This Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is perfectly seasoned, smells incredible, and is loaded with savory goodness! This Breakfast Casserole has all the best things one breakfast should have - ham, hash browns, bell peppers, cheese, and plenty of aromatics make which makes it a truly wonderful one-dish meal.
This overnight breakfast casserole is sure to become your most requested recipe for breakfast and lazy weekend brunch. This is one of our favorite Christmas Morning Casseroles we love to make every year. Same casserole every year but we love to change up some of the ingredients each time.
Use these ingredients as your base, all the veggies and meats can be swapped to whatever is in your fridge and cheese is totally optional.
Dinner casseroles are easy to make, perfect for making ahead and storing. Over time we have shared more breakfast casserole recipes, seafood lover's Tuna Pasta Bake, and this mouthwatering cheesy Chili Cheese Dog Casserole.
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Ingredients
Just combine all the ingredients and then chill in the fridge overnight until the next morning. It does help to achieve the delicious fluffy egg layer and the overall flavor and helps the hash browns to soak up all the liquid before baking. It is recommended to keep it refrigerated overnight but if short on time you can bake it right away.
- Ham - your favorite ham diced into cubes. Or use breakfast sausage (in this case be careful with the seasonings, as the sausages tend to be high in sodium, spices, and herbs already), ground pork, chicken, or beef. In addition, you can also add cooked bacon to this breakfast casserole. For this, add bacon strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in one single layer. Cook the bacon for 18-20 minutes at 400 F. Let it cool down and crumble into the casserole along with other ingredients. Reserve some for garnish on top.
- For Vegetarian breakfast casserole substitute meat with cooked lentils, quinoa, cous cous, mushrooms or chickpeas.
- Hashbrown - adds texture and bottom crust to this farmer's casserole. Frozen shredded hashbrowns, and country-style hashbrowns, both can be used here. You don’t need to thaw these, they go right in.
- Good melty cheese - cheddar (any), gouda, swiss cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese, Colby, and for added flavor Pepper Jack Cheese.
- Evaporated milk - is what I used but regular milk is fine too. Evaporated milk is more concentrated and creamy which helps with the texture. However, as we are making this an overnight breakfast casserole, regular milk is okay and will not make your casserole watery.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
Spray an 8 x 11 inch or a square baking dish (9 x 9 inch) with non-stick cooking spray.
Add shredded hash browns to the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread out evenly with a spatula.
Top with diced ham, bell pepper, green onion, and jalapeno. You can sprinkle cheese on top or stir it into the potato mixture.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, evaporated milk, and spices. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight. Take out from the fridge and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes before baking)
In a preheated oven to 350 degrees F, bake this hearty breakfast casserole for 50-55 minutes. You will know that the casserole is done when it’s golden in color and the sides pull away slightly from the pan edges.
The center should be fully cooked and tested with a toothpick. It should not be liquid. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley and slice into portions.
Although I love eating freshly made food, this farmer's breakfast casserole tastes even better the next day. Makes a delicious cold snack too!
Tips
- The best fridge cleaner - this is a kind of recipe that doesn't require any specific and complicated ingredients or seasonings. Use a good amount of vegetables, a hearty combination of meat, and your favorite seasonings.
- You can double the recipe and bake it in a larger casserole dish (9x13 inches). The baking time will need need to be adjusted.
- This casserole should not end up watery or soupy. If it did, you've probably missed the recipe instructions, or the ingredients amounts and did not let the casserole sit overnight to absorb all the liquid.
- Chilling the casserole before baking - you don’t necessarily have to chill this casserole but I highly recommend it. Because chilling helps the hash browns to soak up all the flavors and liquid and the eggs. The casserole becomes fluffy, flavorful and doesn’t end up all liquidy.
- Make it a little healthier - to make this dish more healthy, you can add fresh potatoes or sweet potatoes in place of hash brown. Dice the potatoes small and bake these in the oven prior. Drizzle with olive oil and some seasoning, toss to coat, and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
This breakfast bake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
For freezing the breakfast casserole, slice it into serving portions and wrap it in plastic, individual freezer bags, or transfer it to disposable aluminum pan.
Freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 350 F until warmed through. Or in a preheated air fryer.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the best result, this breakfast casserole should sit overnight in the fridge. This time will allow the hashbrowns to thaw and soak up all the flavors and liquid. You definitely don’t need to thaw frozen hash browns first.
There can be various reasons why your hash brown casserole turned out soggy.
It may be due to not refrigerating the mixed ingredients overnight;
Not following the ratios as instructed in the recipe;
Using low-quality hash browns or in some cases cubed hashbrowns, however both shredded and cubed hashbrowns can be used in this recipe.
You definitely can use fresh shredded potatoes in a breakfast casserole instead of frozen. The main thing here is to shred the potatoes and then let them sit in a large deep bowl with cold water for at least 30 minutes. The thick white substance left in the bottom of the bowl is starch that you’ll have to pour out.
For freezing the breakfast casserole, slice it into serving portions and wrap it in plastic or transfer it to a disposable aluminum pan. Freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 350 F until warmed through. Or in a preheated air fryer.
Thank you so much for reading about how to make hashbrown breakfast casserole recipe. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
More Egg Breakfast Recipes
For easy breakfast ideas, we like to make Eggs Benedict, the classic version, or Eggs Royale with Salmon, potato pancakes. If you like the casserole idea, definitely try our breakfast casserole with potatoes and ham.
Did you make this recipe? Please be sure to leave a rating and a comment below. Thank you!
📖Recipe
Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 15 oz frozen shredded hash browns
- 9 oz ham, diced
- ½ cup green onions, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or good melty cheese
- 1 medium jalapeno peppers, sliced
- 4 eggs
- 12 oz cans of evaporated milk, whole, 2% or fat-free
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Spray a 8 x 11 inch or a square baking dish (9 x 13 inch) with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add shredded hash browns to the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread out evenly with a spatula.
- Top with diced ham, bell pepper, green onion, and jalapeno. You can sprinkle cheese on top or stir it into the potato mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, evaporated milk, and spices. Pour egg mixture over casserole.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight (optional step, but recommeneded). Take out from the fridge and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes before baking.)
- In a preheated oven to 350 degrees F, bake this hearty breakfast casserole for 50-55 minutes. You will know that the casserole is done when it’s golden in color and the sides pull away slightly from the pan edges. The center should be fully cooked and tested with a toothpick. It should not be liquid. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley and slice into portions.
- Although I love eating freshly made food, this breakfast casserole tastes even better the next day. Makes a delicious cold snack too!
Notes
- This casserole should not end up watery or soupy. If it did you have missed the recipe instructions, and ingredients, and did not let the casserole sit overnight to absorb all the liquid.
- Chilling the casserole before baking -you don’t necessarily have to chill this casserole but I highly recommend it. Because chilling helps the hash browns to soak up all the flavors and liquid and eggs so your casserole is flavorful and doesn’t end up all liquidy.
- Make it a little healthier - to make this dish more healthy, you can add fresh potatoes or sweet potatoes in place of hash brown. Dip the potatoes small and bake these in the oven prior. Drizzle with olive oil and some seasoning, toss to coat, and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- This breakfast bake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
For freezing the breakfast casserole, slice it into serving portions and wrap it in plastic, or individual freezer bags, or transfer it to a disposable aluminum pan. Freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 350 F until warmed through. Or in a preheated air fryer.
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Delicious overnight casserole for breakfast or side dish.