Last week, I shared the Bacon-Wrapped Sausage recipe from our baptism/Mother’s Day brunch… and today, I’m back with another super simple, really delicious brunch recipe.
I’m guessing you already have all (or at least most) of the ingredients in the house — and the best part of this recipe is that you can make it several hours in advance or even the night before. Then just pop it in the oven about an hour before you’re ready to eat!
If you’re looking for a great new egg dish to add to your recipe box, this one is definitely a winner.
Recipe for Hearty Egg Casserole:
INGREDIENTS:
- 3-4 cups cubed bread (stale white bread is best)
- 2 cups cooked ham, bacon, sausage (or combination)
- 1 onion; diced
- 1 green pepper; diced
- 1 c. shredded cheese
- 12 eggs
- 2 c. milk
- 1 t. salt
- ½ t. dry mustard (or 1 T. prepared mustard)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350*F
- Place cubed bread evenly in a greased 9×13 pan.
- Spread meat, cheese, and veggies over the bread.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Add milk, salt, and dry mustard to eggs and mix well.
- Pour egg mixture over meat, cheese, and bread.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight for at least 2 hours.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until center is set.
I think this is my new favorite egg dish.
Not only was it super easy, I loved that I could make it the night before. Plus, there was so much meat and cheese that it really filled me up.
The only complaint I have is that even though I thoroughly greased my pans, they were still really hard to clean with all the baked-on egg. Next time, I’ll probably use disposable pans!
Do you have any favorite make-ahead brunch recipes?
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family friendly, recipes!
Nancy says
I have made this for Christmas morning breakfast forever. Or something like a big youth group breakfast kind of thing. I never thought of broccoli and vegetables however. Have to try that soon.
Andrea says
Broccoli (and other veggies) actually taste really good in quiche and other egg casseroles. Hope you like it 🙂
Heather says
This is my go-to recipe for a breakfast casserole. I usually use whatever leftover vegetables (and fresh) I have in the fridge. Tonight when I prepped it I had some extra baby spinach and mushrooms and a small portion of leftover hash browns. I chopped the spinach and mushrooms and sautéed those three all together with the onions and peppers after I cooked the sausage. I love the flexibility of this we make it every month or so and I make breakfast muffins based on this recipe as well.
Andrea says
This is so great to hear Heather!
It’s also my go-to breakfast casserole — and yes, I love mixing up the ingredients! I recently did broccoli and it was actually a really big hit! I might try that again too!
CRae says
Pampered Chef Stoneware! Egg casserole game changers! And nothing ever burns – worth the investment. I’ve had mine – used Pam or butter in them and even hand washed them with soap for more than a dozen years. Never any sticking, never any burning. Highly recommend! A recipe I have similar to this uses cut up refrigerated grands biscuits or even crescent rolls. It is kind of fun how they fluff up in between every bite!
Andrea says
thanks for sharing! I do have a few Pampered Chef stoneware items — but they aren’t casserole dishes (just flat — for pizza).
if the thrift stores ever open up again, I can keep an eye out!
Nancy says
Question – do you bake it covered or do you uncover before putting in the oven?
Andrea says
I usually leave it uncovered but sometimes cover it with foil towards the end if the top is getting too brown
Nancy says
Thank you! I have it in the fridge now for dinner tonight. Plan to serve it with roasted potatoes and fresh fruit.
Andrea says
hope you enjoyed it — we actually had this same thing for dinner last night too!
Shannon says
This sounds like a great recipe that I’ll have to try. Just one question: The picture in the top right looks like ground beef and onions in a frying pan… Are the onions and meat supposed to be fried together first?
Andrea says
You can do whatever you want Shannon — there is no perfect way. If you don’t wan onions or peppers, just leave them out. I cook my onions and peppers with the sausage just to save time and one less dirty pan 🙂
Sandra says
I did this casserole (only convenience required I do it in the slow cooker) and it was a winner!
The combination of eggs, vegis, milk and bread was awesome!
Sandra
Sarah says
What a deLISHious recipe! We used a veg ‘meat’ that I always keep on hand in the freezer and we added some nutritional yeast flakes to the eggs. Yep, definitely a new fave! Thanks for sharing.
Andrea says
Thanks Sarah — so glad you liked it AND that you could tweak it to fit your tastes.
Heart and Haven says
I’m actually gonna try this recipe for dinner tonight! I always keep the heels of our bread that my kids won’t eat for sandwiches (we usually make stuffing or homemade croutons with them) but we have a lot of “left-over” bread to use up. This combined with all the eggs we get this time of year from our backyard chickens…this will be such a frugal meal 🙂
I’m going to try using a glass baking dish…hopefully clean-up will be easier.
Andrea says
Wow — fresh eggs, yum! Hope you loved it… and hope the clean-up was easier.
Jeanine says
I’ve made a similar egg casserole many times, and I haven’t had any trouble cleaning the pans, but I always use a glass pan. Maybe that’s the secret? My recipe is called Eggs Portugal, and the difference is that I mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/4 cup vermouth (not the cooking type, but the one found in the wine aisle) together, and pour it on top just before baking. It’s really delicious!
Alison says
I also use a glass pyrex for mine and have never had trouble cleaning it.
Brandette says
Yep, I was also going to suggest a glass Pyrex dish. I use these for all my casserole baking and never have any trouble with stuck on foods. I use Dawn Power dishsoap + hot water and let it soak 5 minutes. No scrubbing required!
Aa. says
I never tried it with bread pieces, It is a great idea!
When I bake egg casseroles, I use parchment paper (that is how i find on the internet that it is called, I don’t know how to translate it), and I don’t have problems. But if i do, I just soak the pan a few hours and the remainings goe away easily.
Tracey says
I just made this last week for the teacher appreciation brunch at school…and first made it eleven (!) years ago for my daughter’s christening! I still remember how good it felt to have it done and in the fridge the night before.
It’s also perfect on Christmas morning!!!
PS – I’m with you on the disposable pan next time. So worth it on a big day.
Andrea says
wow, it must be a winner if you’ve been making it for 11 years!
Debbie says
I also have tried another recipe that uses quinoa instead of the bread. It has a crunchy addition to it and having quinoa in there makes me feel it’s just more nutritional. I do spray the bottom of the pan as well for the quinoa.
Krista says
Debbie, I wanted to try this recipe on Tuesday when it was posted but didn’t have the bread on hand. Then I read your comment and was able to give it a try with quinoa instead…. it was great! Next time I’ll try it with bread just to compare. But I’m so glad you mentioned quinoa as that’s something I never would have considered.
Andrea, good recipe and great timing for me with this post. Thanks for sharing!
Andrea says
yay — so glad you liked the quinoa!
Jane says
Debbie – did you cook the quinoa first and how much?
Debbie S says
I always use the big seasoned croutons instead of bread. Its pretty fast and flavorful.
This dish is such a hit every time I make it.
Katy says
My family makes a very similar recipe, but instead of cubed bread, we put frozen hashbrowns in the bottom of the pan. It’s super yummy and easy.
Andrea says
Yes Katy, I actually have another recipe on my blog with the hashbrowns — but this one was nice for a change (and a great way to use up extra bread!)
Brenda says
Hi, I read somewhere in a magazine (taste of home, maybe) that a trick to remove baked-on nasty is to let it soak with a dryer sheet (new or used) in the water for a few hours. Then you can even use the dryer sheet to help scrub the food off. I have never tried it, but, hey, it just might work.
Andrea says
Yes Brenda, this was actually one of the first things I tried — and unfortunately it didn’t work. I ended up trashing the pans as I tried 4 different ways to remove the stuck on egg with no luck 🙁