This overnight breakfast casserole is the perfect make-ahead meal holiday brunches, special occasions or just a lazy weekend!
Made with savory breakfast sausage, fluffy eggs, veggies and plenty of cheese, this hearty breakfast bake is packed with everyone’s favorite flavors.
Simply assemble everything the night before, cover it and refrigerate. The next morning, pop it in the oven for an easy, delicious breakfast with minimal effort!
Whether you’re hosting overnight guests, planning your Christmas breakfast or looking for an easy way to feed the family, this is a great recipe to keep in your collection.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Make it ahead of time: Prepare the whole thing the night before. Assemble the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and bake the next morning!
- Feeds a crowd: This is a great way to serve a hungry family or a house full of overnight guests. It’s especially convenient for Christmas morning breakfast, holiday brunches and special occasions.
- Easy elegance: Though simple to prepare, the flavor profile is elevated enough for a special occasion.
- Family friendly: The combination of savory sausage, fluffy eggs and gooey cheese makes this a huge hit, even with picky eaters.
- Perfect for entertaining: Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests.
Ingredients
- French bread or Italian bread
- Butter
- Turkey breakfast sausage
- Shallots
- Mushrooms
- White wine
- Gruyere cheese
- Eggs
- Half-and-half
- Fresh parsley
How to Make an Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Dry out the Bread
If you have day old bread, you can skip this step. For fresh bread, lay the slices out onto a baking sheet and place them in a warm oven to dry out for about 40 minutes.
Brown the Sausage
Most breakfast sausage is already cooked, so all you’ll need to do is brown it in a pan. Then, add the shallots, mushrooms and butter. This is when things will start to smell amazing!
Once the shallots and mushrooms are soft, set this mixture to the side.
Deglaze with Wine
Pour the wine into the pan where the sausage was and let it reduce a little. Then, set it aside.
Make the Egg Custard
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, reduced wine and parsley.
Assemble the Casserole
Grab a 9×13 baking dish and arrange half of the dried bread slices in a single layer. You can break the bread into pieces to make it fit if you need to. Then, sprinkle half of the sausage mixture over the bread, followed by 1 cup of grated Gruyere cheese.
Repeat these steps with the rest of the bread, sausage mixture and 1 more cup of grated cheese.
Now, pour the egg custard evenly over everything. Cover it with plastic wrap and then weigh it down with another baking dish. Pop it into the fridge overnight!
Bake the Casserole
When you’re ready to bake this breakfast casserole, remove it from the refrigerator while the oven is preheating. Before baking, sprinkle the remaining cup of grated cheese evenly over top.
It will bake up puffy and golden brown in less than an hour!
Variations
- Change the sausage: My go-to is turkey sausage, but regular breakfast sausage, chicken sausage or spicy sausage all work well. You could also leave the sausage out completely and replace it with bacon or turkey bacon.
- Add vegetables: Bell peppers, green pepper, onions and spinach are all delicious additions.
- Switch up the cheese: Aged Gruyere really elevates the flavor profile of this dish. But if you’re looking for something more universally pleasing, try sharp cheddar.
- Make it spicy: Add green chiles, diced jalapeños or a dash of hot sauce to the egg mixture for a little extra heat.
- Try a crescent roll version: If you love buttery breakfast bakes, try making a crescent roll breakfast casserole using refrigerated crescent dough as the base.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this egg breakfast casserole with freshly squeezed juices, fresh fruit and sweet pastries to balance out the savory flavors.
Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Allow the finished casserole to cool to room temperature before storing. Transfer individual portions to an airtight container or cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will stay fresh in the fridge for several days.
Reheating: Individual servings can be reheated in the microwave until warmed through. For larger portions, cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and reheat in a warm oven.
Freezing: This egg casserole recipe is freezer-friendly! Freeze individual portions in airtight containers or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and put them in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Tips for Success
- Use freshly shredded cheese: For the best melting texture, shred your own cheese rather than using pre-shredded cheese. It melts beautifully throughout the egg bake!
- Don’t skip the overnight rest: Refrigerating the casserole overnight gives the ingredients time to settle together and allows the bread to absorb the egg mixture.
- Let the baking dish sit briefly: Before baking, remove the casserole from the refrigerator while the oven preheats. This takes the chill off and helps promote more even baking.
- Cover if needed: If the top is getting golden brown before the center is completely cooked, loosely tent the casserole with aluminum foil.
- Check for doneness: The center should be fully set, not jiggly or liquid. The edges should pull away from the sides of the baking dish.
- Let it rest before serving: Allow the finished casserole to rest for about 5-10 minutes before slicing. This makes it easier to cut into neat individual portions and helps everything hold together.
When you make this easy overnight breakfast casserole, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!
For more make ahead breakfast ideas, try these:
- Starbucks Egg Bites at Home
- Everything Bagel Casserole with Smoked Salmon
- Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Bake
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 10-12 slices French or Italian bread
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter room temperature
- 8-10 links turkey breakfast sausage
- 1/3 cup minced shallots
- 8 oz. white button mushrooms de-stemmed and cut into quarters
- 1/2 cup dry white wine Sauvignon Blanc works well
- 3 cups grated Gruyere cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes. (You are just drying out the bread slices. You can skip this step if you have day-old bread.) Allow to cool and then butter each slice on one side with 2 tbsp of the butter.
- In a nonstick pan, cook sausage over medium heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Once sausage has begun to brown, add 2 Tbsp. of butter and the shallots. Saute sausage and shallots for one more minute, until shallots become translucent. Add mushrooms and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until mushrooms are soft. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Add wine to the pan and raise the temperature to medium-high. Allow the wine to reduce slightly while scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half, reduced wine and parsley.
- Butter a 9×13 baking dish with the remaining 1 tbsp of butter. Arrange half of the bread slices along the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle half of the sausage mixture and 1 cup of cheese evenly over the bread slices. Repeat with the rest of the bread, sausage and additional 1 cup of cheese. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap, weigh down with another baking dish and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours).
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle the 1 remaining cup of cheese over top. Bake for 55 minutes, or until edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.
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