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!
Hi, I love this recipe. It freezes great! But, I need to make a dairy free version. Can the cheese simply be left out? I’m not a big fan of cheese substitute. Thanks!
Hi Halle, we’re happy to hear you loved this recipe! Thank you for the kind feedback. For dairy-free, we typically recommend using dairy-free cheese, like Violife. We haven’t tried it without any cheese. It may change the flavor a bit, but overall it should turn out just fine without the cheese.
I’ve made this egg bake so many times — it is my go to favorite! That said, it has ALWAYS taken at least 45 minutes to bake, sometimes closer to an hour.
Thank you for your feedback, Liz! We’re so glad this one has become a go-to recipe for you!
Can you use ham instead of sausage?
Hi Leslie, we haven’t tried ham in this one, but it definitely sounds like a great option! If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Made this dish the night before and it kept well overnight. Just preheated oven and popped it in. My Morning house guests loved the smell and flavor. I did use Maple flavored Jimmy Dean Sausage which helped the great aroma and gave it a slight sweet taste. Everyone raved about it. I will definitely make it again. Prep time a little longer than they say but no big deal.
Hi Mark, we’re happy to hear you and your guests enjoyed the casserole! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us!
Great recipe even if you can eat dairy. Made it for my mom and leftovers heat up very well and it freezes well too. I loved this and have made it twice more since then for everyone.
Yay! We’re so glad the recipe was such a hit! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, Lynne.
I plan to bring this to a meeting where some people need gluten free and meat free. Do you have a brand of meat free crumbles that you recommend? Would it change the overall cooking directions? Thank you.
Hi Debbie, we don’t usually cook with meat alternatives. We would recommend checking the product’s cooking instructions to see if it could be treated like the meat in the recipe and handle being cooked in a skillet with the onion and red peppers. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Hi! Do you defrost the hashbrowns for this recipe before adding them to the mixture? Thank you!
Hi Megan, no need to defrost the hashbrowns first. They will cook through during the casserole’s baking time. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Amazing recipe! Make it for every family function and random weekends❤️❤️ always a hit.
Hi Maryanne, we’re so glad everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback!
Made It this morning With a few changes and it was amazing!
I added dry mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and dried parsley to the mixture and used frozen spinach, fresh hash browns & a little bit of extra cheese.
I also added cream and mushroom soup to the wet mixture and did not add all of the milk. A friend of mine’s mother used to make a similar casserole so I used some of her tricks. It was excellent and I am excited to eat this when I’m in a hurry before work this week. Thank you so much for the recipe. I forgot how much I loved it and it brought back fond memories!!
Thank you for sharing your feedback and tips with us, Cassie! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hello! I see the nutrition facts (thanks for posting!), but what’s the serving size? And how many servings per each casserole? Thank you!
Hi Jessica, the casserole makes 6-8 servings. That number is based on a 9×13 pan to help you divvy up the servings into individual portions. Thanks for your questions!
This looks great! However l still don’t see the list of ingredients.
Hi Linda, if you click on the “jump to recipe” button just under the title and summary, it will take you straight to the ingredient list and instructions. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
This easy breakfast casserole was great this Christmas morning, made ahead Christmas Eve. The only comment I would add is that it took longer than the recommended 25-30 minutes, after about 45 minutes I turned up the heat to 375 and cooked another 10 minutes. Everyone enjoyed the savory dish.
I agree, that 25-30 min is totally wrong, should read more like 55min!
Hi Morgan, thank you for the feedback! Ovens can definitely vary and impact bake times. We’re glad you found a duration that worked well for you. We hope you enjoyed the casserole!
Can the dairy free version also be made the night before? I’m cooking for family that has dairy allergies and I’ve never used dairy free cheese. Just want to be sure the ingredients hold up.
Hi Tiffany, yes you can prepare the dairy-free version the night before. It should hold up just fine. We hope everyone enjoys the casserole!
I had the same experience! I think it may be that it being cold out of the refrigerator slows it down a good bit?
Hi Joanna, yes refrigerating it and starting from a colder temperature point can add to the bake time too, if you go the make-ahead route. We hope you enjoyed the casserole! Thanks for sharing your ideas!
I agree it does take 55 minutes to cook instead of the 25-30 minutes listed. I’ve made it many times and it’s a family favorite!
Hi Lisa, we’re happy to hear this recipe has become a family favorite! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Looks great. I plan to make for the holidays
Hi! Sorry if I missed it, but is there a way to make this with half whole eggs and half egg white to decrease calorie/up the protein? Let me know what the measurements would be and if you think it would work! It looks delicious!!
Hi Laurie, good question! We haven’t tried it half whole egg/half egg whites. It would decrease the wet ingredient content a bit, but could be worth trying with the current measurements. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I need some advice about the serving size of this recipe. I have been asked to bring a 13X9 pan of gluten free breakfast casserole for a baby shower. It seems a big shy to nicely fill a 13X9 pan and I want to allow for about 20 small servings – enough for a small portion to go along with other fixings. Any suggestions please?
Hi Froncie! I would say you can make 1 1/2 the recipe and bake it in a 9×13. It will make a little thicker pieces – it just needs a slightly longer bake time. I hope this helps!
If freezing before cooking, do you add the milk & eggs after thawing; still bake @ 375° for 55 min?
Hi Becky, we recommend cooking it before freezing. Let it cool completely before wrapping tightly and freezing. Then thaw it in the fridge and reheat (covered in foil) for 20-30 minutes at 350°F.
Served this to guests Rave Reviews! This will be my “go-to” from now on !
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
i plan to make this and freeze portions so when i feel too hungry to preheaat oven and bake all i will do is pop a couple of portions in the toaster oven!
the recipe sounds great and i have a bag of hash browns in the freezer that i cant seem to want to make! so i am in a win win situation especially since i broke a dozen eggs and have a jar full of eggs.
thank you!
That’s a great idea! I hope they turn out well!
I love this recipe!! The only problem is it made way to much! Do you have this recipe that would serve 2 people?
Thanks!
You can easily half this recipe and make it in an 8×8 pan instead!