Sausage & Bacon Country Breakfast Casserole

All the breakfast essentials, in one golden cheesy bake! This Breakfast Casseroles tastes just like a country breakfast fry up – hence the name. Perfect for feeding a crowd AND it can be made ahead!

I jokingly said to a friend that this is like “a heart attack in a baking dish”. Because….let’s face it. Bacon + sausage + egg + milk + cheese + potatoes + bread does not = nutritious low fat energy breakfast.

In fact, it’s about as far from that as a breakfast can be.

And I say BRING IT ON!

I’m the first to stand up and say that this is not an everyday breakfast. This is for the holidays – when you have a house full of guests to feed!

Basically, this is my “make-ahead-feed-an-army” version of a country breakfast fry up that is one of my favourite things to order when I go out for brunch (especially if I had a few too many champers the night before). A ginormous plate loaded with eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes and toast on the side.

Hold the greens thanks!

Oh wait. I felt so guilty about not even adding some cherry tomatoes or bell peppers (capsicums), I decided I better add some greens.

So I sprinkled parsley on. See? There’s your greens for the morning! 😉

I know my way of making this breakfast casserole is a little different to the usual where the bread is torn into chunks and soaked in egg mixture. The bread in this is still soaked in egg but what I do is use slices of baguette and stand them upright in the baking dish so the top gets lovely and golden.

Yes, I drizzle some butter over. Because if you’re going to make this, let’s make it right.

And that means no counting calories!

But you know what? This will shock you! This breakfast bake serves 8 and each serving has 645 calories. Compared to a breakfast fry up which typically has over 1,000 calories per serving for 2 eggs, 2 rashers of bacon, 2 sausages, some potatoes and toast. Did you know that?

Wait a second. Did I just convince myself this is healthy?? 😉

– Nagi x

5 from 6 votes

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Sausage & Bacon Country Breakfast Casserole

Prep

20 mins

Cook

40 mins

Total

1 hr

 

Breakfast for an army! Great for making ahead AND it reheats well too. Tastes just like a country fry up breakfast with all the essentials - bacon, eggs, sausages, potatoes and bread! This serves 6 very generously, or 8 (normal servings).

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 645 kcal

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

• 2.5 ft / 80 cm baguette (french stick), preferably slightly stale
• 7 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk (full fat) or half and half (I use milk)
• 10 oz / 300 g potatoes , peeled and diced into 1/2" / 1.2cm cubes
• 10 oz / 300 g bacon , roughly chopped
• 1 lb / 500 g sausage , removed from casing (use good quality - Note 1)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp butter , melted (optional)
• Finely chopped parsley (optional)

Instructions

1. Slice the baguette into 2cm / 0.8" thick slices and place in a baking dish.
2. Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour 2/3 of the egg mixture over the bread. Turn the bread to make sure both sides of every piece is soaked in egg mixture. Set aside to soak while you cook the bacon and sausage.
3. Cook potatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
5. Heat skillet over high heat. Add bacon and cook until very lightly cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
6. Pour off excess fat. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up as you go, until lightly browned. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.
7. By now, most of the egg mixture should be soaked up by the bread. Stand the bread upright in the baking dish.
8. Distribute half the potato between the bread, then top with half the sausage, half the bacon and half the cheese. Repeat with remaining potato, sausage, bacon and cheese (finish with cheese).
9. Pour remaining egg mixture over everything.
10. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
11. Remove foil and drizzle butter over the bread.
12. Bake for a further 10 minutes until the bread is golden. Serve, garnished with parsley if using.

Notes

1. You can use any sausage you like. In Australia, I recommend avoiding the very cheap BBQ sausages you can purchase at supermarkets (the pale pink ones). They are mostly fillers, not meat.

2. If making ahead, stop after assembling the casserole before baking it. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Nutrition per serving assuming 8 servings. This does not take into account the fat that is drained from the bacon and sausage.

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