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This cowboy breakfast casserole is packed with sausage, bacon, cheese, and veggies, and it goes together the night before so you can just pop it in the oven come morning. It’s hearty, filling, and built to feed a crowd. Perfect easy breakfast casserole recipe for holiday mornings, weekend guests, or any time you want breakfast to basically make itself.
Karly’s Notes
I’m a sucker for a tasty casserole – after all, I was born and raised in the Midwest. Casseroles flow through my veins. 😉
We’ve got quite a few dinner time favorites, but breakfast casseroles are where it’s really at!
Who doesn’t love something warm and hearty to look forward to when they get out of bed? And this Cowboy Brunch Casserole feeds crowd!
Loaded with both sausage and bacon, this is hearty and filling. We make this for holiday mornings or anytime we have guests staying with us.
I love that you can prep this the night before and just pop it in the oven when you wake up.
Ingredient Notes:
Breakfast Meats – This recipe assumes you’ve already got some pre-cooked bacon and sausage on hand to toss into the casserole. Feel free to swap in diced ham or cooked chorizo.
Veggies – Potatoes, onions, and bell peppers add flavor and texture.
French Bread – The cubed pieces of bread will help soak up all the eggs and flavor in this casserole recipe!
Seasoning – Just some simple salt and pepper along with some red pepper flakes to spice things up a bit!
Step by Step:
Brown the sausage, peppers, and onions in a skillet and then remove to a bowl.
Fry up the bacon in the same skillet and then remove it with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the sausage.
Whisk together the milk and eggs, pour it over the meat, and stir in the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate overnight in a 9×13.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the eggs are set.
Serving Ideas:
This casserole is a full meal on its own, but if you’re feeding a crowd and want to round things out:
- A simple green salad topped with my easy garlic dressing
- Fresh fruit salad or sliced melon
- Mimosas or a simple orange juice bar
- Oven roasted potatoes if you want something extra hearty
Storage:
Refrigerator: Leftovers keep well for 3 to 4 days, covered tightly.
Freezer: This casserole freezes well for up to 3 months. Cool completely, then wrap tightly before freezing. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Make-ahead: Assemble the night before, cover with foil, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is ideal). Bake straight from the fridge.
Reheating: Individual portions reheat well in the microwave. For a larger portion, cover with foil and warm in a 325°F oven until heated through.
More Breakfast Casserole Recipes
- Amish Breakfast Casserole
- Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
- Low Carb Breakfast Casserole
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
- Breakfast Casserole with Ham
Cowboy Brunch Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 small sweet onion diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 6 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups milk
- 5-6 ounces French bread cubed, see notes
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
- 1 cup frozen diced hash brown potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less, to taste
Instructions
- Add the sausage to a large skillet and crumble it as it cooks. When it's about halfway cooked through, add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet and continue cooking until the vegetables have softened and the sausage is cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Dice the bacon into bite-sized pieces and add to the skillet. Cook until crisp, stirring often. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the grease and add it to the sausage.
- Add the eggs and milk to a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the sausage, vegetables, and bacon to the mixture along with the cubed bread, cheese, potatoes, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- Pour mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the eggs are set. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
JD says
Recipe was excellent! Love having some of my favourite foods (eggs, bacon, sausage) rolled into one. I cooked my potatoes ahead of time and I used thick slices of bread. I also let it sit overnight and the liquid was absorbed by morning. I can see how versatile this recipe can be as you can add/swap anything you would prefer into this casserole.
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the review!
Ashley says
So glad you added in about ham and chorizo… these breakfast casseroles seem to always call for sausage and I don’t like sausage. Seems like common sense to just use those instead, but it honestly didn’t occur to me! DUHHH!!! 😀
Karly says
Haha! So glad to be helpful. 🙂
Sandy says
Comes out perfect every time. Easy recipe. I would cook potatoes a little before adding or dice very small.
Karly says
Thanks for sharing, Sandy!
Amanda says
Should I cook first and then freeze? Or is it okay to just freeze and not cook for a week or two? Thanks
Karly says
You would want to cook before freezing.
Patti says
Took about 2 hours to get the potatoes to cook. I cut mine very small and still had crunchy raw potatoes! I recommend cooking the potatoes in the microwave first, then dicing. I would also sauté the veggies first. The onion flavor was overwhelming.
Karly says
Hi Patti! I’m not sure why the potatoes would have taken so long…potatoes can easily cook in under an hour in the oven. Sorry this wasn’t a success for you.
Deborah D says
Great savory flavor. Takes a long time to prepare (NOT the 10 minutes suggested in the recipe. More like 2 hours). But it’s soupy. Way, way too much liquid. I followed the suggestion of the author for 3 cups of bread since French bread comes in all sizes and is rarely sliced. It looked ‘right’ when mixed. Until the egg/milk mix was added. I think it’s excess milk. I will make a half recipe again to test with one-half the milk. We have all this soupy stuff left over. I think I will try an extra egg in each serving and stir fry in a skillet to use up the remainder.
Karly says
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t quite work for you! Did you let it set overnight so that the liquid could soak up into the bread? We use thick slices of French bread, maybe about an inch thick, and then cube them up.
And the prep time is based on the recipe as written – the ingredients call for cooked and crumbled bacon, so it doesn’t account for the time to cook and crumble the bacon, if that makes sense. It’s not meant to be deceptive, it’s more meant to keep the instructions clear – it gets to be a novel when you include instructions for cooking and crumbling bacon, browning sausage, etc. 🙂
Bonnie R says
Approx how many many cups(cut up) in 6 slices of French bread
Karly says
I’ve never measured it that way, but I’d guess around 3.
Carol Palermo says
Can I use potatoes o’Brian that come with the peppers?
Karly says
I think that would be fine!