Farmers’ Market Overnight Breakfast Egg Casserole
~ Loaded with bountiful veggies, this hearty egg bake is deliciously satisfying, without weighing you down! Unlike many recipes, this egg casserole is made without bread. And since you can make it the night before, it’s perfect for holiday brunches or make-ahead family breakfasts! ~
This Recipe Is: • Freezable • Make Ahead • Gluten Free •
I have a little backstory about our blog and this recipe … and the friendship that inspired them both. But, first things first, right? Before I dive into all that, I know you’re truly here for the recipe … and you might want to take a peek at our little video tutorial that showcases this egg casserole recipe (and how easy it is to make). No worries! I get it … go ahead and check it out!
Video Tutorial
Yum, right?!? Yeah. It really is a favorite! You definitely do want to make this! But if you wanna know the backstory, read on here before you head to the recipe card …
Sooooo … Ever since we became friends a few years back, Gretchen has laughed a lot.
At me.
Generally while also shaking her head with that expression of wide-eyed disbelief that says “I think you might actually be certifiably nuts, but you’re pretty fun to hang out with, so I’m just gonna humor your latest insane idea/crazy suggestion/I-seriously-don’t-know-where-you-come-up-with-this-stuff comment.”
Although, to be fair, I guess I probably spend just as much time giggling and shaking my head right back at her.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s how we ended up with a blog. We have no idea anymore whose you’ve-got-to-be-kidding idea this originally was, but apparently the other one decided to go along with it.
So here we are.
And isn’t that just one of the very best things about good friends?
They give you an entirely different perspective on the world, without ever judging your own views and ways of doing things (even if they do think you’re a little bit crazy!). And sometimes you actually learn a lot along the way.
I especially notice this with Gretchen since we spend so much time working together in the very personal spaces of each other’s kitchens (rooting through each other’s cupboards and refrigerators), discussing what flavor combinations taste terrific, and chatting about our families’ food preferences and traditions.
For example …
• She organizes things in her kitchen totally differently than I do (as in, she actually organizes things).
• While it seems completely clear to me that the fastest way to deal with a clove of garlic is with a chef’s knife, it has always been absolutely obvious to her that the best way to tackle garlic is with a garlic press. Huh. Go figure. (Side note: I absolutely swear by my 8″ Victorinox chef’s knife – unbeatable price and a top Cook’s Illustrated rating convinced me to buy it, and I’ve never looked back.)
• Oh – and that amazing little contraption she calls a can opener still remains a mystery to me no matter how many times she shows me how to use it. Never seen a can opener like that before! But I have to admit that it works like a charm (and I kinda covet it). Who knew?
• Yeah, and she fastidiously pre-rinses every dish before it goes in the dishwasher. I pretty much figure that’s why I bought a dishwasher in the first place, and only worry about any food particle bigger than an entire hamburger. We’re just different that way, ya know?
And really, our differences make us – and this blog – so much better. We’re constantly questioning and pushing each other to retest and perfect recipes, or to clarify techniques that might not be clear to anyone else, even though they seem crystal-clear to one of us.
This all leads us to the story of this breakfast casserole.
Because … holiday food traditions? Well, we’ve learned a few things from each other there, too!
I mean, in my family, holidays like Easter and Christmas involve gaggles of family members and generally require multiple parties. At least one gathering’s always a brunch (gotta start early if you’re gonna cram in that much partying!). And it’s always just been a no-brainer for all of us that this meant make-ahead breakfast casseroles.
As much as we love cooking, we sure don’t want to get up at the crack of dawn to do it! (We may start our parties early, but we’re for sure not crack-of-dawn people!)
And, seriously – who wants to be stuck in the kitchen when there are Easter eggs to hunt and raucous laughter emanating from the next room?
Gretchen’s side of the family doesn’t live quite so near, so morning festivities and massive brunch parties aren’t really their thing.
And she was a little surprised when I passionately explained how (obviously!?!?!) everyone absolutely needs make-ahead breakfast casseroles for holidays. I mean … it just seemed so clear to me that everyone did!
But, of course, she loves any recipe that’s an easy make-ahead. So, it wasn’t actually all that hard to convince her that if she ever begins hosting brunch bashes, overnight casseroles are the only way to go!
