I collect “club cookbooks.” You know the ones; published by a local organization, school, or church. The ones that have recipes without fancy ingredients, that are easy to prepare, and are tried and tested. While perusing these books, I often stumble across a dish I know is going to be a winner. This sausage breakfast casserole recipe jumped out at me from a local community cookbook that’s never steered me wrong. This book has a collection of old favorites and uses basic “everyday” ingredients.
I planned to make this for breakfast but discovered I was short on time and decided to serve it for dinner instead. I had a lot of food that night, managing to serve ten people, and all of them gave a thumbs up on this dish. And, I mean that literally. We have a 4-year-old who gives thumbs-up and thumbs down to all my new recipes. “When can you make this again?” is a common refrain in our house. Use this recipe for brunch, breakfast, or anytime you need a comforting, cheesy dish.
The Best Sausage Breakfast Casserole Recipe
If you have someone in your household that doesn’t like eggs, they’ll still probably like this casserole. My son, who has an unnatural hatred for the taste of eggs, was skeptical when I offered him a piece of this casserole. After one bite he decided this was the perfect way to cook eggs.
Cooking Tips
- Feel free to use your favorite kind of sausage in this dish to mix up the flavors. You could use Italian sausage, turkey sausage, or chorizo. Even bratwurst would work, although it would totally change the flavors in this recipe.
- You can also mix up the cheeses if you’d like. Use a cheese blend like Mexican or Italian to add several different flavor profiles. For a tangy flavor, use sharp cheddar cheese.
- Want to make this a more “upscale” brunch dish? Use French or Italian bread from the bakery and flavored goat cheese. I like to add goat cheese with honey for both a bit of tang and a bit of sweetness.
- Don’t have half and half? Substitute an equal amount of whole milk. The mixture will not be as thick, but will still taste delicious.
- Need to make this recipe gluten-free? Just substitute gluten-free bread for regular bread.
- Plan ahead! This recipe needs to sit for several hours or overnight before baking.
- You’ll need to remove this dish from the fridge 15 minutes before baking.
What You Need to Make it:
- bread- Use your favorite kind. I’ve made this with whatever type of bread I have in the house and it’s been good with any variety. TIP: This will not work with sweet types of bread, like Brioche.
- butter OR margarine- you can use either in this recipe with no difference in taste
- sausage- I used pork sausage. You can use either the hot or mild variety.
- shredded cheese, your choice of cheese and flavor blends
- eggs
- half-and-half
- salt and pepper
- non-stick cooking spray
Alternate Ways to Cook the Sausage:
The sausage in this recipe needs to be pre-cooked before adding it to the dish. That used to mean frying it in a skillet, constantly turning it to make sure it didn’t burn, and cleaning up splattered greasy messes later. No longer! Here’s how to prepare the sausage in an air fryer or oven.
- Air Fryer Method: Slice the sausage. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees and (depending on your air fryer’s cooking time) set the time for 8 to 12 minutes. Place the sliced sausage on the air fryer tray and turn once during cooking.
- Oven Method: Preheat the oven to 425. Slice the sausage and place it in a shallow baking dish. Cook the sausage for around 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.
Printable Recipe:
The Best Sausage Breakfast Casserole Recipe
30
minutes45
minutesIngredients
6 slices of bread
2 tablespoons butter OR margarine
1 pound pork sausage, cooked and drained- use your choice of hot or mild
2 cups shredded cheese
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of each)
Directions
- Coat a 9″ by 13″ pan with cooking spray. Spread butter on bread slices and place the bread, butter side up, into the baking dish. Layer the cooked sausage evenly over the bread.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, cheese, half and half, and salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the fridge. Allow the dish to chill overnight.
- The next morning, remove the dish from the fridge 15 minutes prior to baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole for 45 minutes or until a knife stuck into the center comes out clean and free of crumbs.
I hope your family enjoys this dish as much as ours does. Here’s to all thumbs up! Have you tried this sausage breakfast casserole before? Do you have any twists you’d like to share?
You Might Like These Recipes:
Bacon Pancakes with Praline Maple Syrup
Have You Seen Our Cookbooks?
The New Southern Cookbook, with recipes like this one, has over 100 from scratch Southern recipes with lots of gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan adaptions, Y’all! You can order it here-> The New Southern Cookbook
If you like Southern foods, but want ease and convenience, try The Southern Air Fryer Cookbook. If you’re gluten-free and need some help with meal prep, try The Gluten-Free Meal Prep Cookbook.
This looks really good and came at just the right time. I have a whole bunch of family coming up this weekend, and this will be perfect for breakfast. Thanks for sharing.
I have a thing for sausage so I would love to try this. Does the bread get very soggy?
Oh yum! Looks so delicious! I want to make this recipe for my daughter’s birthday!
I definitely love a good and filling breakfast! This one’s easy to put together in the morning and I’d love to try the recipe! I’m sure the husband will love it!
This is a traditional Christmas morning dish for us. My mother in law has made it for years.
My kids are picky eaters, but breakfast is always a big hit. This is going to be a new family favorite! It’ll be perfect for weekend mornings so we can plan our fun!
What an awesome dish! I hate cooking breakfast, just another load of dishes to do. But this looks so easy and I love that it’s a casserole.
I need to add this to my breakfast menu. It looks delicious and I love that all you need to do it pop it in the oven come morning.
This looks so good! I’ll have to give it a try this weekend!
I love a good breakfast casserole! This looks like no exception! I would love to recreate it!
This looks so good and all my kids would love it if I surprised them with it.
We are having company for the holidays and I am printing this off to make for breakfast. Casseroles are awesome and I love that it can be saved and reheated.
Num num num! I love me some hearty breakfast foods! This is totally being made on Sunday morning in my house!
Oh my! This looks and sounds heavenly. I haven’t made a breakfast casserole in ages. Would love to try this!
This looks so good! I could definitely do this the next time we’re in the mood for breakfast-for-dinner.
I love morning comfort food. Your sausage breakfast casserole sounds like it would be perfect for a chilly or cold fall or winter morning.
I have never tried a breakfast casserole but this is awesome! Just throw everything together, pop it in the oven, and it is done! Love that when we have guests over.
That is an awesome breakfast casserole! It has everything I love about breakfast all right there. I can’t wait to make it!
Wow! What an excellent breakfast idea! It looks so easy to make and looks super delicious!
Breakfast casseroles are the best! My family would probably request this very often!
This is my kind of recipe! I love a good breakfast casserole. I think my kids would love this one too!
This looks like a delicious and filling breakfast casserole. When can you make this again will be on repeat here too once I serve this to my family!
I love breakfast casseroles, especially with 2 growing boys in the house! They are going to love this.