Easy Breakfast Casserole has hash browns, ham, cheese, and eggs. This hash brown breakfast casserole can be made overnight. Perfect for a Holiday breakfast!
What makes this hash brown casserole easy?
Seriously, it took me longer to preheat my oven than it did for me to prepare this egg casserole. I used frozen hash browns, shredded cheese, and cubed ham. So, the only real prep work that I had to do was crack open the eggs.
This casserole will feed a crowd. It makes 12 portions.
It would be perfect around the holidays since you only need to spend about 5 minutes in the kitchen putting it together. Then, just let it bake.
How to make Breakfast Casserole:
*Note: The full printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
- In a large bowl, add frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes.
- Add chopped ham and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Mix well. Then, pour into a baking dish.
- Add 12 eggs to a large bowl (use the same bowl from the first step).
- Add milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk together.
- Pour the eggs over the hash brown, ham, and cheese.
- Bake.
How to make Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Assemble the breakfast casserole according to the directions.
- Cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Remove plastic wrap and bake.
What to serve with this Egg Casserole:
- Crock Pot Apple Cinnamon Roll Casserole from Amanda’s Easy Recipes
- To Go Baked Oatmeal with your Favorite Toppings
- Tropical Green Smoothie
- Banana Peanut Butter Oat Muffins
- Honey Lime Fruit Salad from Cooking Classy
I always put salsa on my eggs. So, I serve salsa with this recipe. Hot sauce and sour cream would be good too.
Watch the step by step video for this Easy Breakfast Casserole Recipe below.
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Easy Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 24 oz. frozen hash browns -about 8 cups
- 16 oz. cubed ham
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese -shredded
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup milk -I used skim
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the frozen potatoes, ham, and cheese to a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper (I use the same bowl from step 1).
- Pour the egg mixture over the hash brown mixture. Pat everything down with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Bake for one hour, uncovered. The center should be set and the edges should be golden brown.
Can you make this in a crock pot?
Hi Allison, I’ve seen some other breakfast casserole recipes that are made in the crock pot. But, all the ones I’ve tried have turned out way overdone. So, I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not for a full 8 hours overnight.
Can you freeze this before baking?
This receipe was exactly what I was looking for. Your directions were so clear and the pictures were great. I made 2 small changes. I used cooked turkey bacon, because I don’t eat ham. Also, I substituted a carton of sour cream instead of the milk. I always do this when I make quiche, and I thought I’ try it here as well. Turned out exactly as I’d hoped. I was so happy to find your receipe. I looked over an hour, and none of the other receipes had all the ingredients that I wanted to use. Thank you for this perfectly presented receipe; you made this so easy!
That’s wonderful rsqdogsmom! I’m so glad you liked it:)
I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong, but even when I halved the recipe, one hour baking is still not enough. 🙁 My oven is new and a double so I only heat up the smaller upper oven. after an hour the center is still super giggly. I’m pregnant so I have to make absolutely sure it’s cooked all the way through.
Hi Mim,
Not sure but there may be a temperature issue with the oven. I’ve made this many times, even in different ovens, and 1 hour has always been enough time to cook it through. I would definitely cook it longer if the center is very giggly. It would be best to check the temperature in the center of the dish. Egg dishes are safe at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hi Mim,
I’ve made this several times and I always have to cook it for a minimum of two hours. I also upped the temperature to 375 degrees. The edges got quite browned and crispy, but there wasn’t a morsel left from the Easter Egg Hunt Brunch I took it to today!
Hope that helps!
Jessie
HI Jessie! While I’m thrilled that you like this recipe, I’m surprised you have needed to cook it for so long. Just to be clear, the recipe is written in Fahrenheit.
Works great with real bacon pieces you can buy in the little pouches in the salad toppings section. Have used cubed hash brown potatoes and they were good too. Even mixed shredded with these one time and was still good. Also used heavy cream instead of milk once before. Yum. You can’t really mess this dish up. Go for it!
That all sounds wonderful Amanda! Thank you!
I made this recipe for Christmas morning this year. The only change I made, was I used 1lb of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage. The longest part of preparing the meal was browning the sausage. It was a HUGE hit with my family. I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Rachel! I’m so glad that your family liked this breakfast casserole! I love the idea of being a little part of your Christmas morning 🙂
I know a lot of people above have asked about making this ahead for the holidays. However, I didn’t see any answers with thorough directions on how to do this. What I’m looking for is if you make it ahead and leave in fridge overnight if it takes longer or shorter to cook? Do you need to let it set out to room temperature for a couple hours? If you’ve done this was it successful or was there adjustments that needed to be made? If someone could give me details on this I would greatly appreciated it. Thanks.
