Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole

Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole takes minutes to make and is a perfect make-ahead meal! It will become a breakfast favorite.

This Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole is hearty and delicious. It’s a filling breakfast and will surely be a crowd-pleaser! Try pairing this with a Strawberry Banana Smoothie or a glass of  Orange Juice Smoothie.

Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole baked in a dish and topped with green onions.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

We LOVE breakfast at our house. I’m not joking when I say that we have breakfast for dinner at least ONCE a week.

We love Pancakes and Waffles, Cinnamon Rolls, Smoothies, and especially Breakfast Casseroles, like today’s Cheesy Potato Casserole.

Casseroles are so great, mostly because they’re quick, simple, and delicious. Plus, they are easy to change up based on the ingredients you love and crave most.

This particular Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole has potatoes, eggs, sausage, and cheese – some of our favorite breakfast or brunch ingredients. The best part of all was that it took just minutes to make!

How to Make It

The ingredients for this Egg and Potato Casserole are simple – eggs, milk, sausage, hash browns, cheese, salt, and pepper.

PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Divide the cheese and set ½ cup aside.

COMBINE. In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, hash browns, sausage, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of cheese until combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

BAKE. Bake for 32–35 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the remaining ½ cup cheese over the top. Place it back in the oven and bake for an additional 3–5 minutes.

Recipe Variations

There are so many easy ways to change up this recipe. Here are some try:

  • Mexican: add chopped peppers and use Mexican blend cheese instead of cheddar.
  • Meat lovers: add cooked bacon along with the sausage.
  • Low-fat version: omit the meat and add a cup of chopped spinach and other vegetables such as zucchini, red bell pepper, or broccoli florets.
  • Garnish: garnish with fresh herbs and spices like parsley and green onions. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Cheesy breakfast potato casserole ready for baking.

Recipe Tips

Shredded hash browns. Cook times should be the same. Just like the cubed hash browns, thaw shredded hash browns for best results. If not thawed, it may need an additional few minutes to cook.

Use fresh potatoes. Peel and dice 20 oz of fresh potatoes, like russets, to use in this recipe. Don’t soak the potatoes because you want the starch from the potatoes to help thicken the Breakfast Potato Casserole as it bakes. 

Sausage. Brown your own Italian Sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess fat before using it in the recipe. 

Cheese. Substitute the cheddar cheese, or combine it, with other favorites like Swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, or Colby Cheese. 

Fresh baked cheesy breakfast potato casserole topped with green onions.

Making Ahead and Storing

STORE leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

FREEZE leftovers in the freezer for later. Reheat in the microwave or oven if you have a large amount. 

Make ahead of time. Make this Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole up to 24 hours in advance – perfect for Christmas morning!

  • Cover and keep it in the fridge until ready to make. A few minutes may need to be added to the cooking time.
  • Freeze it, uncooked, for up to 2 months. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and again with foil. Thaw in the fridge before baking.
Close up of cheesy breakfast potato casserole topped with green onions.

Recipe FAQ

Can I use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hashbrowns?

You definitely can! Peel and dice 20 oz of fresh russet potatoes to use instead of the frozen kind. Don’t soak them, because the starch from the potatoes will thicken the casserole as it bakes. 

Do I have to use precooked sausage?

You can use the precooked sausage crumbles you find in the freezer section of the grocery store, or you can use uncooked sausage. Simply brown the sausage in a skillet and drain excess fat before incorporating into the breakfast casserole.

Can I make this breakfast potato casserole ahead of time?

Of course! One of the best features of this casserole is that it can be made up to 24 hours before baking. See the details above in the section titled, “Making Ahead and Storing”.

For more yummy Breakfast recipes:

Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole Recipe

4.97 from 135 votes
Cheesy Breakfast Potato Casserole takes minutes to make and is a perfect make-ahead meal! It will become a breakfast favorite.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 227 kcal
Author Lil’ Luna

Ingredients

  • 8 large eggs
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 20 oz bag ,frozen diced hash browns thawed
  • 9 – 10 ounces precooked Italian sausage
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 ½ cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
  • In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, hash browns, sausage, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of cheese until combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
  • Bake for 32–35 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the remaining ½ cup cheese over the top. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 3–5 minutes.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead. Make this breakfast potato casserole through Step 2 up to 24 hours in advance. Just cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Uncover and bake; you may need to add a few additional minutes to the baking time.
Variations:
  • Mexican: Add chopped bell peppers and use Mexican blend cheese instead of cheddar.
  • Meat Lovers’: Add cooked bacon along with the sausage.
  • Low-Fat: Omit the meat and add a cup of chopped spinach and other vegetables.

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About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Comments:

  1. 5 stars
    This is a favorite at our house. It’s so easy and so tasty! We actually enjoy it so much that we sometimes have it for dinner!

      1. Yes, you’ll use about 1 cup of cheese in the casserole and the rest (about 1 cup) will go on the top. If you like more or less, you can certainly adjust the amount of cheese used.

    1. I will be making this for a homeless shelter to serve 75 people. Im going to ×6 the recipe and cook it in 2 separate large baking dishes, so recipe ×3 in each fish. How much time do you think it will take to cook each pan? Any other tips?

      1. I would probably double it & put in an 11×17, so have 3 pans. It might need close to 40-45 min. I would start checking at 35 min, then add a couple min at a time.

  2. I was just wondering what you mean by hash browns cubed and thawed? do you have a certain brand you use for that? sorry, just barely trying to learn how to cook. Thank you!