And she was totally on board when I said that we’d clearly, therefore, need to do a round-up of make-ahead breakfast ideas for last Christmas! As we were compiling those recipes, I was sure I’d find a recipe Just.Like.This.One. It seemed perfectly obvious – the typical hearty egg casserole made fresher, lighter, healthier, yummier by tons of great veggies. It was the recipe I really wanted to find – surely everyone had a recipe Just.Like.This.One. Right?
Apparently not.
If you check out our THK round-up of make-ahead breakfasts, you won’t see this recipe, or even one just like it.
So, since I didn’t find it, I created my own.
And I love it. We all love it!
It’s got all the hearty, fuel-you-up-to-finish-hunting-down-that-last-impossible-egg ingredients you’d expect from an egg casserole, but with leaner sausage and cheese, plus tons of delicious and nutrition-packed veggies.
It’s like a farmers’ market in your baking pan (you know … hence, the name …).
Make It Ahead … the Night Before!
Best part of all? You can prep the entire casserole the night before (and much of the work can be done even further ahead than that!), so you don’t miss one second of the action on the morning of your brunch! Perfect!
Your oven does all the work while you discover the last, impossible-to-find egg (what was the Easter Bunny thinking on that one????).
Meal Prep and Freezing Options!
Also perfect?
Leftovers reheat beautifully for easy breakfasts all week long! It’s a great little recipe for those of you who like to meal prep to simplify busy weeks.
In fact, I often make this just for my family of four on the weekend, and then enjoy quick, ready-to-reheat breakfasts for days! Honestly, I was truly surprised how well this reheats – it’s just as good warmed up three or four days later!
It also freezes beautifully. Just portion out individual servings, wrap them in plastic, and freeze them in a zipper bag. A quick tango with your microwave, and they’ll be scrumptious all over again!
It’s Even Portable!
And for all those on-the-go mornings, just rewarm some of this breakfast casserole and wrap it inside a whole-grain tortilla. You’re out the door in a flash, with a fantastic, portable breakfast to power you through your busy day.
When it comes to easy, delicious, healthy make-ahead breakfasts (and particularly this fantastic overnight egg casserole), Gretchen and I definitely agree … fabulous, all around!
But it for sure won’t be long before she finds some other reason to giggle and shake her head at me.
Or until I stare in wide-eyed wonder at her as she organizes something that doesn’t actually need organized, or elaborates on the next crazy scheme that she will somehow eventually talk me into!
That’s just how friends are.
Farmers' Market Overnight Breakfast Egg Casserole
Loaded with bountiful veggies, this delicious egg bake has been winning raves for years and years! It's great for holiday brunches or make-ahead breakfasts. And, since this egg casserole is made without bread, it's even gluten free, too!
• Freezable • Make Ahead • Gluten Free •
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage
- 1 1/2 cups diced sweet onion (from about half a large onion)
- 8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (sometimes labeled "country style")
- 2 cups shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup diced green pepper (from about 1 small-medium pepper)
- 2-3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (to equal about 1 - 1 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions (from about 6 onions)
- 12 eggs
- 1 3/4 cup nonfat milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet (I like this one) over medium heat, cook sausage, onions, mushrooms, and garlic until sausage is no longer pink and mushrooms have given off some of their liquid, about 10 minutes. Throughout cooking, stir to crumble sausage and break up mushrooms. (You can leave the mushrooms in larger slices or break them into almost unnoticeable little pieces as you crumble the sausage.) Drain the liquid.
- In a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray, layer potatoes (there is no need to thaw them), sausage mixture, 1 cup cheese, green peppers, tomatoes, and green onions.
- In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, parsley, salt, basil, and pepper. Whisk thoroughly to combine, then add remaining 1 cup of cheese and whisk again. Pour egg mixture evenly over other ingredients in baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (Alternately, you can bake this casserole immediately.)
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake casserole, uncovered, for about 60-70 minutes, or until egg in middle is just set and edges are lightly golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
Make-Ahead Options:
If you need to start on this recipe even earlier than the evening before your brunch, you can cook the sausage, onions, mushrooms, and garlic earlier in the day or a day ahead, and also chop the green peppers and green onions. Refrigerate the sausage mixture and the chopped peppers and onions in separate containers until assembling the casserole.
