I am late to the party for discovering this breakfast casserole…it is something my Dad made on our family vacations after I was all grown up, and it is heaven on a fork!

For many years, 3 generations of our family got together and rented a different house somewhere in New England for a week each summer.  There were 9 of us and most of us like to cook, so having a vacation spot with a kitchen was important to us!

We have endless stories about some of the places we stayed…from intriguing (by which I mean weird) decor, to nosy owners, to kitchens that were, let’s just say, under equipped. 

We started traveling with our most essential kitchen items (good knives, measuring cups and spoons, a decent garlic press, and a microplane grater) and even sometimes the Kitchen Aid mixer and some pans if we were intending to bake!

Phone calls and emails about our travel plans always included a discussion of who was bringing which kitchen essentials. Other people plan activities, we plan food. Priorities…

In any event, our vacation menu ALWAYS included this super easy and delicious breakfast casserole.  It feeds a crowd, reheats easily in the event someone sleeps in, and it qualifies as a full breakfast without the need to make anything else.  It contains all the major savory breakfast foods…breakfast sausage, potatoes, and eggs.

This weekend I made it for a much smaller ‘crowd’.  Just 3 of us - a girls breakfast for our little gang that has met every Saturday for breakfast or coffee for the last 30+ years.  We met when we were all commuting into the city by train and have been fast friends ever since!

I used these adorable individual casserole dishes from Le Creuset that were just given to me for Mothers Day.  This was their inaugural outing and they worked beautifully!

I also baked buttermilk herb biscuits since I had buttermilk on hand left over from our banana squares with brown butter frosting recipe.  There ALWAYS seems to be buttermilk left over. Why does buttermilk only come in quarts??? Anyway, buttermilk biscuits (or pancakes) is a great way to use it up!

And I served it all with fresh fruit salad and some Natalie’s tangerine juice along with coffee and tea, of course!

I set the table last night to make the morning more relaxed, and thus reserved this morning for the baking and cooking.

There are any number of variations on this recipe out there. Some recipes call for draining the sausage fat (why???? my southern sensibility says that it’s a crime to waste so much good flavor!), some use the hash browns raw and thawed and patted dry, and some {gasp} skip the cheese.

Obviously, we do not do any of those things, but there is obviously room to experiment here and make this recipe your own!

I like my method which uses the rendered pork fat to cook the next ingredients.  This saves having to use multiple dishes or pans AND gives it great flavor. Win-win!

This can theoretically be assembled the night before and stored in the fridge to bake in the morning.  I’ve never actually done that, but let me know if you do!  I assume it would require a slightly longer baking time since the ingredients start colder.

And, serendipitously, this recipe is also gluten free! As long as you make sure the potatoes and sausage that you buy don’t have any additives that contain gluten, this should be a safe option for those on a gluten free diet. How often does THAT happen…You can safely serve this to a crowd without making a separate GF option!

Sausage, Egg, and Hashbrown Casserole

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

• 1.75-2 lbs breakfast sausage meat (like Jimmy Dean)

• 1 30 oz bag shredded hash brown potatoes (in the freezer section)

• 1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced

• 2 cups shredded cheese (I like to use sharp cheddar)

• 2 tsp salt

• Fresh ground pepper

• 6 large eggs

• 2 cups milk

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350’

• In a large sauté pan, brown the sausage, breaking up any big clumps

• Once the sausage has started to brown, add chopped onion and continue sautéing until onion is translucent and starting to brown a bit.

• Add the hash browns (still frozen is fine, just break up the clump a bit), along with 1 1/2 tsp of the salt and a few grinds of pepper.

• Continue sautéing, tossing frequently to be sure it doesn’t burn.

• Once the potatoes have some golden color, remove from heat.

• Whisk the eggs with  the milk and the other 1/2 tsp salt

• Toss the shredded cheese with the slightly cooled sausage/potato mixture and transfer the mixture into a large casserole dish

• Pour the egg mixture over the the sausage mixture…it will seep into the crevices and be the binder for the whole thing when it is baked.

• Bake at 350’ for 35-40 minutes until set and starting to brown around the edges

As long as you keep the ratio of eggs/milk/sausage/cheese/potatoes consistent, you can add or substitute things for a slightly different twist.  Here are some ideas for variations to try:

• Change up the cheese to a pepper jack, and/or add some canned chopped jalapeños for a spicy kick.

• Use a hot Italian sausage for 1/2 the sausage.

• Add chopped bell pepper (green or red) and/or chopped mushrooms along with the onion

I only made 3 of the mini casseroles and baked the rest in a larger decorative baking dish. The 3 of us did NOT eat all 10 servings, of course. I sent home some with my guests and will freeze the rest for an easy hearty breakfast on another day.

Other posts you might like:

The quiche that will ruin you for all other quiches

The secret to the BEST blueberry muffins

Easy spinach cheese squares (if you were looking for something nutritious and portable!)

Happy Vacation!