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Home » Recipes » Easy Cheesy Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Easy Cheesy Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Published: Dec 27, 2021 · Modified: Nov 16, 2022 by Lynda · This post may contain affiliate links.

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This breakfast casserole is loaded with potatoes, ham, cheese, and freshly chopped veggies. It’s perfect for serving at brunch, breakfast for dinner, and holidays. It’s a great dish to make ahead of time for busy mornings or for a delicious weekend breakfast. Simply slice, heat, and eat!

Cheesy breakfast casserole with ham, bell peppers, and onions on a plate.

This cheesy classic breakfast casserole is made with simple ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store. The base of the casserole is a layer of hashbrown potatoes which is topped with eggs that are beaten with half-and-half making them light and fluffy, followed by a layer of tasty ham, bell peppers, and onions. And to top the egg bake, there is the final layer of glorious cheese.

Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🍽 Equipment
  • 🔪How To Make this Cheesy Breakfast Casserole
  • ⏲️ Baking Time
  • FAQs
  • Substitutions
  • 📖 Recipe

Let’s look at how to make this hearty breakfast casserole.

🥘 Ingredients

For this recipe, you need the following:

  • hashbrowns
  • eggs
  • half and half
  • ham
  • bell peppers
  • onion
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Monterey jack cheese
  • white cheddar cheese
Hash brown potatoes in a baking dish, eggs, diced peppers, diced onion and ham in bowls.

🍽 Equipment

  • 9 x 13 casserole dish
  • large mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • cheese grater, if using blocks of cheese
  • knife
  • strainer (for the hashbrowns, if using boxed)

🔪How To Make this Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

Start by gathering all of the ingredients. There’s nothing worse than getting ready to make a dish and you are missing an ingredient. Having all of your ingredients in place has a fancy French term – mise en place. You can simply think of it as being prepared (if you were a Boy Scout or Girl Scout, you know this is important).

[If you are using boxed hash browns, rehydrate them first. This will add 15 minutes to your prep time.]

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 9 x 13 baking dish by lightly spraying it with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside.

Next, rinse off the produce and pat dry. Dice (cut into small pieces) the bell peppers and onions. Set the veggies aside for now.

Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, and salt in a large bowl until the egg mixture is one beautifully blended color. Set the egg mixture aside for now.

Tip:  I highly recommend that you crack the eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl before adding them to the large bowl. It’s a great way of catching small pieces of eggshell or preventing a rotten egg from contaminating the rest of the egg mixture.

Potatoes in a baking dish and bell peppers, onion, and ham in bowls.

Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of the (uncooked) hash browns.

Ham on top of egg layer of breakfast casserole.
Bell peppers on top of ham in breakfast casserole.
Adding diced onion layer to breakfast casserole.

Pour the egg mixture over the layer of potatoes. Sprinkle the top of the eggs with ham (or sausage), bell peppers, and onion.

⏲️ Baking Time

Bake the casserole for 30 – 45 minutes. Since baking times may vary, once the hash brown casserole has baked for 30 minutes, check the casserole. You want to bake it until the eggs have set. If the eggs are still runny or jiggly, continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes and then re-check.

Baked breakfast casserole topped with Pepper Jack cheese.

Once the eggs have set, layer the cheese on top and set the oven to BROIL on LOW. Keep an eye on it and broil until the cheese melts. Once it is bubbly, remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. Season with salt & pepper, if desired.

Egg casserole with peppers and onion on a plate.

Store any leftover casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

FAQs

What are some good sides to go along with a breakfast casserole?

Sour cream, chopped green onions, diced tomatoes, and hot sauce are great accompaniments for this dish. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Can I make this breakfast casserole ahead of time?

Yes. You have two options: prepare the ingredients and place the prepped items in the refrigerator ready to be assembled and baked, or bake the casserole and refrigerate it once it has cooled. To reheat, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover the top of the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Can you freeze breakfast casserole?

Absolutely. Once the casserole has cooled completely, cut it into individual portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and place in an air-tight container (think Ziplock freezer bags). Remove any excess air and seal the bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.

When ready to use, remove from the freezer and allow it to thaw out overnight in the refrigerator. Microwave in 30-second intervals until the desired temperature. (It normally takes about 1 minute in my microwave.)

Why is my casserole watery and how can I thicken it?

If the casserole is watery, it is underbaked. You don’t want to thicken it – you need to bake it longer so that the eggs firm up.