After the casserole is baked, you can refrigerate leftovers and reheat individual portions in the microwave for quick breakfasts all week.
This also freezes wonderfully. Pre-portion leftovers, wrap each portion individually in plastic, and store in a zipper container in the freezer. Microwave on several layers of paper towel to reheat as needed. After being frozen, the veggies let off water when reheated, but this casserole is still surprisingly terrific, so don't let that liquid worry you.
For Breakfasts On the Go (Or Snacks and Dinners on Busy Evenings): Nestle re-warmed slices of the casserole into a tortilla for a wrap.
Breakfast for Dinner: You can make this in the morning and refrigerate until baking, or prep it in the afternoon and then cook it immediately, for a fun "breakfast for dinner" option.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 servings Serving Size: 1 pieceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 187Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 169mgSodium: 615mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 18g
Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only, and may vary depending on your choice of ingredients or preparation. No guarantees are made regarding allergies or dietary needs. Always consult a physician or dietician for specific advice and questions.
I made this last month and it was AMAZING! I hate to ask a dumb question, but can I make it 2 nights before?? Will it still be great?! I’d like to take a little pressure off an event, but don’t want to risk messing up this dish.
Hi Madeline! Ok … so I honestly haven’t made this breakfast casserole quite that far in advance, so I can’t 100% guarantee success without actually testing that for you. BUT … I really can’t think why there might be a problem with that (like maybe some component that wouldn’t hold up well for so long, etc.). I really do think it would work. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it worked, though! And thank you so much for letting me know that you thought it was “AMAZING”! 😀 Seriously – that kind of feedback from readers really makes my day! No matter how many times I make a recipe myself, and no matter how much my own family and friends love it, it just makes me so happy to know that our readers love a recipe, too! Thanks for taking the time to let me know that – truly! And have a wonderful week! ~Shelley
Hi! I made this this weekend, I was wondering what the nutrition values on this recipe is? We are trying to figure it out! By the way my husband absolutely LOVED this!!!!!! Thank you for the yummy recipe!!!!
Hi there, Natasha!
First off, I’m just delighted to hear you guys loved this! It’s become one of our all-time most popular recipes, and I’m so thrilled you and your hubby enjoyed it as much as my family – and so many of our other readers – do!
So … a little explanation of why we have (at least thus far) opted not to include nutrition info with our recipes and how you might more accurately calculate your own. We’ve actually debated since the beginning of this blog whether or not we should supply nutrition info (and address it in our FAQ (http://twohealthykitchens.com/about/).
Especially with Gretchen’s (my original business partner’s) master’s degree in nutrition, she could easily have calculated that all manually and very accurately – plus there are loads of online calculators to use. However, for a variety of reasons, we have decided over and over again not to do that. One big reason is that we generally don’t specify exact brands (although on some occasions we need to), so the final nutritional profile of a recipe can vary widely, depending on the purchasing decisions our readers make. In the end, we feel like it could almost be a bit misleading to quote nutritional info, if readers make significantly different purchasing choices than we did in testing. Although that problem wouldn’t be a big issue with this specific breakfast casserole recipe (with the possible exception, maybe, of what brand of turkey sausage a reader selects), it could be for a lot of other recipes on our site. For example, the final nutritional profile of our most popular recipe ever – our very simple 3-Ingredient Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos – could vary tremendously (particularly, in this case, the sodium) depending on which taco seasoning and which salsa someone purchases.
Also, with recipes like this one, the serving size really might vary depending on how you’re using it – for this recipe, as an example, it might be served as a portion of a large brunch buffet, or used as an entire meal.
And lastly, there is such ongoing debate and struggle with the accuracy of lots of the nutrition info calculators many bloggers use – so often, they’re just not very reliable, and I’m not comfortable providing info that I don’t feel is trustworthy.
My best suggestion would be to use your favorite online nutrition calculator, and plug in the exact brands you use to get the most accurate information, as well as making decisions about your own personal daily calorie goals/activity levels. Also – do you subscribe to our newsletter? A few months ago, we sent out a whole list of different recipe calculators in our newsletter. Too long to publish here (this is already such long answer! ? ), but shoot me an email if you’re interested, and I can send that along for you!
