Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole! An easy, naturally gluten-free, make-ahead breakfast everyone will love!
This sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole is a total crowd-pleaser! It’s full of flavorful sausage and veggies and is one of my favorite recipes for a holiday breakfast.
Whether it’s Christmas morning or just a busy morning, are so many times when it’s helpful to have an easy, make-ahead breakfast!
I’m always on the hunt for recipes like this for Christmas breakfast or when we have company in town. It’s so convenient to assemble everything the night before, keep it in the fridge then bake it off in the next morning.
Nobody wants to be sautéing sausage and creating dirty dishes on Christmas morning!
VIDEO: How to Make It
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Flavorful and crowd-pleasing
- Overnight breakfast casserole option!
- Naturally gluten-free
- Easily made dairy-free!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients you’ll need for this easy hashbrown breakfast casserole.
- 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 cheese, moneterey 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 Italian sausage!
I love having a savory breakfast option to go along with something sweet. When we make cinnamon rolls or monkey bread for a special breakfast I always like to serve this hashbrown casserole alongside.
The older I get the more I need protein with breakfast – especially when we’re having a sweet treat! (PS try these gluten-free donuts for a breakfast treat!)
How to Make Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole
The first step to making delicious breakfast casserole is to cook the sausage and vegetables in a large skillet 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.
After the veggies have cooked, add the spinach and let it wilt for just a few minutes. I also love the pretty colors in this casserole with the the red pepper and spinach!
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.
Also be sure to add a good teaspoon salt and pepper when you mix everything in a large bowl so this casserole is flavorful once it’s cooked.
Make it over the holidays or the next time you have a big group of people to feed on a busy morning!
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!
For another favorite recipe try these breakfast tacos and banana pancakes!
Make-Ahead Option
Once you’ve added all the ingredients into the casserole dish. You can cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate the casserole. The next morning simply remove the plastic wrap and bake as instructed! Serve it with these gluten-free cinnamon rolls or gluten-free cranberry bread for a special breakfast!
I hope you enjoy this sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole as much as we do! PS try topping it with hot sauce!
If you try this recipe be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork breakfast sausage
- 3/4 cup red pepper diced
- 3/4 cup onion diced
- 10 oz frozen hashbrowns (2 cups )
- 1-2 cups spinach finely chopped
- 10 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup whole milk or coconut milk
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar or dairy-free cheese, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. 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!
Would this work with shredded real potatoes? Instead of using frozen. Would you have to fry the homemade shredded hashbrowns? Or just shred the potatoes and mix in?
I always use frozen hashbrowns. If you use fresh shredded potatoes I would cook them a little before adding them to the casserole.
Silly question – do you add the frozen hash browns to the sausage along with the veggies & cook or to the mixture of eggs, milk, cheese etc. or does it make any difference in the end?
Thank You!
Good question! I add them in along with the sausage mixture. I hope this helps!
New go-to breakfast casserole. This was a hit! I made 2 versions. One was exactly following the recipe & the meat eaters raved about it. The second one I made with almond milk & plant based cheddar cheese (Follow Your Heart cheddar”. I used the Beyond Meat breakfast sausage patties and crumbled them up as they cooked. I also added a bit more spinach. I made them both the night before so I added more time on to the bake since they started out chilled. This non-meat/non-dairy (not vegan I kept the eggs in) version was also delicious. I will make them both again! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
So good to know the recipe worked with those substitutions! Thanks for the comment!
Is the 477 calories per serving?
I make a gf sausage and egg breakfast casserole for Christmas morning each year and my whole family agreed that this was hands down the best one we’ve ever had. It’ll become a regular meal for us, thank you for the great recipe! I had to cook ~50 mins for it to set, but I used large eggs. Delicious!!!
Really good! Made it for Christmas breakfast! The grocery store was out of hashbrowns but had potatoes O’Brien, which is what I used. Mine needed to cook longer – I checked it a couple of times and it was ready to go @ 43 minutes. If anyone is sensitive to salt (things taste salty to you but not as much to others), I would cut the salt back slightly. If you aren’t, leave as is! I also drizzled my piece with Siracha to add a little kick. This will become a staple breakfast casserole in my house. Thank you for the recipe!
Really love this recipe 🙂
The only critique I have is of the cook time, for me the eggs don’t fully set until the casserole has been cooked at 350 for about 50 mins
If I cook for the suggested 25-30 the casserole is completely runny.
5 STARS- this is my GO TO EGG BAKE RECIPE!!
I have Dairy Free and Gluten Free issues in my family and this is ALSO Dairy Free and Gluten Free!
My family LOVES IT!
I’m so glad you like it! Glad your family does too 🙂
I don’t know if I have commented in the past but while I’m here again I thought I might as well. I make this a couple times a month. This is my go to breakfast casserole. I add in more veggies sometimes, sometimes different veggies like broccoli, green pepper or mushrooms. I always use Almond or Oat milk. This is a hit every single time I make it and it’s so easy to meal prep for the week. I drizzle sriracha on mine and it’s is DELISH. I’m currently popping one in the oven.
I’m so glad you like the recipe! Great idea to switch up the veggies. It really is so great for meal prep!
How do you ensure that it has a creamy texture??
I want to make this to take on a trip. Should I cook to before freezing it, or freeze raw then cook after defrosting? If the former, what are the warming instructions?
I would cook it before freezing! Then thaw it in the fridge and reheat (covered in foil) for 350F for 20-30 minutes. I hope this helps!
Had anyone made this the night before and then cooked it the next day?
Yes! That works great actually. Just assemble everything and pour into the baking pan. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it the next day.
Do you think this will have enough flavor without adding cheese? My son will not eat anything with cheese.
Yes! I make it that way all the time. I hope this helps!
Can this be frozen and then cooked?
I made the sausage hash Brown breakfast casserole this morning. Instead of two cups of hash brown. The bag was four cups, so I put them all in. I did I think a cup each of the red pepper and onion. And a full cup of cheese on top. Wow this was amazing. Most Sundays I do breakfast for the family because I travel a lot during the week. So this is my give to them. With the casserole I made French toast. Turned out greate.
Thank you for the recipe
Rick
Great recipe!!!
Substitution question…thoughts on using riced cauliflower instead of shredded potatoes? For low carb option? Thank you!
I haven’t tried that myself but it sounds delicious! Let me know how it works if you try it!
Hi! Sorry but I’m not sure what Frozen Hash browns are ? Do you need the shredded ones ?? I could only find the round patty type potatos in my store.
Yes the shredded ones are what this recipe calls for. I hope this helps!