What are some good sides to go along with a breakfast casserole?

Fresh assorted fruit makes complements this dish well. If you are serving this for brunch, other ideas include muffins, bananas, waffles, tomato slices, orange juice, and coffee.

Substitutions

After the great pandemic of 2020 (and beyond), it can be difficult at times to find the exact ingredients called for in recipes. This recipe is no exception. But don’t worry – it’s a pretty flexible recipe and you can make substitutions, if necessary.

Hash browns –  You’ll need approximately 20 ounces of refrigerated hash browns for this recipe. If you cannot find them at the store, you can substitute ⅔ of a (30-ounce) bag of frozen hash browns. Be sure to thaw them first and then drain any excess moisture. If you shop at Costco or are able to find boxed hash browns in the center aisle of the grocery store, pick up 2 (4.5 ounces) boxes. Rehydrate the potatoes. Just before adding them to the baking dish, place them in a strainer and drain them.

Bell Peppers – You can use all green bell pepper, all red bell pepper, all yellow bell pepper – or any combination that you prefer. You can also add chopped jalapenos, if you’d like to spice it up! If you don’t like to cut up vegetables, look for pre-diced peppers in the refrigerator section of the produce aisle.

Ham –  If you don’t consume pork products, you can cook turkey sausage and use it instead. Simply “scramble” / brown sausage as you cook it on the stovetop. Drain any grease. Use up to 2 cups of the turkey sausage. You can do the same with breakfast sausage or even Italian sausage if you simply want to change the flavor profile of the dish and have a sausage breakfast casserole.

Onion – White onions or Vidalia onions work best in this dish. However,  if you have an allergy to any of the veggies in the allium family, just omit them. Just like pre-chopped bell peppers, if you don’t want to cut onions, look for them already prepared for you in the refrigerator section of the produce department.

Cheese – This is one area where you can really change things up. You’ll need a total of 2 cups of cheese and you can create your own blend of your favorite cheeses, use only one variety, or use the ingredients as listed in the recipe. You can use pre-shredded cheese or buy a block and use freshly shredded cheese. Cheeses that work well in this dish are sharp Cheddar cheese, mild Cheddar cheese, and Pepper Jack cheese. Other tasty cheese options include Swiss cheese and mozzarella cheese.

📖 Recipe

Breakfast casserole on a stack of plates.

Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

This breakfast casserole is the perfect dish to make for brunch, dinner or holidays. It’s also easy enough that you can prepare it ahead of time and simply heat up when needed!
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 277kcal
Author: Lynda

Equipment

  • 9×13 baking dish

Ingredients

  • 20 ounces hash brown potatoes
  • 12 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups half-and-half
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 8 ounces ham chopped
  • 1 medium green bell pepper diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper diced
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese shredded
  • ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
  • ½ cup white Cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 9 x 13 baking dish by lightly spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.   Set the pan aside.
  • Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, and salt in a large bowl until the egg mixture is one beautifully blended color. Set aside.
  • Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of the (uncooked) hash browns.  
  • Pour the egg mixture over the layer of potatoes.  Sprinkle the top of the eggs with ham (or sausage), bell peppers, and onion.
  • Bake the casserole for 30 – 45 minutes.  Once it has baked for 30 minutes, check the casserole.  You want to bake it until the eggs have set.  If the eggs are still runny or jiggly, continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes and then re-check.  
  • Once the eggs have set, layer the cheese on top and set the oven to BROIL on LOW.  Keep an eye on it and broil until the cheese melts.  Once it is bubbly, remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 228mg | Sodium: 626mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 902IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 206mg | Iron: 2mg
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    Recipe Rating




  1. JT says

    December 16, 2022 at 1:01 pm

    This recipe is great except the cooking time is grossly mis-represented. I’m now late to party because my bake has been in the over for over an hour and is still runny in the middle 🤬

    Reply
    • KS says

      January 01, 2023 at 10:03 pm

      I baked mine for about 45 min and it is still very wet in the middle but the eggs are perfectly cooked! This will surely keep for 2-3 days and will warm up nicely.

      Reply
  2. Chrysta says

    February 02, 2022 at 2:03 pm

    5 stars
    Very nice recipe I made one similar to Holiday Brunch.

    Reply

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Lynda and Johnny statue

My name is Lynda and I am a recovering sugar addict and travel junkie. I'm also a mom of two children & 2 dogs, wife of 1....and a messy cook taking life one bite at a time.

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