Sausage Breakfast Casserole
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Most recipes for sausage breakfast casserole use bread cut into cubes, and a few use croutons. But a casserole based on bread immersed in egg is just baked French toast, so if you want a different breakfast casserole, try this one which uses potatoes instead of bread. Most recipes call for 2 lbs of pork sausage, but I cut that down to reduce the fat and calories, and it still tasted great. This is actually pretty versatile in that you can substitute the sausage for another breakfast meat if your favorite isn't sausage; bacon, smoked sausage, and ham would each do well in this dish. Alternatively, you could go meatless and use mushroom, tomato, and spinach.
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Ingredients
1/2 lb pork sausage crumbs, cooked
2 medium potatoes, cubed 1 Tbl minced onion 1 tsp (ground) black pepper 1/4 green bell pepper, diced 1/4 red bell pepper, diced 6 eggs 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/4 cup milk 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided |
Prep Time: 20 minutes
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Directions
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Wash and cube the potatoes. Add to skillet with onion and peppers. Cook until potatoes soften, stirring often.
This part of the longest part of the prep. I used an olive oil spray so the potatoes wouldn't stick to the skillet. This meant spraying the skillet before adding any food and spraying on occasion while stirring. Alternatively, you could use butter or actual olive oil, but I wanted a lower calorie approach. |
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Add pre-cooked sausage crumbs to potato mixture and cook in skillet for several minutes to allow flavors to mingle.
Alternatively, you could cook the sausage with the potatoes and peppers at the same time. I happened to have some pre-cooked sausage on hand and so opted for that. It made prep easier and lowered the fat content of the final dish. Again, I wanted the lower calorie option. |
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Add eggs, yogurt, milk, and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese to mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
I prefer the taste of sharp cheddar cheese, though mild could work here as well. You want to use only 1/2 cup as it provides an additional binder to the eggs and allows some of the cheese flavor to permeate below the surface of the casserole. |
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Place potato mixture in casserole dish and pour wet mixture over potatoes. Stir just until well mixed and bake uncovered at 350ºF for 20 minutes.
The casserole dish is a standard size. If you use a 9"x13" pan instead, be sure to double the ingredients. Also, don't add the rest of the cheese. That comes next. |
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Remove the dish from the oven and top with remainder of cheddar cheese. Return to oven to bake for 20 more minutes.
The eggs need more than 20 minutes to cook completely at this temperature, but cooking a cheese covering for longer than that will turn your cheese to charred ash. The solution is this step -- putting the cheese on halfway through baking. This way the eggs cook completely, and the cheese comes out just little browned and crispy -- perfection! |
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Ensure the eggs are completely cooked with a knife test. If the knife doesn't comes out clean, return to oven for a few more minutes. If the knife comes out clean, allow to cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
If you cook this the full 40 minutes, you're not likely to fail the knife test. But I always like playing it safe when it comes to anything touching my digestive tract. You can make this the night before, but be sure to let the dish assume room temperature before placing it in the oven (this helps prevent thermal cracking of your ceramic or glass dish). |
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