    1. Any brand would work. I use Ore-Ida a lot, the southern style cubed potatoes. And, they are in the frozen section 🙂

  3. For the precooked Italian sausage, is it sold precooked in the freezer section or do I buy the Italian sausage in the meat section and cook before using?

  4. 5 stars
    I made it this morning for my son & hubby. I made some changes, only to be more appealing to my son. I used tater tots, instead of hashbrowns & diced ham instead of sausage. It turned out incredible & they loved it. This is a great recipe that can totally be altered to fit your tastes. Hubby asked me to make one with bacon, sausage, peppers & onions, in the future. We also added a dollop of sour cream on top for some extra yum!

    1. Yes, it’s great for adding what you like or taking out what you don’t. Thank you for sharing what you did!!

  5. 5 stars
    tHIS WAS AN EASY AND DELICIOUS CASSEROLE. tHE ONLY THING i CHANGED WAS i ADDED SOME CHOPPED GREEN ONIONS. iT WAS AMAZING. tHANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE.

      1. Can you dice up whole Potatoes and USe THose? Should YOu cook the whole potaties FIRSTif YOu go That route to SOften THEM or will they COOk in the Casserole ANd SOften THat way…

          1. I have not tried using cubed potatoes, so I couldn’t say for sure if you would add them raw or cooked. I am thinking if they are small, they would cook in the casserole.

          2. 5 stars
            Made this tonight, and I used diced raw potato. It turned out great. Make sure your dices are small and cook 5 to 10 extra minutes.

  6. 3 stars
    Not really sure what went wrong as my my eggs never cooked. I followed the directions to a t but I did find them to be a little vague.

    1. Hmm..I am not sure what went wrong either?? They should have gotten baked. Everything just gets mixed in a bowl, minus one cup cheese, then gets poured in the pan to get baked, with the cup of cheese on top. I’m sorry!

  7. 5 stars
    Ive made it twice in a weeks time. I do cook my hashbrowns fIrst sInce my family likes them crispy. I heat the leftovers in a skillet so it DOESN’T get mushy.

  8. 5 stars
    Omg!!! I made this today for breakfast!! My partner & i loved it. He had 3 helpings, i had 2 lol.. Yum yum yummy!! Will definitely be making this delicious dish a lot. So easy too. Thank you so much for this recipe.

    1. I personally haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not 🙂 The baking time wouldn’t be as much, but I am not sure how long they would take.

  9. I am not quite understanding how much cheese to use? It says 7 ounces but that is not even one cup but it says to reserve one cup… Can you help me out and explain? Thank you so much.

  10. There is an error in your cheese quantity. If you get aside 1 cup of cheese (8oz), you are short 1 oz., then you are suppose to add the rest of the left over cheese when you take it out, there’s no cheese left over. Need to adjust the amount of cheese in the ingredients to 1-1/2 cups of cheese.

    1. There’s a difference between ‘fluid’ ounces and ‘dry’ ounces when you are measuring ingredients. An 8 ounce bag of shredded cheese is 2 cups in dry ounces. It says this on the bag. It has to do with ounces actually being the weight of something, which really varies depending on what you are weighing.

  11. Making it again because it was a hit! They ate it for breakfast and came back for snacking later! Extra cheese made it really cheesy! For peoples who loves cheese!

  12. 5 stars
    I love this casserole. This is what I make Christmas morning. Today I added sauteed onions and red peppers. Absolutely delicious.

    1. Ooh that sounds delicious to add the onions and peppers. What a fun Christmas morning tradition. So glad you enjoy the casserole!

  13. 5 stars
    Delicious! I’ve tried a few variations of this recipe over the years and this is my favorite. I love it for its simplicity and deliciousness. We just ate it for Christmas breakfast and everyone loved it. The amount was perfect for a family of 4 and we even have some leftovers.
    Printing the recipe right now so I won’t forget where I got from 🙂

    1. The recipe was not created as a gluten-free recipe, but you could certainly tweak anything in it that she couldn’t eat to make it work for her. 🙂

    1. Yes, absolutely! Just make sure they are pre-cooked. Leftover baked potatoes are a great option if not using the frozen hash browns.

  14. Only 7oz of cheese? Is the recipe correct on that? It calls for starting with 1 cup (8oz), and reserving the rest for topping.

  15. 5 stars
    I made this for dinner last night and everyone ages 7 to 72 loved it. I will certainly be making this a lot!! I threw a cup of shredded cheese in the casserole and another on top to melt at the end.

  16. Guessing on amount of salt makes this either over salted or under unless somehow you get lucky.
    The dish was very flat and lacked flavor.

  17. 2 stars
    The good – this recipe was a cinch to prepare and toss in oven. The bad – hardly any flavour and too dry, tripled the cheese and it still was just cheesy.

    This recipe has a decent foundation but really requires a lot of doctoring before id consider making it again.

    1. 5 stars
      I have always added a smidgen of cream cheese to my scrambled eggs for extra flavor and fluff. I did so here and I loved it. It’s just me so I cut the recipe down a bit, but still had enough for leftovers.

  18. 5 stars
    This is actually one of my favourite casseroles, that I make for my family on the weekends…always a HUGE hit and rarely any leftovers. I usually have to fight someone for that last piece lol! Great flavour, filling and not difficult to make!

    1. Haha..love to hear that!! You may have to start doubling the batch 🙂 It’s great leftovers!!

  19. 5 stars
    I love casserole dishes for any meal. This dish is pretty good and covers all your breakfast items. Yummy!

  20. So I am having a large brunch (70 people) and wondered about double batches in larger foil pans? Any advice on baking times?