast the night before and bakes fresh and delicious in the morning!
- This recipe reheats and freezes well for meals throughout the week.
- Think beyond breakfast; it makes a great lunch or dinner, too.
- Get a jumpstart on holiday meals, this recipe can be prepared up to 4 days ahead of time.
Ingredients in Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Eggs – Use large eggs or a carton of liquid eggs and any milk.
- Bread – I use white sandwich bread, but you can use any leftover bread, dinner rolls, or hamburger buns!
- Bacon – This casserole tastes best if you cook and drain a pound of bacon but to keep it easy, real bacon bits, pre-cooked bacon, or ham are all great too.
- Vegetables – Bell peppers add flavor but you can add other veggies like cooked onions or mushrooms.
- Cheese – I love sharp cheddar cheese in this breakfast casserole; pre-shredded cheese works just fine in this recipe. You can replace it with Monterey Jack or a cheese blend.
How to Make Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- For the custard, whisk eggs, milk, and seasonings.
- Layer the bread and other ingredients in a baking dish.
- Pour egg mixture over the top, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, bake (per recipe below) until a knife in the center comes out clean.
Tip for Crispy Topping: Place the casserole under the broiler for about 3 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
Make Ahead for Best Results
This is a make-ahead breakfast casserole and needs to reset at least 3 hours to let the bread soak up the egg mixture. Once assembled, this casserole can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours before baking.
Freeze the casserole, either cooked or uncooked, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking or reheating.
Short on Time?
- Slice up cooked breakfast sausage links instead of frying bacon.
- Use frozen peppers and/or onions instead of dicing up fresh!
Need to bake it now? Toss the prepared bread cubes with the egg mixture (Step 2) and let it soak while you prepare the rest of the casserole. Then very gently layer half the soaked bread cubes on the bottom of the casserole dish, half the ingredients, more soaked bread cubes, and the remaining half. Bake as directed.
More Make Ahead Favorites
Did your family love this Overnight Breakfast Casserole? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 slices thick sliced bread cubed, about 14 cups
- 12 slices bacon cooked and crumbled, or 1 cup diced ham
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper finely diced
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cube bread and leave it out overnight or place in the oven at 300°F for about 10 minutes to dry slightly. (Do not brown or toast it).
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard powder, salt, and pepper.
- Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Layer half of the bread cubes in the prepared dish. Top with half of the bacon, green onions, red peppers and cheese. Repeat layers one more time.
- Pour the egg custard mixture over top of the casserole, ensuring all of the bread is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Remove from fridge and let sit at room temperature while preheating the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the casserole covered with foil for 45 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If you are baking 2 pans, increase cooking time to 60-80 minutes).
Video
Notes
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.
My brunch was cancelled due to weather. Can I keep in the fridge overnight for 2 nights before cooking?
You sure can!
You have so many great recipes that I have tried. Curious about your thoughts on this recipe in a slow cooker overnight?
Thank you! I haven’t cooked this particular recipe in the slow cooker but I love that idea! Please let me know how it works out for you Megan!
Can you make the wifesaver 3 days ahead & keep it refrigerated?
You sure can! Ensure it is very well sealed.
I’ve dine the strata before & was always a hit! I’ve used it for both Christmas & Easter brunch! :)
I haven’t tried these recipes yet, they look scrumptious.
Can the bread be substituted for frozen potatoes? O’Brien’s or tater tots?
That sounds like it would be delicious Jessica. We have never tried this recipe with hashbrowns, but we do have a delicious breakfast casserole with hashbrowns that is absolutely delicious.
This is the FIRST breakfast casserole I have ever made that came out tasting delicious from top to bottom. Normally they all could use a little salt, pepper, etc…or they are too “eggy” or to “bready”. This one is perfection as far as flavor and seasoning go, and the eggs and bread are in a great ratio. I had to bake mine a good 1hr+, but I also used a shredded loaf of french bread (all I had on hand), which might have affected the bake time. Thanks for the great recipe! This will be going on my standard list of breakfast go-tos!
So so happy to hear that Chelsey! Thank you!
Want to view!
Hi Lorraine, To view the full recipe you can scroll down to the bottom of the page or select the jump to recipe button at the top!
Can this be made gluten free? Has anyone tried this with gluten free bread instead?
Hi Skyler, I have only tried this recipe as written so I can’t say for sure. I don’t know if gluten-free bread would soak up the mixture as well as regular bread would, but let us know how it turns out if you decide to try it!
Can this be frozen
Absolutely! Then just reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes or until hot. Enjoy!
Would there be any issue (or risk) in assembling the entire casserole the night before and then cooking in the morning?
There shouldn’t be any issues at all Kelly!
Delicious
So happy to hear you love it Esme!
I made this at my sister and brother-in-law’s house for Christmas and used what they had, bacon and broccolini and put fresh (aging) sage in with the bread. They were blown away. I’m trying it now with kale and shallots. So far it smells delicious!
It’s so great to mix it up! Thank you for sharing your ideas and I’m happy to hear everyone loves it so much. It’s truly one of our favorite things to eat. Ever!
Hi! This is awesome! I see in a comment below that this recipe can be frozen, but how would I reheat it? Microwave frozen for 1-2 minutes? Or would that ruin it? Thank you!
We reheat it in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until hot. Easy! Enjoy.
Delicious! I served this for Christmas brunch. I used regular white bread, kept the crust on and substituted ham for the bacon. I also included the whole red pepper. It was such a hit, my mother-in-law asked for the recipe! Thanks, Holly!
So glad you loved it Christina! :) Merry Christmas!
Could you replace the milk with heavy cream? Or something to lower the carb count
I have only tried the recipe as written, but if you find a great low carb alternative I would love to hear it!
Yummy!! Looks great!!! IM gonna make this plus add mushrooms. I wonder what Hollandaise sauce would taste like on top?
Yum!! Mushrooms would be great in this… and I’ve made a similar one with Hollandaise and it was delish!
Have tried a few of your recipes, yummy
I am glad you love them Larry!
This was quite amazing. Everybody in my family loved it. I was really surprised how the bread at the bottom formed a nice “crust”.
Yay! Our family loves it so much too!
Thanks Kim, I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Yummy! this is the perfect weekend breakfast! I especially like casserole breakfast recipes for weekends that we have company… love this.
I agree, they’re so great to prep ahead of time!