If you’re like me, you have your same old go-to pantry items like olive oil or vegetable oil. But once in a while, a new product comes across your path. So you have to share about it. Upon meeting the couple behind the […]
Instant Pot Italian Bean Soup This Instant Pot Italian Bean Soup is delicious the day you make it, becomes even better tasting leftovers, and creates a wonderful freezer meal to use later. Above all, the ingredients can be found at ALDI too. Win, win. […]
Whether you are hosting a breakfast, need to bring a dish to a breakfast gathering, or need a quick breakfast to eat throughout the week, this Sausage & Egg Breakfast Casserole is a crowd-pleaser. Eggs, cheese, hashbrowns, sausage. Milk, pepper, salt, onion powder. Everything you want in a breakfast, rolled into one dish. It’s perfect anytime of year.
The inspiration for this Sausage & Egg Breakfast Casserole came from the layering aspects of this Southwestern Breakfast Casserole from juliasalbum.com, and the ingredients of this recipe for Easy Breakfast Casserole from thewholesomedish.com, only using sausage instead of ham. If you like eggs and want individual servings ready-to-go, try my Low Carb Bacon Quiche Muffins.
Mild pork sausage works great. Cheddar cheese – shredded at home. (Sometimes pre-shredded cheese is coated in preservatives that don’t allow to melt as well as shredded from the block.) Eggs. Half n’ half, but milk works fine too. Thawed shredded hash browns. Salt, pepper, and onion powder.
The key to this dish is the amount of time you spend cooking up the ground sausage. There’s cooked sausage. Then there’s crispy-cooked sausage (my invented word). Allow 30 minutes of pan fry time for the ground sausage to get it to a very browned, crispy state. This works best for the casserole content. It cooks out more of the fat and has a better texture in the context of the entire casserole. If you don’t crispy-cook the sausage, the texture will be greasier and chewier. I don’t recommend it.
This is normal browned sausage over medium heat. I’m in the camp that would say it is NOT ready for this casserole. Drain what fat you can drain. Then give it about 20 more minutes in the frying pan. Periodically drain and stir as needed.
This is what you want to see — crispy-cooked sausage throughout. Not necessarily all crispy. Just notably mostly crispy. Stir occasionally during that latter portion of cooking time to create even crispification (another invented term). You may need to drain off a little more fat during this process.
Crack 10 to 12 eggs in a bowl and beat with a whisk. Add 1/2 to 1 cup half n’ half, cream or milk. Whatever you have on hand. Can you tell I’ve made this recipe many times under many circumstances? Thankfully it is a forgiving recipe and turns out great every time! I usually add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp ground mustard.
Time to layer up! Once the crispified sausage is ready, half of it becomes the first layer in your greased casserole dish.
After the sausage, the second layer = half of the hash browns. Third layer = half of the cheese. Carefully pour half of the egg mixture over those layers. Repeat all steps.
Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes. This casserole is great to prepare ahead of time, then bake right before serving.
Here is the finale. Even though you can refrigerate it and eat portions throughout the week for a quick breakfast, it does actually taste the best served right after exiting the oven.
Sausage, egg, cheese, and shredded hash browns blend for the perfect breakfast casserole to serve at a gathering.
Tag @nickelplatekitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #nickelplatekitchen. I would love to see your cooking!
Welcome to Nickel Plate Kitchen! I'm Elizabeth, wife of Jim and mom of two boys (a 3yo and a newborn). I'm passionate about good food on a budget with room for extravagance now and then. I hope you find something helpful while you're here. Thanks for stopping by!