Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Creamy, crunchy savory goodness topped with melty cheese.
Taste: Sausage + veggies + egg = full of flavor.
Ease: Easy and a great make-ahead breakfast option!
Top Tips: Prep it the night before, refrigerate, then just pop it in the oven the next day for an easy breakfast on busy mornings!
Would I make these again? Definitely! I love make-ahead breakfast options and this one is perfect for Christmas morning or when I have company in town. It’s naturally gluten-free and easy to make dairy-free!
xoxo erin
This post was originally published in December 2018. It was updated with new photos and instructions in November 2024.
This sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole is a total crowd-pleaser! It’s full of flavorful sausage and veggies making it one of my favorite recipes for a holiday breakfast.
It’s so convenient to assemble everything the night before, keep it in the fridge, then bake it the next morning. Nobody wants to be cooking up sausage or creating dirty dishes on Christmas morning!
Featured Comment
From Maryanne: “Amazing recipe! Make it for every family function and random weekends. Always a hit.”
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole
- Make it Dairy-Free
- Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
- Can this sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole be made dairy-free?
- Do the frozen hashbrowns need to be thawed before adding them to the mixture?
- Can I use other breakfast meats besides sausage?
- More Favorite Breakfast Recipes
- Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements
- Hashbrowns: I like to use frozen shredded hash browns. You could also make this with frozen tater tots.
- Bell Peppers: You can use any color you like, except green bell peppers. I like to use red bell pepper so it contrasts with the green spinach in this breakfast bake!
- Cheese: You can make this with cheddar, Monterey jack, pepper jack, or dairy-free cheese. I usually make this with VioLife dairy-free cheese.
- Breakfast sausage: Use raw, uncooked ground sausage. I usually use Jimmy Dean Natural pork sausage. You could also use turkey sausage or Italian sausage!
How to Make Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole
Here’s an overview of how to make this casserole. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- In a large skillet: Cook the sausage and vegetables over medium heat. The onions and peppers in this casserole won’t cook anymore once they are mixed into the the casserole so I like to get them nice and soft while I brown the sausage mixture.
- Add the spinach: Let it wilt for just a few minutes. I also love the pretty colors in this casserole with the the red pepper and spinach!
- In a separate bowl: Combine the remaining ingredients. Many breakfast casseroles use soaked bread for texture, but I keep this breakfast casserole gluten-free by adding frozen hashbrowns. They make it hearty and give it a great consistency.
- Add in sausage mixture: Mix everything together well and be sure to add a good teaspoon of salt and pepper so that this casserole is flavorful once it’s cooked.
- In a greased 9×13 pan: Pour the mixture in the pan, then top with the remaining cheese. You can either bake it right away or pop it in the fridge to bake the next day. Both options work well!
- Bake: With the oven on 350°F, bake uncovered until eggs are set (about 25-30 minutes). Let it cool a little bit before serving, then enjoy!
Make it Dairy-Free
This breakfast casserole is also really easy to make dairy-free. I actually almost always make it dairy-free when I prepare this for my family.
I use coconut milk in place of regular milk and vegan cheese in place of sharp cheddar to make this dairy-free. It tastes just as delicious and you’d never know it’s dairy-free with all the sausage and onions/peppers!
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: After pouring the mixture into the prepared pan, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate the casserole overnight. The next morning, simply remove the plastic wrap and bake as instructed! Serve it with gluten-free donuts, gluten-free cinnamon rolls or gluten-free cranberry bread for a special breakfast!
To Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: If you plan on freezing the baked casserole, I suggest baking it in a disposable aluminum pan! Let the casserole cool completely, wrap it in plastic wrap then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it for about 24 hours (covered) in the refrigerator, remove the covering, then reheat in a 350°F oven for 25–30 minutes.
Can this sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole be made dairy-free?
Definitely! And it’s delicious dairy-free too! You can use vegan cheese (I like Violife brand) in place of the cheddar. Use dairy-free milk (I use canned coconut milk) in place of the whole milk, just make sure it’s unsweetened!
Do the frozen hashbrowns need to be thawed before adding them to the mixture?
Nope! The hashbrowns can be added to the casserole mixture straight from the freezer, but thawed will work too.
Can I use other breakfast meats besides sausage?
Absolutely! Cooked and crumbled bacon or diced ham are great options too. For a non-pork option, turkey sausage works well!
More Favorite Breakfast Recipes
Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork breakfast sausage
- 3/4 cup red pepper diced
- 3/4 cup onion diced
- 10 oz (2 cups) frozen hashbrowns
- 1-2 cups spinach finely chopped
- 10 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup whole milk or unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar or dairy-free cheese, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion and red pepper. Break up sausage into small pieces and cook until the vegetables have softened and the sausage is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease.
