A delicious overnight sausage and egg breakfast casserole that’s prepared the night before, and ready to bake in the morning! 

Looking for more breakfast recipes? Consider trying my French Toast Roll-Ups or Strawberry Crepes!

A slice of overnight breakfast casserole served on a plate, with a bite taken out of it.

What I love about this breakfast:

  • No mess or work in the morning! Just wake up and pop it in the oven, making it the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning, baby showers, brunch, or even just a regular busy weekday!
  • Leftovers reheat great to enjoy for several days.
  • Easy to adapt based on your own preferences.

How to make Overnight Breakfast Casserole:

Prepare pan by lining the bottom of a 9×13” pan with slices of white bread. (I’ve found that plain old white sandwich bread works best).

A casserole dish with slices of white bread laid along the bottom.

Sprinkle cheese on top of bread. (I use medium cheddar or Colby jack, but feel free to experiment with your favorite kind of cheese!)

Shredded cheese spread over bread slices in a casserole dish.

Add browned sausage, onions, bell peppers and green chiles on top. (The green chiles add great flavor, and a little bit of spice. Feel free to substitute a mild salsa).

Ground sausage and sautéed bell peppers on top of shredded cheese and white bread, in a baking dish.

Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl. Add milk, salt, paprika, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder, and dry mustard and whisk well to combine.  

Whisked eggs, milk and spices in a bowl.

Stir the egg mixture as you pour it evenly all over the top of the assembled casserole. Cover baking dish and place in the refrigerator overnight (or refrigerate for at least 6 hours).

Bake (uncovered) for 50-60 minutes or until center is set and outside edges are golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. I like to serve it with fresh avocado slices, to balance out the flavors.

A pan of baked overnight breakfast casserole, ready to be cut and served.

Freezing Instructions:

To Freeze: Prepare the full recipe, but don’t bake it. Cover pan with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let it come to room temperature before baking according to recipe instructions.

Recipe Variations:

  • Veggies: Add more veggies or different veggies, like mushrooms or spinach. Use your favorite kind of cheese, if you’d like!
  • Salsa: Substitute salsa for the green chilies.

FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!

Recipe

A slice of overnight breakfast casserole served on a plate, with a bite taken out of it.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 1 hour
Total 1 hour 20 minutes
Save Recipe

Ingredients
 
 

  • 6-8 slices white bread , crust removed
  • 4 cups freshly shredded colby jack cheese , or cheddar cheese
  • 12 ounces pork sausage
  • 1/4 medium onion , chopped
  • 1/2 red bell pepper , chopped
  • 4 ounce can diced green chiles
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Instructions
 

  • Remove the crust from the bread slices. Lightly butter or grease a 9×13” baking pan. 
  • Arrange the bread slices in the baking dish to cover the bottom of the pan, with no spaces. 
  • Brown sausage in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces. Drain Grease and remove to plate. 
  • Add onions and bell peppers to skillet and saute until slightly tender, 3-5 minutes. Add green chiles. 
  • Sprinkle freshly grated cheese evenly over the the bread in the 9×13” pan.  Add the cooked sausage evenly on top, followed by the onions, bell pepper, and green chiles.
  • Whisk the eggs in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add milk, salt, paprika, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder, and dry mustard and whisk well to combine.  
  • Slowly stir the egg mixture as you pour it evenly all over the top of the assembled casserole. Cover baking dish and place in the refrigerator overnight (or refrigerate for at least 6 hours)

In the morning:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake (uncovered) for 50-60 minutes or until center is set and outside edges are golden brown. 
  • Allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into it and serving. 

Notes

Freezing Instructions: Prepare the full recipe, but don’t bake it. Cover pan with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let it come to room temperature before baking according to recipe instructions.
Variations:
  • Veggies: Add more veggies or different veggies, like mushrooms or spinach. Use your favorite kind of cheese!
  • Salsa: Substitute salsa for the green chilies.

Nutrition

Calories: 354kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 20gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 787mgPotassium: 249mgSugar: 3gVitamin A: 860IUVitamin C: 9.9mgCalcium: 398mgIron: 1.7mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!

Adapted from Our Best Bites 

HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

I originally shared this recipe November 2017. Updated August 2021.

This post contains affiliate links.

Related Posts

Share Recipe

Categories

About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This could be the best breakfast casserole I’ve ever made! (Even without the meat and veggies because of a picky eater.) It was pillowy, deliciously seasoned and custard-like. Yummy!

  2. Totally enjoyed this recipe…made it ahead & baked Christmas morning. It was a favorite! Next time will probably try with spinach added. Thank you!