Also … having said all of this … I want you to know that we get questions like this from other readers from time to time, too. As a result, we are always re-evaluating this very good question and exploring how we may be able to offer nutrition information in a way that we can feel good about – a way that’s helpful and not potentially misleading. So stay tuned …
Thanks so much for reaching out to us! I hope these explanations help you out at least a little! Have an awesome week! ~Shelley
I’ll be making this for Christmas Brunch. Substituting red or orange bell peppers ‘cuz no one likes those funky green ones at our party! Also going to warm a jar of our home canned salsa to go w/it!
Hi Barb! I think red or orange peppers will be terrific, too – and a perfect swap if your crowd doesn’t like green ones. And I second the salsa idea – I adore salsa with pretty much any egg dish, and always love to dump salsa across my veggies omelettes. And oh my goodness – home canned salsa?!? DEFINITELY! Enjoy – and merry, merry Christmas! 🙂 ~Shelley
Can this be made WITHOUT cheese? I’ve seen that people use vegan cheese, but has anyone made it without cheese? Thanks!
Hi there, Ashley! Since I’ve never personally made this without cheese, I’m hoping maybe another reader who’s done that might be able to help.
But … I do have some ideas in the meantime. I really do think this breakfast casserole recipe will still work just fine without the cheese, although you’ll be lacking a bit of the flavor that sharp cheddar adds. So, maybe just try upping some of the other flavor components – perhaps a bit more sausage or basil or even salt (you could pas the salt at the table so you’re sure you don’t OVER-salt in cooking). Also, you might try adding (or passing at the table) a bit of hot sauce. Or, another idea, suggested in the comments below by another reader (Mel) might be to add a dash of worcestershire to the casserole, to add in a bit of the salty/umami flavors that might go lacking without the cheese.
Lastly, if only SOME of your guests / diners are avoiding cheese, you could offer a little bowl of cheese to sprinkle on the top, only for those who wish to do that – or sprinkle a bit on just a portion of the top of the casserole in the last minutes of cooking, so the cheese gets a bit melty and gooey, but only on a part of the breakfast bake, rather than being mixed throughout.
I hope these ideas help! And if you do give it a try, I’d love to know what strategy you used and how it worked out! Thanks so much, Ashley – and happy holidays! ~Shelley
Thank you so much!! Didn’t know if the cheese was a MUST to help hold it altogether.
The eggs should still do a good job holding everything together (although, again, I say this without having fully tested it). My concern would be more about the flavor of the cheese, which I definitely think you can improvise around, with a little creativity! Can’t wait to hear how it goes! 😀 ~Shelley
Um, the “adjust servings” button doesn’t work. I said adjust for 6 servings, and I knew it was in trouble when it started with 6 POUNDS of sausage!
Anyway, I will adjust it myself but I wondered what size servings you were thinking of when you said it serves 12 to 20.
I’m so sorry that was confusing – I can see how it might have thrown you off! I haven’t had any other readers mention a problem with the “Adjust Servings” function since we added it early this year, but I really can see how it could have been tricky with this particular recipe. I definitely appreciate you mentioning it, and I think I may just have to touch base with my developer to see if we can choose wording/functionality that’s a bit more clear for ALL recipes on the site. Thank you!
At any rate: what happened when you keyed in “6” was that it calculated for 6x the total recipe – as if you were making SIX pans of casserole (WOW!) – which is why it told you to use 6 pounds of sausage. If you key in “.5” it will calculate for half a recipe, as though you were making just half a pan, instead of a full 9×13 pan. That would get you closer to what you were trying to achieve.
And, to answer your question about serving sizes: we debated over this when we wrote the recipe, and we offered a pretty big range here, I know. The reason is that I know some people will basically have this breakfast casserole as their entire breakfast, maybe with a bit of fruit or a glass of juice. In that case, it would probably serve only about 12 people. HOWEVER … I feel like breakfast casseroles are usually part of a much bigger brunch spread – at least they typically are in my family. A breakfast bake like this will often be just one of several casseroles at our family gatherings and holiday brunches, as well as fruit salad, breads, breakfast meats, etc. In those scenarios, you will typically stretch the yield for this recipe to more like 20 people. I hope that makes sense!
Thanks again for reaching out! ~Shelley