Make your Christmas morning breakfast a breeze with this easy, tasty make-ahead sausage, egg and cheese casserole. This easy breakfast recipe can be put together the night before and is sure to impress your holiday breakfast guests!
Whether your family does breakfast before or after you open gifts, Christmas morning breakfast is always such a fun time and a great way to start the day off in a festive way. This make-ahead breakfast casserole takes a lot the stress out of Christmas morning as all the work is done the night before so all you have to do is pop the casserole in the oven and bake it for about an hour.
For many years after I got divorced I used to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with a friend from college and her family. It kind of became a tradition that included me and her son, who is really into cooking as well, to come up with an egg casserole for Christmas morning breakfast. I think the original version started out with a super easy recipe she gave us to follow but over time her son and I modified it, probably a bit each year. Eggs, sausage, bread (strata like), onion, cheese, maybe mushrooms, spices that we threw together the night before so it was ready for Christmas morning.
How do you make a breakfast casserole ahead of time?
The beauty of this easy overnight breakfast casserole is that it takes just a few easy steps to put it together.
- Toast the bread cubes in the oven or toaster oven
- Brown the breakfast sausage until it’s nice and crumbly
- Whisk together the eggs, milk and seasonings
- Shred the cheddar cheese (or buy it pre-shredded to save a bit of time)and add to the eggs
- Mix the sausage and bread cubes together
- Pour the egg mixture over everything
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
- Preheat the oven and while it’s heating, sprinkle another ¾ cup of cheese over the casserole
- Bake and serve!
When you are making an egg-based casserole, the worst thing that can happen is having not quite cooked eggs so you want to be sure you don’t undercook this breakfast dish. The best way to check it is to take it out of the oven when you think it’s done and insert a knife in the middle. The knife should come out clean and the casserole should be set in the middle. Since ovens can vary in cooking temperature you may need to let yours cook for an extra 5- 10 minutes to ensure it’s done.
The result is a simple and comforting breakfast recipe that is perfect for the holidays when friends and family are visiting. Happy Holidays!!
Things You May Want for This Recipe
Kitchen Whisk – A good whisk is a necessity in every kitchen. There are many different types of whisks out there but if you don’t want to go overboard with kitchen tools a nice, large balloon whisk like this one will work for most things.
Rectangular Baking Dish – Baking dishes are also a kitchen necessity. There are so many options for baking dishes so I recommend picking something neutral that works for both cooking and serving. A good place to start is with a 9×13 dish like I used for this casserole. 8×8 is another useful size that I recommend for most kitchens.
Make-Ahead Christmas Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed sourdough or french bread
- ⅔ pound pork or turkey breakfast sausage
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups low-fat milk
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Coat a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray or oil.
- Lightly toast the bread cubes. You can do this by putting them in a toaster oven for a few minutes or spreading them on a baking sheet and baking in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.
- Cook the sausage. While the bread cubes are toasting, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until crumbly, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool while you mix the eggs.
- Make the egg mixture. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, salt, pepper and sage together until fully combined. Add ¾ cup of cheddar cheese and stir.
- Prepare the casserole. Add the bread and sausage to the prepared baking dish and mix together. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and sausage.
- Refrigerate. Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Uncover the casserole and sprinkle the remaining ¾ cup of cheddar on top of the casserole. Bake until golden and the eggs are set, about 60 to 65 minutes. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
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