Easy Cheesy Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole (Make Ahead in Minutes

Are you looking for an easy breakfast casserole to feed a crowd that doesn’t keep you in the kitchen? This recipe is like the whole breakfast in a pan – fluffy eggs, gooey cheese, bread, and a side of savory sausage that loads the whole dish with flavor. And the best part is, it only takes a few minutes to assemble the night before and you can bake it while you’re hanging out with a cup of coffee the next morning!

Years ago this breakfast casserole became as much of a Christmas morning tradition in my family as opening presents in our PJs. We quickly put it together before bed on Christmas Eve and bake it while we open presents. For our big, hungry crew we make two disposable aluminum pans full. When it’s ready, we break for food to fuel up before going back in for the second half (we open one at a time so it’s a marathon).

This easy recipe only takes five simple ingredients and some seasoning:

• 6 slices of bread
• 1 lb. pork breakfast sausage
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• Black pepper to taste

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• Brown the sausage over medium heat in a large skillet. Drain the excess grease if needed (usually there isn’t enough to worry about).

• Grease a 9×13 casserole dish or large baking dish. Cube the bread and lay it in the bottom of the pan.
• Spread the sausage crumbles over the bread cubes.
• Then sprinkle the cheese over the top.

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk. Then mix in the milk, salt, and pepper.
• Pour the egg mixture over the other ingredients in the pan and cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

• Pop it into the refrigerator overnight to let the bread soak up the liquid.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking. (Never put very cold glassware in a hot oven or it may shatter)
• Uncover the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until set. Time will vary depending on how cold it was going in, your oven, and what kind of pan you use. Insert a knife in the center to check – it should come out clean when done.
• Cut it into squares right in the pan to serve.

Although having only five ingredients make this easy casserole fast, there’s so much potential to switch things up from this basic dish.

• Add color and more flavor with green onions or some green or red bell pepper.
• Add veggies like broccoli, asparagus, and mushrooms.
• Make it Mexican with a little bit of taco seasoning, green chiles, and Mexican blend cheese. Serve with some salsa.
• For extra fluffy eggs, add 4 tbs. of sour cream or yogurt. Or replace some or all of the milk with heavy cream or half and half.
• Change the amount of cheese. We like it extra cheesy (I’m sure there’s a joke there) so I use a full bag of 2 cups of cheese.
• Change the bread. I’ve always used white bread because that’s what most of my family likes. But you could just as well use wheat bread, french bread, biscuits, or whatever you might have. But it may change your bread/egg ratio and consistency. You can also butter the bread before cubing.
• Or make it low carb by omitting the bread altogether. It will really be more like an omelette in a casserole dish, but it won’t require sitting overnight.

This perfect breakfast casserole covers a lot of the basic breakfast foods. But this savory dish pairs well with something sweet like fresh fruit or my other easy go-to breakfast for a crowd, cinnamon roll monkey bread.

• To save the leftovers, cover them with plastic wrap, foil, or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
• To reheat, zap individual pieces in the microwave at 50 percent. Start at 30 seconds and add time as needed.

This easy sausage and egg casserole is also perfect for new moms, post-surgery, and meal trains!

And it may just become one of your entire family’s favorite recipes and a new tradition for Christmas breakfast too.

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