- Add the spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Add the sausage mixture and mix until totally combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese. At this point you can either bake the casserole or refrigerate the casserole and bake the next day.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, uncovered until the eggs are set. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!
Officially on repeat! Thanks for sharing.
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear it has become a go-to recipe. Thank you for your positive feedback, Amanda!
Huge hit! Not a morsel leftover. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Lisa, yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review!
Do you need to defrost the hash browns ahead of time? Looks like a great recipe!
Hi JD, the hashbrowns can be added to the casserole mixture straight from the freezer, but thawed will work too. We hope you enjoy the casserole!
Soo good! We have made it multiple times with different variations; bacon ect. Our go to breakfast casserole.
Do you think you could wrap and freeze individual pieces?
We’re so pleased this recipe has become such a go-to recipe for you all! Thank you for the kind feedback, Ashley. Yes you can wrap the cooled casserole pieces in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for up to 3 months.
Hi! So excited to try this but I have one question. Can I bake the morning of then re-heat when i get to the hosts house? If so what would you recommend time wise?
Hi there, yes you can do that! We’d suggest reheating at 325°F for 20-30 minutes or until hot in the center. Make sure you cover it with foil so that it doesn’t dry out. We hope everyone enjoys the recipe!
Thank you for a delicious recipe! We are new to the GF world after a celiac diagnosis and I have made several of your recipes – all have been huge hits!
Hi Beth, we’re so pleased to hear you’re enjoying the recipes, including this casserole! Thank you for your kind feedback!
I work for a bed and breakfast style in an old jailhouse and this is our standard breakfast as it covers most of our guests’ dietary requests! I make it for myself anytime I have company over for breakfast—it’s so easy to prep the night before when you need to feed people bright and early and it’s a serious crowd pleaser. I get lots of compliments from our guests!
Oh wow, we’re so happy to hear how much of a go-to recipe this has become! It’s so great to hear how much it has been loved by all. Thank you for such amazing feedback, Hillary!
Can you make in muffin tins?
Hi Karrie, we haven’t tried it before, but that should work! We’d recommend only filling the wells 3/4 full and keeping an eye on how fast the eggs set as the baking time will most likely need to be reduced. We’d love to hear how it goes!
This has been my “go to” breakfast casserole even though my husband nor I are GF or DF; in fact the first time I made it, I didn’t tell him it was both GF & DF! It is so very good, and I use oat milk because I can drink that and can’t abide the other”fake” milk! He’s taking one tomorrow morning for his Men’s Bible Study group. Thank you for sharing your cooking expertise!
Oh wow! It means so much to us that you both love this recipe and you aren’t even GF/DF! Thank you for sharing such kind feedback with us, Ruth!
How many servings is the nutrition info based on? It’s says 6-8, hoping for the exact number?
Hi Alyssa, the nutrition information is based on 6 servings. We hope this helps and you enjoy the casserole!
Have you ever tried this with almond milk? I make my own and use less water so it’s a thicker consistency like whole milk (vs. store bought, which is usually rather thin). My husband is not a fan of coconut and he has the ability to detect it whenever I add it to any recipe. Planning to make this soon. Sounds yummy and seems pretty easy and flexible. Thanks!
Hi Darcy, we haven’t tried it, but that definitely sounds like it will work! We’d love to hear what you and your husband think of the dish!
Made this today and OMG it was SO GOOD! My husband loved it! I did substituteeeeeee almond milk and it worked well. What I like about this recipe is its flexibility potential: I had a few mushrooms to use up so I diced them up finely and added them with the spinach. I could see adding any number of things to this dish to use up veggies.
One item of note: I baked this for 28 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven in a 9×13 glass baking dish and it was not quite done–the eggs weren’t fully set up–so I baked it for another 10 minutes and it was fine (5 probably would have done it). My oven typically bakes a little on the hot side, so I was a bit surprised it needed more time. I’ll make a note of that for next time as there WILL be a next time. Many thanks for a wonderful, versatile recipe!!
I am not dairy free, but I made the dairy free version for Easter because we had a lot of guests who were dairy free. And oh my gosh, this was SO good. It was such a hit. I used maple pork sausage which I was concerned might be a little too sweet, but it worked so so well. The coconut milk added such a cool flavor. We also used the Bettergoods brand plant-based cheddar which worked out really well. Next time I make it for my own dairy-loving family, I think I’ll still use coconut milk because it made the overall result so yummy. Overall it was savory, dynamic, slightly sweet, and so easy to prep the day before. Thank you for this recipe!!
Wow, thank you for such an amazing review, Giannina! We’re so happy to hear how much everyone loved the dairy-free version! We can’t wait to hear what your family thinks of the dairy version too!