My sausage hash brown breakfast casserole with egg and cheese recipe is full of your favorite breakfast flavors and a sure crowd pleaser.
Man, I love the smell of sausage cooking in the morning. They say smell is one of the strongest triggers of memory, and I fully believe it. As soon as I catch the familiar aroma of sausage frying in the skillet I am flooded with great memories. You see, sausage is never made for just any ol' breakfast. You have cereal for that. Sausage is the little black dress of breakfast - it is fried up for special occasions, and as soon as I smell it I am transported back to happy times from days gone by.
There is not just one specific memory it ever reminds me of. It is more of a memory collage of trips to Canada, camping, and special Saturday morning family breakfasts that creates an overall nostalgic feeling. Similar to my thoughts on my sawmill gravy recipe, I feel a hearty family breakfast is often symbolic of the love and caring that inspired the cook to craft it.
The problem with any special breakfast is you have to cook it in the morning. Often that means waking up earlier, or muddling through the kitchen before you are properly caffeinated. Neither is an enviable prospect. That is what I love so much about this sausage hash brown breakfast casserole; it can be made in advance!
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Yep, this sausage hash brown breakfast casserole is just as delicious if you make it all at once during a morning session or if you prep it the night before and stick it in the refrigerator. If you are going to make it the night before you can complete the entire recipe right up until you need to bake it. Then the following morning just move it from the fridge to the preheated oven.
How to Make Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
This sausage hash brown breakfast casserole with egg and cheese recipe fits perfectly in a 9x13 baking pan (affiliate link) Personally, I like using a glass pan like Pyrex. It won’t stain, it is dishwasher safe, and I don’t have any issues with the food sticking to it. Plus, they are quite reasonably priced. You won't regret buying one if you don't already have it in your kitchen.
Once your pan is ready to go, this breakfast casserole is really easy to make. Simply brown the sausage in a skillet, do the same with the hash browns, then add everything to your baking dish. It is best to bake this covered for 30 minutes to help the eggs cook, then uncover to allow the cheese to brown slightly.
Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole with Egg and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 lb breakfast sausage
- 30 oz bag frozen shredded hash browns
- 8 oz shredded mild cheddar cheese
- 12 eggs
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown sausage in a 12" nonskillet and set aside, reserving sausage fat.
- Place frozen hash browns in skillet with sausage fat and cook until no longer frozen, browning slightly.
- Combine hash browns with sausage.
- Grease 9x13 baking pan and add hash brown and sausage mixture, top with cheese.
- Combine eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and milk by whisking together.
- Pour egg mixture over the hash brown mixture in pan.
- Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is starting to brown and interior is no longer runny. TIP: Bend over tips of toothpicks and place them sticking out of casserole to prevent foil/cover from touching the cheese during baking)
Notes
Nutritional Information
This Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole was originally published on FoxValleyFoodie.com May 10, 2015.
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Matt @ The Bluenosers
I love good sausages in the morning, but I hear your on the cleaning front. This looks like a great dish for our household, especially on like boxing day morning when I don't want the mess from the previous day!
Vicky A Yernesek
I make this all the time. I use O'Brien hash brown potatoes. They have onions and peppers in it. I also use sausage crumbles in the frozen dept. Cook until onion is cooked transparent. That is too many eggs and don't use milk. Milk makes it soggy. You only need 7 eggs. Omit onion powder and garlic powder, Use Lawrey's seasoning and ground mustard (dry) instead. You don't have to cook the hash browns just thaw them in the micro wave.Here is my recipe try it and tell me what you think.
1 bag of Oreida O'Brien hash browns (thawed)
1 bag Great Value Sausage crumbles (thawed)
1 large onion, large dice
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups Pizza Blend shredded cheese
1 1/2 teas. Lawrey's seasoning salt
2 teas. Dry Mustard
7 large eggs
In a large bowl thaw hash browns, Cook sausage and large dice onion in a large saute' pan cook until onion is transparent, add to the hash browns. Mix eggs, Lawrey's and dry mustard, add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese add to the hash browns and sausage mix. Mix all together and put in a prepared 9x13 pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook 45 min. Take out of oven and sprinkle 2 C of Pizza cheese over all and put back in the oven for about 5 min.
Fox Valley Foodie
Thanks for sharing. Your recipe looks great too! I think O'Brien potatoes would be perfect. I do recommend using milk though, just like when making scrambled eggs, because it makes the egg more tender. When cooked the proper time you will find sogginess is not an issue. Additionally, you are correct, browning the hash browns slightly isn't essential, but I do it because it does add flavor and texture.
Mary Scott
This casserole was very delicious. I cut the recipe in half. With a few add-ins. I added Swiss cheese to the cheddar and added 1 Tbs each of red/green peeper, and onion. I sauteed the onion, green/red pepper in the microwave with a Tbs of butter and a sprinkle of salt. I then added that to the top of the potato and sausage mixture. This was the best sausage casserole I've made and my 4 boys loved it!
Corrie S
This looks delicious. I live in Neenah. Can't wait to read through your restaurant reviews. I'm glad I came across your recipe and website.
Fox Valley Foodie
Thanks for the comment Corrie! I hope you enjoy the website!