Breakfast casserole

All the best parts of breakfast in one pan! This breakfast casserole recipe is delicious and filling, and it can be assembled in advance so it's ready to go in the oven in the morning. It's also very flexible, and can be modified to use whatever ingredients you have on hand.

• 8 frozen hashbrown patties
  
  
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  
  
• 1 lb (453 g) breakfast sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
  
  
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (optional)
  
  
• pinch salt and pepper
  
  
• Roughly 3 cups chopped vegetables: onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, broccoli, zucchini
  
  
• 7 eggs
  
  
• 1 cup milk
  
  
• 3 cups of cheddar cheese, grated
  
  

1. Preheat oven to 350F, and grease a 9.5 x 11 inch casserole dish. Chop veggies, and grate cheese. Slice breakfast sausage into bite-sized chunks.
   
   
2. Lay down hashbrown patties in a layer along the bottom of the casserole dish.
   
   
3. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add sausage, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder (if using). Stir to combine, and then add chopped veggies. Cook until sausage is browned (no longer pink) and veggies have slightly softened, around 5-6 minutes.
   
   
4. Remove pan from heat, and spread sausage and vegetable mixture in an even layer over the hashbrowns.
   
   
5. Whisk eggs, cheese and milk together in a large bowl. Evenly pour over the ingredients in the casserole dish.
   
   
6. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour. Remove aluminum foil and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes, until edges are golden brown and center is set (toothpick inserted in the middle of the casserole should come away clean). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

• This dish can be assembled the night before and kept covered in the fridge until morning. Just take it out of the fridge and put it straight in the oven!
  
  
• The vegetables can be added to the casserole pan uncooked, but the extra step of pan frying them will provide the best texture and flavour.
  
  
• You can also cut this recipe in half, and make it in a 9 x 9 inch pan. Baking time is reduced to around 30 minutes.

This recipe is very flexible, and can be customized to your liking! Suggested variations are below:

• Frozen hashbrown patties can be swapped for 3 cups of tater tots, cubed potatoes, or shredded potatoes. You can also replace them altogether with 3 cups of bread, preferably crusty or stale, cut into bite-sized pieces. You can try it with regular sandwich bread, bagels, croissants, buns or french bread- whatever you have on hand.
  
  
• The sausage can be swapped for other breakfast meats like ham or bacon, or left out to make a vegetarian recipe. If using a pre-cooked meat like ham, there's no need to pan fry it in advance; just cube the meat and layer it on top of the hashbrowns in the pan.
  
  
• Any milk will work in this recipe, though a richer milk like half and half will make the richest casserole.
  
  
• A sharp cheese like cheddar is reccomended for this recipe, though you can use any cheese you like. Pepper jack, mozzarella, feta and swiss are all popular additions.

• Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  
  
• To freeze baked casserole, cool completely and then cover in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Keep in freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe adapted from the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano

Food is Too Expensive! was funded by the City of Saskatoon through our Healthy Yards partnership, the Cyril Capling Trust Fund of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and the Department of Plant Sciences. Focus group research to inform this work was collected by CHEP. Thank you all for helping us make healthy food more accessible!