Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• Refrigerated hash browns – these are sometimes found by the dairy at grocery stores and at other places I’ve even found them in the meat section. Ask a clerk if you have trouble locating them.
• Butter – salted or unsalted butter works fine here. This is used to saute the hash browns, which adds more flavor and helps soften them a little since they start out as crisp raw potatoes.
• Eggs – free range eggs are the best tasting and most humane of the grocery store options, if you can afford it go for those.
• Half and half – wondering what half and half even is? It’s basically a blend of half milk and half cream so if needed just use 3/4 cup milk 3/4 cup cream.
• Cheddar cheese – for bolder flavor go for sharp cheddar.
• Swiss cheese – you can also switch up the cheeses listed with others you may have.
• Cooked ham – this recipe is a great way to use up leftover ham if you have some from a roast ham. Otherwise you can use pre-diced package ham or a ham steak and dice that up.
• Green onions – for a stronger onion flavor feel free to double up the amount listed.
• Fresh parsley – parsley is one of those things that I love to add for color. It doesn’t add a ton of flavor but it always makes a dish look prettier.

How to Make Breakfast Casserole:

• 1. Heat oven, prepare baking dish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• 2. Cook potatoes: Melt butter in a large 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Spread hash browns into an even layer in pan. Let cook until golden brown on bottom about 6 – 8 minutes, then turn potatoes and continue to cook 3 minutes longer.
• 3. Spread potatoes into dish: Pour hash browns into prepared baking dish, set aside.
• 4. Mix eggs: Add eggs to a large mixing bowl and break yolks and stir together with a fork until blended.
• 5. Stir in remaining ingredients: Then stir in half and half, cheddar, Swiss, ham, green onions, parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• 6. Pour liquid mixture over hash browns: Pour evenly over hash brown layer in baking dish then spread out with a spatula to even out top as needed.
• 7. Bake until set: Bake in preheated oven until center is just set, about 40 – 50 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Can I Make it Ahead of Time?

Yes. You can prep the night before then refrigerate. Let it rest at room temp while oven preheats. Then add about 10 – 15 minutes to bake time since it will be colder (no warm hash browns).

You can also bake ahead of time then just reheat individual servings in the microwave. Such a delicious make ahead breakfast!

Tips for the Best Breakfast Casserole:

• Saute the hash browns before adding to the casserole for added flavor.
• Don’t over-beat the eggs or you’ll add lots of air making them too puffy.
• Be careful not to over-bake or eggs will be tough.
• On the other hand be sure to bake long enough or eggs will be raw and runny in the center (if you want to do a toothpick test it should come out without runny egg and the center should not be jiggly).
• Use freshly shredded cheeses for the best flavor.
• Serve it warm. Cold scrambled style eggs and hash brown potatoes are no good.

Variations:

• Switch up the cheese. I recommend other smooth melting cheeses like Monterey jack, muenster, provolone, colby, pepper jack, gruyere etc.
• Swap ham for cooked bacon or even diced Canadian bacon.
• Add veggies like sauteed mushrooms or bell peppers.
• Try it with cooked breakfast sausage or Italian sausage instead of ham.
• Use other herbs.
• Serve it topped with sliced or diced avocado and/or tomatoes.
• Top with hollandise sauce to make it fancier.