This savory egg, sausage, and bread casserole is everything you love about breakfast baked into a single dish. Loaded with flavor and protein, it’s a great dish for a delicious and nutritious morning meal.
If you enjoy a classic American breakfast, you’re going to love this breakfast sausage casserole. Inspired by Italian strata and savory bread pudding, this recipe combines eggs, sausage, bread, cheese, and veggies into one pan that is perfect for Christmas morning or a weekend brunch.
And the best part is, this recipe is super versatile. Once you get the basic concept down, you can mix and match the ingredients to use different types of bread, sausage or bacon, vegetables, and cheeses to make any flavor of breakfast casserole you like.
Why You’ll Love It
- Easy to Make – This dump-and-bake recipe is simple to prepare and minimizes cleanup.
- Balanced Meal – The breakfast casserole is a well-balanced meal idea complete with protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and fats.
- High in Protein – With over 20 grams of protein per slice, this sausage breakfast casserole is a protein-packed meal.
- Keeps Well – This casserole keeps well in the fridge and freezer making a great make-ahead meal.
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Bread – To add some complex carbohydrates. While you can use any white bread you like, I think sourdough and Italian bread work best.
- Sausage – To add some animal protein. I used pork sausage, but chicken sausage and turkey sausage would also work well.
- Eggs – To add some protein and healthy fats.
- Milk – To add some more protein and make the egg mixture. I used 2% milk, but whole milk and skim milk will also work, you can also use heavy cream or half-and-half if you want to make the casserole extra rich.
- Onions and Garlic – To add some flavor. The recipe calls for an onion and garlic cloves, but you can use onion powder and garlic powder if needed, see the notes section of the recipe card for details.
- Mushrooms – To add some veggies and micronutrients. I used button mushrooms but you can use any style of mushrooms you enjoy.
- Spinach – To add some leafy greens.
- Cheese – To add some more protein and healthy fats. The recipe calls for sharp cheddar cheese, but Gruyère cheese would also work very well.
- Salt and Pepper – To season.
Dietary Adaptions
To Make it Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free bread and gluten-free breakfast sausage.
To Make it Dairy-Free: Swap the milk for unsweetened almond milk and omit the cheese.
Red’s Nutrition Tip
Conventional diet wisdom has led many to believe that bread is “unhealthy” or “fattening” but, unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth. Not only does no single ingredient cause weight gain, but bread is a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and micronutrients. That said, it is important to opt for bread with simple yet quality ingredients, such as flour, water, salt, and yeast, which is why sourdough is considered the healthiest bread.
Serving Suggestions
This breakfast casserole is a balanced meal with protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and fats and can be enjoyed on its own as a hearty, filling, and balanced breakfast. If needed, you can also adapt the recipe to meet your personal dietary needs, for example:
- To increase the protein content, add 1/2 pound of sausage to the recipe and/or serve it with a side of Greek yogurt or skyr.
- To decrease the fat content, swap the pork sausage for chicken or turkey sausage, the milk for skim milk, and/or use low-fat cheddar cheese.
- To add more fiber, swap the white bread for whole-wheat bread, add another cup of spinach, and/or serve the breakfast casserole with a side of fresh fruit.
Storage + Reheating
To Refrigerate: Allow the baked casserole to cool completely and then cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: To freeze sausage breakfast casserole, cool completely, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil, and then place the entire baking dish in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. To freeze leftovers or individual portions, transfer them to airtight containers and place them in the freezer.
To Reheat: To reheat sausage and egg casserole whole, allow it to thaw completely, and then cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and warm it in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes. To reheat individual portions, place a thawed portion in an oven-proof baking dish in the oven for 5-10 minutes or in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish for 1-2 minutes.
More Breakfast Casserole Recipes:
- Breakfast Egg Bake Casserole
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
- Greek Omelet Casserole
- Spinach Breakfast Casserole
- Zucchini Egg Bake
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Egg, Sausage, and Bread Casserole
Made in one pan with over 20 grams of protein, bread, sausage, and egg breakfast casserole is a hearty meal that is perfect for a weekend brunch or holiday celebration.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 50 minutes
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Total Time: 1 hour
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Yield: 6 slices 1x
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Category: Breakfast
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Method: Baked
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:Ingredients
- 10 cups stale bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 loaf)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for greasing
- 1 pound breakfast sausages, removed from casing
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup spinach, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with a teaspoon of olive oil, add the bread cubes to the baking dish, and set aside.
- In a large pan or cast-iron skillet on medium heat, warm the olive oil, then the breakfast sausage meat (casings removed) and cook for 4-5 minutes or until no longer pink, and then transfer the cooked sausage to the baking dish with the bread cubes.
- In the same pan, add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms, and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes until all of the onions are tender and the mushrooms are lightly browned.
- Add the garlic and chopped spinach to the pan and stir to incorporate with the onion and mushroom mixture, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the spinach is wilted and the garlic is fragrant.
- Once cooked, transfer the vegetable mixture to the baking dish with the bread and sausage and stir everything until well incorporated.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and milk and whisk until well combined. Add the shredded cheese, salt, and pepper and gently stir again to combine.
- Pour the egg mixture into the baking dish, ensuring the bread mixture is mostly submerged and evenly covered. You can press the bread mixture down slightly with the back of a spatula if needed, but it’s okay if small pieces of bread pop up from the milk and egg mixture.
- Transfer the baking dish to the oven and cook for 45-50 minutes or until the eggs are set and the top is golden brown.
- Once cooked, the breakfast casserole can be served immediately or cooled completely and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
To use Onion Powder: Swap the onion for 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder, skip cooking it in step #4, and add it in step #5.
To Use Garlic Powder: Swap the garlic cloves for 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and add it in step #5.
To Use Frozen Spinach: Thaw 1/4 cup of frozen spinach, press out as much water as possible, and add it to the recipe as per step #5 to warm it and remove any excess water.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 406 calories
- Sugar: 8 grams
- Fat: 18 grams
- Carbohydrates: 37 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 23 grams
I made the Egg,Sausage, and Bread Casserole. All of Stephanie’s recipes are user friendly, very easy to make, not time consuming tastes amazing and the plus is that they are good for you and you are given so many variations to help with food sensitivities or diet restrictions. This recipe was so good and everyone in my family enjoyed it.
Thank you so much, Anita!