I’ve made recipes similar to this the night before, but don’t add the egg mixture till right before it goes in the oven. You can have the eggs all mixed and ready to go!
Hi Tiff,
I haven’t made it the night before, but I don’t expect it would change the cooking time. When you assemble the breakfast casserole, everything that’s going into it is cold, either coming from the refrigerator or the freezer. So, taking a pre-made casserole straight from the refrigerator to the oven should have around the same cooking time. I would check the center to make sure the eggs are completely set. And, I would make sure that your casserole dish can handle quick temperature changes.
Just made this for dinner tonight. First this dish was delicious and got rave reviews from my family! But it was also so easy!!!! I loved that there was no additional cooking before baking. Besides grating the cheese & cutting the ham, it almost has no prep. Thank you Amanda for sharing this awesomely simple & yummy recipe!
Hi Lindsey! Thanks so much for your comment! I’m so happy that you thought it was easy to make and your family enjoyed it 🙂
Perfect. A friend recently passed and we are preparing meals for the family. I am doing Breakfast on Saturday and will be making this along with a fruit salad.
Hi Holly. So sorry to hear about your friend passing. It’s so nice of you to bring the family meals as they are coping with their loss. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for sharing. Made this today for the adults to brunch we do with my best friends and the kids and it was a big hit.
Thanks so much Megan! I’m so glad it was a big hit with your group 🙂
Yum!! I made this for a Thanksgiving Day breakfast get together (I know, strange but that’s the only time we could all get together). I baked the potatoes in the oven at 425 first and then topped with the rest of the ingredients (I also added sautéed onions & more salt than it said)! It turned out so much better than I could have hoped for!! I didn’t even need the salsa or anything because it was so flavorful by itself!!
Thanks for the recipe!! ????
Thanks so much Misty! I love that you and your family enjoyed this recipe for the holidays!
Just made this for brunch for my family! (Thanksgiving weekend 2015.) I used frozen O’Brien potatoes (have chopped onions and red & green bell peppers for added color and flavor.) I did not use the tsp of salt because the ham already has plenty. My family loved it! Thanks for a great idea! Blessings, Lori
Oh that’s wonderful Lori! I’m so glad that you and your family enjoyed this recipe for your holiday breakfast! Warms my heart 🙂
Didn’t have frozen hash browns so shredded 6 potatoes, seemed pretty wet so halved the milk. Also crumbled precooked sausage patties, I think like 8 small ones, because that’s what had on hand. Didn’t have a whole lot of time so baked in muffin tins in convection oven at same temp for 15mins. Came out great! Next time I’ll add some onions for a little more flavor but kids loved them!
i do something similar to this. I put a can of crescent rolls (unrolled and seams pinched together) on the bottom. I do the mixture the same way. Except I don’t like ham, I use bacon (baked in the oven) instead! Sometimes I add a but of cayenne pepper to give it a kick!
My girl friend don’t like ham so I used a pound of bacon
Hi- have u tried it with addition of spinach? If do? How much? Or bacon?
Thanks
I have made this for the past 2 Easter brunches… and plan on making it again this year..it is a hit with my family…. I divide it into two 8×8 pans and use ham in one and bacon in the other as I have family that only like one or the other….and it re-heats well…..(if there are any leftovers..lol) this year I will also be adding muffin tin pancakes to the menu.. for the grand kids….( as found on Pinterest)… but may use the mini muffin tins for bite size morsels……
Assembled this earlier today and have it chilling and ready to bake off tomorrow morning. Really was very quick and easy to throw together, and I love that I only needed one bowl!
I added some cayenne just ’cause…I think it will be delicious. Can’t go wrong with cheese, eggs, ham, and potatoes, right?
🙂
Verdict: Successful! Co-workers scarfed it up in 30 minutes.
Did you put the whole casserole together and refrigerate it to be cooked the next day?
Looks so good! I was just reading your quinoa crust recipe and was wondering if I could use that instead of the pie shells I bought? Going to make this into a quiche and thought combining the two might just work! 🙂
Has anyone ever done several of these in the oven at the same time? Wondering if they will cook okay. It’s fine if it takes longer, I was just concerned about them not getting done properly.