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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.
Jolene says
This looks great! Can it be frozen? And if so, how longs to cook once it’s out? Thanks!! 🙂Â
Karly says
Hi Jolene! You can freeze this one! Freeze before baking for up to one night and then thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
Dennis Pruitt says
It turned out great my family loved it
Shannon says
What kind of breakfast sausage do you use? Â Will definitely try this recipe.Â
Karly says
I normally buy the Jimmy Dean sausage.
SandiF says
Do you think this would work in a crockpot?
Karly says
Hmm, I’m really not sure. I’ve not tried it.
Candiss says
Hi! I made this for our Christmas breakfast and it was AMAZING. I’m curious. Do you think I could make this and freeze it? We have an abundance of eggs and I’m thinking this would be a great way to use some of them up 🙂 Thanks!
Karly says
Hi Candiss! I haven’t tried freezing this, but I think it would freeze beautifully. Most egg type casseroles do freeze well. 🙂
Jennifer says
I’m trying this this evening I didn’t let it set in the fridge and used frozen o’brien potatoes hoping it turns out ok?
Mary W says
As a cattle rancher, I give this recipe high marks. I would probably par boil or pre-cook the potato. If everything goes in cooked, except the eggs maybe I could cut down on the cooking time a little.
Laura says
Can I use cooked potato hash browns meats and veggies and mix it in or do you think it would over cook those ingredients?
Karly says
I haven’t tried this, but I do think they might be a bit overcooked.
Jeannie says
Hi I’m making this Christmas brunch, do I sauté the veggies?
Karly says
I do not, but be sure to dice them up fairly small so they get a chance to cook through.
Ramona Eadens says
Wonderful recipe! My girlfriends and husband loved it!!! Just the perfect amount of everything! Thank you
SuSu V says
I had company this weekend and made this exactly as instructed. I cooked it for 45 minutes and the potatoes weren’t cooked. I put it in the oven for an additional 20 minutes and they still weren’t completely cooked. I was very disappointed.Â
Karly says
I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you. I wonder if your potatoes were cut larger than mine? I’ve never had an issue with it.
Kathryn Wood says
This was delicious. I only had four slices of French bread, I shredded my potato, and I skipped the bacon as a personal preference. My family liked it a lot. I let it bake for closer to 55 minutes. It was still a bit runny in the middle at 45. Maybe because of the lesser amount of bread? Or maybe because of the shredded potato. Shreds tend to weep more in my experience. In any case, it was perfect for our breakfast this morning. Thanks for a great recipe! I’m definitely keeping it in my food planner.
Karly says
So glad it turned out with the changes! Sounds delicious! 🙂
Stephanie says
How can you say 10 mins prep time? There are so many steps before you put it in the oven. Unless you buy pre chopped veggies and pre cooked bacon amd sausage there’s no way to do it all in 10 mins.
Karly says
The recipe is calling for all of those things to already be done…the ingredients are listed, for example, as sausage that’s already been cooked. I do that not to be misleading, but because otherwise the instructions list gets so long and overwhelming. It’s easier to just call for it in the ingredients.
Julie Correll says
Could you use the frozen hash browns instead and just defrost them first?
Karly says
I haven’t tried this, but I imagine it would work fine.
Gail says
Do you put this in the oven straight out of the fridge, or let it come to room temp first? Thanks!
Karly says
I put it in right from the fridge.
John meng says
How can you say ‘Total Time’ is 55 minutes when later in the recipe you say refrigerate 4 hours????? My wife started this recipe and learned halfway thru the process we had to create an entirely new dish.
Karly says
Sorry about that John! I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect the chill time.