  3. 5 stars
    We love this breakfast casserole. I added bacon as well and did 2 cups of Colby Jack and 2 cups of sharp cheddar. My go to from now on for Christmas morning too.

  4. 5 stars
    I made this today for brunch and it was fabulous. I played with it a bit and added more eggs and spinach. I upped the spices a bit also. Everyone raved about it. It was so easy and fast also. Thank you. It will be our Christmas morning breakfast this year!

  5. 5 stars
    Amazing recipe. So, I hate it when people say they changed it up & then rate it, but I think my changes aren’t truly changes (except for 1). I used sourdough wheat bread slices; I used chili & smoked paprika Hill’s pork sausage; I used 2 leeks instead of onion; I used pepper jack cheese instead of cheddar to make up for no green chilies; I didn’t use paprika b/c it was in the sausage I used; I didn’t use mustard b/c my hubby hates it (only true change). IT WAS AMAZING. will try with other sausage flavor & different cheese; Red bell pepper a must. served to guests – 4 of us ate the entire thing.

  6. Your recipies look and sound yummy! Love it, as I didn’t have to sign on, follow, or give my e-mail before I could look,thank you!!!

  7. Made this last Christmas. Made again yesterday for this mornings breakfast. This time I added two extra eggs and only used 2 cups of cheese. Much lighter, didn’t miss the cheese one bit. Yum!

  8. I made this recipe and followed the directions. It turned out amazing. I was wondering if I could substitute the bread for hash browns and hoping this might still work. Any thoughts on that?

  9. Would it be okay to make this in a tin 9×13 pan? I want to make it ahead but I will be camping and don’t want to bring my nice Pyrex. Thanks!

  10. 5 stars
    Wonderful! Finally, a breakfast casserole that adds a few more spices besides salt and pepper. I love the fact that there is more color and therefore more nutrition in this dish (thanks to veggies). I used texas toast and I think next time I will cube the bread and blend the ingredients a little more. Layers are good, but sometimes I think it looks to flat. Nice job!

  11. 5 stars
    H! Ive made this at least 3 times in one month. It’s a hit with everyone who tries it and they want the recipe.
    This time, I only have wheat bread that is a significantly denser than regular white bread. Do you think it will still work? Wondering if it would soak in the egg mixture as well.

    1. I’m really happy to hear that! Yes I think the wheat bread would work fine–the texture of the casserole may be a little thicker but I think it will taste great 🙂

  12. Going to try this today!! I’m hoping that I don’t make ahead to early and it doesn’t turn out! I want to have it prepared by noon then bake it tomorrow morning! Do you think that’s too long for it to sit in fridge?

  13. How far in advance can this be made/put together? Can you prep and refrigerate longer than overnight—day a day or so—before baking?

  14. 5 stars
    Glad I came across this recipe made a very similar version years ago and couldn’t find my recipe to make it again for Christmas….this is so versatile…
    Writing this in my recipe keeper this time….going to do a ham, broccoli cheddar for new years, a all veggie for my son to take home after Christmas and this for version for us…definitely want to try the one suggestion with chorizo

  15. Super yummy! I tried to put some more bread slices like yours, it became even more hearty!
    – Natalie

  16. Wondering about substituting hash browns for the bread. Any comments? Other than that, this sounds absolutely delicious!

  17. Just came across this recipe. Right up my alley! Making right now… unfortunately I don’t have any sausage on hand so using chorizo instead. But thought it would go well with the green chiles. Thanks for your post!

    Chelsea

  18. 5 stars
    I love this…set it and forget it. This was delicious! Easy prep, little clean up is my kind of breakfast. We will be making again.

  19. I love your recipes!! Currently your lasagna roll ups and chicken tikka masala are on repeat 🙂 This probably only makes sense in my head…but i like your recipes because they taste ‘normal’ and homemade and delicious instead of some of the slightly weird and ‘off’ tasting made up recipes from other blogs/pinterest. Thanks for posting!!

    1. Jessica, thanks so much for your nice comment! I’m so happy you have liked the Chicken Tikka and the Lasagna Rolls–we love them as well! I’m all about sharing ‘normal’ yummy homemade recipes–there’s nothing worse than making something you found online and the taste is off!
      Thanks again for your nice comment and for following along 🙂

  20. Thanks for the breakfast idea. I’m always looking for something new to try and this one is it. Pinned.

    1. 4 stars
      You can always use waffles cut into cubes as well. It’s like a French toast breakfast, be sure to add maple syrup to the egg mixture ?