This breakfast casserole is an easy recipe that can be made in advance and then baked on the morning you want to serve it! It’s a super convenient option for holiday mornings, when you may be busy preparing other dishes or entertaining guests.
Holiday shopping, parties, good food, family, friends, screaming kids and more. Sound familiar? Yes, the joys of Christmas are upon us and that means so are the stresses that accompany it. If you are planning on having a lot of people over on Christmas morning, why not serve something that makes things easy on you, but that also impresses your hungry guests. The solution? Breakfast Casserole. It’s the perfect brunch recipe for a crowd.
Breakfast Casserole is filled with everything you want to eat on a relaxing morning. Big chunks of toasty bread, salty crisp bacon, eggs (what would brunch be without them?) and bite size pieces of vegetables to liven it up. It’s my favorite brunch recipe to make during the holidays. My secret on Christmas Eve while you’re waiting for Santa to come down the chimney is to whip this recipe together and then go to bed. Then, the next morning, while your kids are plowing through gifts and having a ball you can just pop the casserole in the oven and relax knowing the crowd will be thrilled with your Christmas culinary creation!
How to Make Breakfast Casserole
- In a bowl whisk 6 eggs, 2/3 cups milk, 1 cup shredded cheese and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Soak the cubed bread in the egg mixture and stir until just combined. Tip: don’t over mix or your bread will fall apart.
- Fold in the cooked bacon and cooked vegetables and pour the mixture into an 8×8 inch greased pan and bake in a 350F oven for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden.
Tips for Perfect Breakfast Casserole
- For an easier morning, make this casserole the night before you want to serve it and then pop it in the oven the next morning. Sit back and relax while your casserole cooks and enjoy more morning time with your family!
- Try to use bread that is older or stale. A good crispy bread soaks up the egg mixture less which helps prevent the casserole from getting too soggy.
- Use a good quality casserole dish: A casserole dish with a heavy base and sides that are high enough to hold the ingredients will help ensure that the casserole cooks evenly and doesn’t spill over.
- Make it your own! Consider using a variety of meats (cooked sausage works great!), vegetables, and cheeses to add flavor and texture to the casserole. Breakfast Casserole is super customizable, so make it how YOU like it!
- Let the casserole rest before serving: After the casserole is finished baking, let it sit for a few minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld and the casserole to firm up. This will make it easier to cut and serve.
More Brunch Recipes for a Crowd
Here are a few of my favorite brunch recipes when I’m cooking for a large group:
- Sheet Pan Pancake
- Breakfast Strata
- Breakfast Burritos
- Pumpkin Waffles
- Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast
Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs, whisked
- 2/3 cups milk
- 1 cup cheese, shredded (you can use Mexican cheese blend, mozzarella, cheddar, or Monterey Jack)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 slices day-old whole wheat bread, cut into cubes
- 4 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup cooked vegetables, chopped (broccoli, corn, bell peppers, onions or anything you have leftover from last night’s dinner)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a bowl whisk the eggs, milk, cheese and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Soak the cubed bread in the egg mixture and stir until just combined (you don’t want to over mix the bread or it will break apart).
- Fold in the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the mixture into an 8×8 inch greased pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Serve.
- *Can be doubled and cooked in a 13 x 9 inch dish
A bit too salty for my family’s taste.. I have a feeling it depends on the brand of bacon and cheese you are using.
Is there a way to cook this in a pressure cooker? I am hooked and don’t want to ever go back to my oven or slow cooker!
Exactly!
Question about making it the night before. So do I completely assemble it, to where the eggs are combined with everything, and just refrigerate over night? then cook in the morning?
This was AWESOME! The veggies I used was onions, sweet red and orange peppers chopped fine, sauteed until the onions started to get translucent but not completely done. And because I’m lazy, I use the REAL bacon bits you can buy in the little bag.
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Made this morning, delicious! I put the mixture into mini muffin tins and they came out great. I cut the cooking time in half though.