This hearty, Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole is loaded with flavorful sausage, bread, eggs, and cheese. It's a delicious and savory morning breakfast or brunch for a crowd!
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Whenever there is a potluck breakfast at work, along with the bagels, muffins, and coffee cake there is always a savory egg bake. And there's a reason for that—a baked breakfast casserole is always the first dish to be eaten!
I love a good, savory breakfast, and this Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole fits the bill perfectly. It's loaded with my favorite, flavorful breakfast staples—diced bell peppers, onion, melty cheese that browns around the edges, and crumbled breakfast sausage.
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Why you'll love this Overnight Breakfast Casserole
There is so much flavor packed into this sausage, egg, and cheese bake! Along with peppers, onion, and sausage, the egg batter is seasoned with sage and pepper; it gets soaked up by the bread pieces in the dish.
This is a great overnight breakfast casserole recipe—one of my favorite, make ahead breakfasts to feed the family or overnight guests. It bakes up while you get yourself and other things ready the next morning. (Don't forget to put the coffee on.)
When you want an easy dish for the morning, one to treat your loved ones, roommates, or guests (like a Christmas breakfast casserole!) this is the recipe you need. Need a brunch casserole to bring to a potluck? You'll be amazed at how quickly this one gets gobbled up.
Breakfasts of champions!
Make-Ahead Holiday Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
🔪 How to make an Egg and Sausage Breakfast Bake
Ingredients:
- Baguette: Sliced this or other types of hearty bread into cubes—they give the casserole structure and soak up the batter.
- Bell peppers: I use red and yellow for the beautiful color they bring to the egg and sausage casserole, but you can use any color you like.
- Onion: Dice up a yellow or Spanish onion. You can also use frozen diced onions to save a little time.
- Sausage: Pick up a roll or package of bulk pork sausage, or bulk breakfast sausage.
- Eggs: Use large eggs—there are a lot of them in this recipe!
- Seasonings: The egg and bread bake gets a zesty, spicy kick from pepper, cayenne, salt, and sage.
- Milk: Along with the eggs, milk makes the flavorful batter for the casserole. I use 2% but whole or 1% can also be used.
- Pepper Jack cheese: Can you even call it a casserole if there's no cheese? Choose pepper Jack or other spicy, pepper-laced varieties.
- Scallions: Diced scallion greens give the dish more flavor and one last dash of color.
Toast the bread cubes
Slice the baguette into cubes and toast them in the oven until they're browned and crispy. (Another option is to let the bread cubes sit out for a day or two until they're very stale.)
Cook the onions, peppers and sausage
Cook and stir the diced peppers, onions, and sausage together over medium-high heat until the sausage is cooked through, and the veggies are soft.
Make the egg batter
Whisk together the eggs, milk, and spices until they are well combined.
Assemble the casserole
Spread the bread cubes over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with nonstick spray. Spoon in the peppers, sausage, and shredded cheese. Pour the egg batter over the entire casserole.
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Chill it overnight
Into the fridge it goes! Wrap the pan tightly with plastic and refrigerate the casserole overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
Bake
Sprinkle diced scallions over the top, then bake. Allow the Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole to rest for 10 minutes, and then serve it up!
A delicious twist!
Rutabaga Home Fries
The hearty root vegetable makes surprisingly delicious home fries with crispy edges.
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole FAQs
The Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole is a very hearty dish, with meat, veggies, and cheese. The sides can be very simple—some toast, muffins, biscuits, or hashbrowns are good choices. Fresh fruit is also a good side with baked dishes, like my Fruit Salad with Peach Dressing!
The egg and sausage casserole should be baked until no liquidy pockets remain—all of the egg batter baked and set. If the top is browning too quickly, drape a piece of foil over the top to protect it while the casserole finishes baking. Also, after cooking the sausage and vegetables, be sure to drain them well so there's no excess liquid.
The two dishes are very similar! Both a quiche and breakfast casserole are made with an egg and cream batter, with ingredients like diced meats, cheese, spices, and diced vegetables. A quiche is often round and may be baked in a pastry shell. (Like my Quiche Lorraine!) Breakfast casseroles are typically made with no crust in a square or rectangular baking dish.
Tips:
- The overnight rest for this breakfast egg bake is important—it allows the bread to soak up the egg batter and creates a creamy texture throughout. Be sure to plan for this time as you get ready to make this recipe.
- Instead of toasting the bread cubes you can instead leave the bread cubes out uncovered for a day or two until they're stale.
- Use spicy or mild sausage in this breakfast casserole recipe, whichever you prefer. If you'd like a less spicy cheese on top, try shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese.
This is the amazing casserole that greets you from the oven.
This recipe makes a generous pan of breakfast bake, and leftovers are so easy to reheat for a light lunch or the next day's breakfast.
The Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole recipe is below! And here are more tasty breakfast and brunch dishes to try:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 baguette (about 8 ounces)
- 2 large bell peppers (I used red and yellow)
- 1 large yellow onion (about 10 ounces)
- 16 ounces bulk or roll breakfast sausage
- 8 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1½ cups milk (I use 2%)
- 8 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (or other spicy cheese)
- ¼ cup diced scallion greens
Instructions
Toast the bread
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cut the baguette into 1½-inch pieces and spread them out on a large baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and toast the bread for about 15 minutes, until the bread is lightly browned and crispy. (Do not over-brown.)
Cook the vegetables and sausage
- While the bread is toasting, dice the bell peppers and the onion. Place the diced vegetables in a large skillet along with the sausage over medium-high heat.
- Cook the mixture for about 12 minutes: the sausage should be browned with no pink remaining and the veggies will be softened. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the liquid and fat.
Make the egg batter
- Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper, sage, and cayenne together in a large measuring cup with a spout or a large bowl. Add in the milk and whisk the mixture thoroughly.
Assemble the dish
- Spray the sides and bottom of a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Spread the toasted bread cubes over the bottom of the pan, then spread the sausage-peppers-onion mixture over the bread.
- Sprinkle about half of the cheese over the sausage. Pour the egg-milk mixture over everything, doing your best to get every bread cube! Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
Chill:
- Wrap the dish well with plastic wrap and refrigerate the casserole for 8 hours or overnight.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan. Scatter the diced scallion over the top.
- Bake the casserole for about 50 minutes: there should be no liquidy pockets remaining and the eggs should be set. Remove the pan to a cooling rack and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice the breakfast bake and serve it while warm. Leftovers can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Notes
- The overnight rest for this breakfast egg bake is important—it allows the bread to soak up the egg batter and creates a creamy texture throughout. Be sure to plan for this time as you get ready to make this recipe.
- Instead of toasting the bread cubes you can instead leave the bread cubes out uncovered for a day or two until they're stale.
- Use spicy or mild sausage in this breakfast casserole recipe, whichever you prefer. If you'd like a less spicy cheese on top, try shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese.
Nutrition
Heidi says
Yum, this looks great, Nancy!
Nancy Mock says
Thanks Heidi - can't beat a good egg casserole 🙂