Breakfast Casserole
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In need of a brunch dish that’s both delicious and easy? My breakfast casserole, brimming with sausage and cheddar, is your answer. Simply assemble it the night before and bake it to golden perfection in the morning!
If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing, stress-free brunch option—perfect for houseguests, Christmas morning, or any special occasion—this classic breakfast casserole recipe is the answer. Packed with savory sausage and cheddar cheese, with a creamy center and golden crust, it’s as flavorful as it is easy to make. Best of all, you can assemble it the night before and bake it in the morning, leaving you free to sip coffee and enjoy time with your guests.
This recipe has a wonderful backstory: it came to me from my dear friend Kelly Santoro, who got it from her friend Corey, who got it from his mother—who first discovered it in an old spiral-bound church cookbook. Such is the path of a great recipe!
“This recipe has become a Christmas morning tradition in our family! So good.”
What You’ll Need To Make The Breakfast Casserole
- Sausage: During the holidays, many grocery stores sell sausage in bulk, eliminating the need to remove casings. If you have links, simply remove the meat by squeezing it out or snipping the casing with scissors and peeling it away. Feel free to use chicken or turkey sausage for a lighter option, or for a vegetarian version, try my spinach and cheese strata.
- Yellow onion: Adds subtle sweetness and depth to the casserole.
- White sandwich bread: Acts as the base, soaking up the custard and giving the casserole its structure. No need to use anything fancy.
- Sharp cheddar (or any good melting cheese): Cheddar adds rich, tangy flavor, but Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Gouda, or Gruyère all work well.
- Fresh parsley: Brightens everything up with fresh, herby flavor.
- Eggs + half-and-half: Whisk together to form the creamy, custard-like mixture that holds the casserole together.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep the bread. Cutting the bread into cubes about 1 inch in size, then set them aside.
Step 2: Cook the sausage and onions. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into small pieces as you go, until it’s nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Scoop the sausage into a bowl, leaving the drippings in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium, add the onions and another tablespoon of butter, and cook until they’re soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 3: Put the base ingredients together. Combine the onions, sausage, bread cubes, grated cheese, and parsley in a large bowl and toss well to combine.
Step 4: Make the custard. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper.
Step 5: Assemble. Spread the casserole mixture into a buttered baking dish. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a few hours, or overnight. (If you’d like to prep even further ahead, you can freeze the assembled casserole at this point for up to two months.)
Step 6: Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for about one hour, uncovered, until the dish has puffed up and the top of the bread is golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
More Brunch Recipes To Feed A Crowd
Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 pound sweet or spicy pork sausage, casings removed
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 loaf (18 slices) white sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm, crusts removed and cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
- 2½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups half-and-half
- Scant teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking dish with butter.
- In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break the meat into small clumps, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a large mixing bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Turn the heat down to medium, then add the onions to the pan along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook the onions, stirring constantly, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the onions to the mixing bowl with the sausage, along with the bread cubes, grated cheese, and parsley. Toss well, then spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread mixture. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Bake for about one hour, uncovered, until puffed and golden brown. Slice into squares and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Brought this to an office function and it was a hit! Even though I inadvertently cooked the meat and onions in 2T butter (I just didn’t add the fat/butter to the mixture) it was delicious. I did use cooking spray to my glass baking dish and it did not stick at all.
Can’t wait to make this again.
How far in advance can I make this do you think? Is letting it sit for 2 overnights before cooking it going to work or is that too long?
Same question about your overnight French toast casserole too! We’re going to be away for a weekend at a lake house and I wanted to do some make ahead items!
Yep – same!
Hi Jenn!
I want to make this for my family but there is some aversion to heavy cream. Would unsweetened oat milk be an okay substitute?
Hi Tiffany, Would they be open to the half and half or whole milk? I’d recommend those options over oat milk.
I think that’d be okay, Erin. This is one of those recipes that’s hard to mess up!
This was part of Easter brunch and was a hit. My daughter and her boyfriend took over half back home with them,
Thia was easy and fabulous! I made it on a Saturday night, and baked it for Sunday brunch – no leftovers. Just delicious. Thank you!
Hi Jenn! Your Savory Sausage and Cheddar Bread Pudding is AMAZING!!! I was having a brunch the day after my son’s wedding for all the out of town guests. I received nothing but complements from the moment the guests walked into our home (smelling the wonderful aroma given off as it baked) to actually eating every last morsel that I had make. I actually made an entire extra casserole just to be safe and they ate that too! Keep these phenomenal recipes coming as I looked forward to creating them too!!!
Hi Jenn,
I am a happy 73 years of age and cooking-baking has been one of the ‘loves of my life.’ So, I have been using a broad range of recipes for over 50 years. Your recipes are extraordinary in every respect and are, without a doubt, some of the FINEST I have ever used. So far I would rank every one I’ve used ‘five-star!’ THANK YOU.
Hi Jennifer!
Happy Easter! I’m making your sausage cheddar pudding for brunch tomorrow. Wondered if the loaf of bread is 1# or 2# size? I bought a TJ Superlative white loaf, but it’s not the same size and weighs 20oz. Should I use 16oz. to be more accurate? Thank you!
I think you’d be fine with the 20 oz. loaf, but if you’re more comfortable, just use 16 oz. worth. Happy Easter.
This may seem like a really dumb question but your instructions state to put mixture in refrigerator overnight and then bake at 350 next day. How long should I take out from refrigerator before putting it in oven? Don’t I need it to get to room temperature before going in oven to avoid it from cracking? I want to make this and want to make sure I do it right.
You can bake it straight from the fridge, Nancy. Hope you enjoy it!
Can this be made the night before?
Yes, it reheats nicely!
I made this casserole for Christmas Morning for my parents. They loved it. Because it was my first attempt, I followed the recipe exactly. We are not breakfast casserole people, but I convinced them to try it, and it was a hit!
Thank you!