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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What happens if I bake it right away w/o letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours?
Hi Nik, It will still work fine.
YUM – Have made this several times and it’s great to bring for brunch or a potluck supper (who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner?).
This is a great springboard recipe that lends itself to a variety of tweaks! Try throwing in some veggies (great way to sneak them into a kids diet). I’ve used a combination of sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, roasted red pepper, sautéed kale, either fresh spinach (no need to bother sautéing the fresh spinach) or a box of frozen (squeezed dry).
I’ve also switched around the cheeses and instead of cheddar, have with substituted mozzarella, fontina or provolone (or a combo).
I’ve made it for vegetarian friends who don’t eat pork and used the Morningstar Farms Crumble stuff — while not as tasty as sausage, it worked.
If you’re watching calories, you can use Turkey Sausage and Egg Beaters and instead of the 2 full cups of half and half, use 1 1/4 cups of half and half and 3/4 of a cup of chicken broth (not quite as creamy but it was certainly doable).
Also, you can use whole wheat bread and best yet, if you’ve got stale bread in the house, eureka, you’ve found a great use for it other than making breadcrumbs.
For vegetarians, the Morningstar Breakfast Sausage Patties (not sausage links) work well for this dish. Costco sells these patties in bulk in some locations.
I’m a busy nursing student and don’t make time to indulge in “kitchen therapy” much these days. I made this using day old local sourdough and I’m in heaven! Thanks for making the time to share your creativity.
Woke wanting to experiment so bread pudding was the choice and this is exactly what I had in mind, will be trying all kinds of variations and subscribing! Thanks and the picture are very helpful!!
Hi Jen! I’ve never subscribed to a cooking blog before! I’m happy I did with yours….you can cook girl!
Anyway, I just want you to know that savory bread puddings are usually refered to as “Stratas” or “Breakfast Casseroles”. Also, I found a “Strata” recipe that uses Jewish “Challah”, or egg bread and thought that the use of egg bread would enhance the recipe. What do you think?
Thank you, Heather. Glad you are enjoying the recipes! You could absolutely use challah for any strata or bread pudding. This one’s so rich, it’s not really necessary but it certainly wouldn’t hurt 🙂
Made this tonight and it was amazing!! My husband went bonkers over it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Looks delish, will definitely serve this up for the holidays!
Hi Jenn,
What do you recommend as a substitute for the pork sausage? We don’t eat pork, but will eat anything else.
Oh, and I just have to say, I love your website and regular emails for meal ideas. The photos are so beautiful and instructive with the captions. Almost every new recipe I’ve tried in the last few years are from you! Thank you!!
Hi Patricia, Turkey or chicken sausage would both work well (Italian-style) but you could really use anything you like. And I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes…thank you for letting me know!
This recipe is fantastic just as it is! I made it for a pot luck brunch brunch in May and people are still talking about it!
I love this recipe. It is delish and can be made the night before for a breakfast. I have even modified it to be in the crock pot as well. I like to add jalapenos.