Overnight Breakfast Egg Casserole
This delicious breakfast egg casserole is made in advance, specifically overnight. My overnight egg casserole is made with egg and sausage and your choice of vegetables and seasonings. I’ll show you how to quickly and easily make a hot breakfast that the whole family will enjoy.
A lot of people make overnight egg casserole recipes for holidays like Mother’s Day, Christmas and Easter. While I think they’re awesome for that and my breakfast egg casserole with egg and sausage is perfect for those occasions, we eat this one and my Buttermilk Biscuit and Egg Breakfast Cobbler year round. It doesn’t have to be a holiday!
If you are usually busy in the mornings (when this quarantine is finally over which is looking like NEVER), flying around, trying to get everyone ready and out the door, it can seem impossible to get everyone started with a hot breakfast.
Instead of driving yourself totally cray cray, make this breakfast egg casserole the night before. Having all your kids home from school right now is another great reason to make this and have it ready to go!
How far in advance should I make this overnight egg casserole?
I like to give this casserole at least 8-12 hours to sit in the fridge. The longer you let it sit the longer it will have to soak up all those delicious flavors. Overnight is plenty of time but you can definitely push that a little bit if the need arises.
If you need to make this tasty casserole further in advance than a day or so you can bake it and then all you have to do is warm up a serving of this overnight egg casserole in the microwave or toaster oven.
Can breakfast egg casserole be frozen?
This casserole, as well as my Mini Sausage, Spinach and Cheese Frittatas, can be frozen and kept in the freezer for up to two months. Know someone who needs a quick meal? Have a friend or family member with a new baby? An elderly neighbor who can’t get to the grocery store right now? Just want to stock up on quick recipes while you are meal prepping? This is the perfect breakfast casserole for you to try.
After you have prepared the casserole, instead of placing it into the refrigerator for the ingredients to soak, just pop it into the freezer. When you are ready to make your casserole just thaw it in the refrigerator and then bake as usual!
Here is what you will need to make my overnight breakfast egg casserole:
To make this breakfast egg casserole as pictured you will need the following ingredients. This is a great starting point. Make sure to read below for ideas on how to customize this recipe to suit your tastes and to use what you have on hand!
- 12 eggs
- 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup green onions, sliced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1 cup bread, cubed
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
What can I add to a breakfast egg casserole?
Egg casseroles are very customizable. You can put just about anything in there and the end result will be delicious. I have seen recipes with tater tots, biscuits, croissants, hash browns, and more! If you like hash browns, try my Cheesy Potato Sausage Breakfast Casserole.
This recipe will help you get an idea of how to make an overnight egg casserole and you can add ingredients as you see fit. If there’s something included that your family doesn’t like, just leave it out or swap it out with something you do enjoy! This is a very adaptable recipe – I promise!
- If your family likes spicy things, swap the sausage out for chorizo!
- Along with the bread you can use biscuits, croissants, or even bagels cubed up!
- Include your favorite cheese, or split the cheese and include a few different kinds.
- Sauted or caramelized onions make a great addition.
How to make an overnight egg casserole:
- In a large skillet, cook sausage, drain and set aside.
- Cut bread into ½-1 inch cubes, then set aside. In a large bowl mix together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, seasonings and green onion.
- Add bread to a greased 9×13 baking pan. Top with sausage, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, and half the cheese.
- Pour egg mixture over the top, using a wooden spoon to gently push down to even spread the egg mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator and let sit out at room temperature while an oven preheated to 350 F.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean after poking the center.
- Serve hot and top with your choice of garnish.
If you would like to add a garnish parsley, sour cream, or just about any other delicious topping will go great with this breakfast casserole recipe.
As it stands this recipe will serve 6-8 people. You can easily double the recipe so you have some leftovers or to feed a larger group. If you don’t think you will need quite so much you can also cut the recipe in half. Use a smaller pan if you decide to halve this breakfast casserole egg and sausage recipe!
- 12 eggs
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup green onions, sliced finely
- ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups milk
- 6 slices of bread, cubed
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- In a large skillet, cook sausage, drain and set aside.
- In a large bowl mix together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, seasonings and green onion.
- Cut bread into ½-1 inch cubes and add bread to a greased 9x13 baking pan. Top with sausage, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, and half the cheese.
- Pour egg mixture over the top evenly. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator and let sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine was done at just under 40.
- Serve hot and top with your choice of garnish.
- Garnish choices could be parsley, sour cream or any other delicious topping.
I made this last night for my family and my kids devoured it! I love a make ahead meal like this, thank you!
This is such an amazing day starter! Everyone at my house loved it!
This casserole is delicious! It made a great hearty breakfast for the family and we loved it. I love the idea of having one in the freezer, ready to go also!
Made this last night. Perfect for breakfast meal prep! So easy to make and delicious!
This would be so great for company! I wish I had eggs!!!
This was perfect for feeding my crowd! So tasty!
Wonderfully comforting dish! Perfect for these trying times. And you’re right — think it’s going to be quite some time before they’ve over. Anyway, nice recipe — thanks.