Sausage and Egg Casserole

Sausage and Egg Casserole is hearty, satisfying, and SO easy to make! This breakfast bake combines savory sausage, fluffy eggs, toasted bread cubes, and melty cheese all in one dish. It’s the kind of recipe that feeds a crowd, makes your house smell amazing, and honestly tastes even better the next day.

Love More Breakfast Recipes? Try My Crack Breakfast Casserole or this Farmer’s Casserole next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Hearty, cheesy, and easy to make, this Sausage and Egg Casserole is a breakfast classic perfect for any occasion. Featuring savory sausage, fluffy eggs, and melted cheese baked together, it’s warm, comforting, and full of flavor. Ideal for brunches, holidays, or make-ahead mornings, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

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Ingredient List

Meat and Aromatics

• 1 pound breakfast sausage (pork or turkey), casings removed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)

Egg Mixture

• 10 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (whole or 2%)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard or 1/2 teaspoon Dijon (optional, for depth)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Bread and Cheese

• 6 slices sandwich bread, cubed (about 4 cups), or 4 cups day-old French bread cubes
• 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby-Jack, or Swiss)

Optional Add-Ins

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or paprika
• 2–3 green onions, thinly sliced, for topping

Why These Ingredients Work

Breakfast sausage already has tons of seasoning so you’re ahead before you even start. The eggs and milk turn into this rich custard thing that holds everything together. Now the bread situation—gotta be stale. Fresh bread falls apart into gross soggy chunks that float around. Stale bread soaks up all that egg mixture but keeps its shape and gets these crispy edges that my kids fight over. Cheese melts into every bite and makes the whole thing taste like comfort food. That dry mustard sounds random but it gives it this tangy flavor that people notice but can’t figure out. My mother-in-law’s asked me four times what I put in this. Still haven’t told her.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large skillet (for browning the sausage)
• 9×13-inch baking dish (or similar 3-quart casserole)
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Knife and cutting board
• Cooking spray or butter for greasing

How To Make Sausage and Egg Casserole

Step 1: Prep Your Oven and Dish

Turn oven to 350°F. Grease that 9×13 pan like your life depends on it. Learned this lesson when I spent two days soaking burnt egg off my favorite Pyrex dish. Not doing that again.

Step 2: Cook the Sausage

Brown the sausage in your skillet, breaking it up as you go. Takes about 8-10 minutes. Throwing in onion and pepper? Add them toward the end, cook till they’re soft and smell good. Drain off all that grease into a can. Do not pour it down your sink unless you feel like calling a plumber.

Step 3: Layer the Bread

Dump bread cubes in your greased pan. Spread them around. Doesn’t need to be Instagram perfect. Got fresh squishy bread? Leave it out on the counter a few hours or stick it in the oven five minutes to dry out some.

Step 4: Add Sausage and Cheese

Scatter your cooked sausage over the bread. Grab about a cup and a half of cheese, throw it on top. Save the rest for later because you’re gonna want more cheese.

Step 5: Whisk the Custard

Crack ten eggs into a bowl. Pour in the milk. Add that mustard if you’re using it, salt, pepper, whatever else sounds good. Whisk it all up till the yolks are mixed in and everything’s yellow.

Step 6: Pour and Soak

Pour all that egg stuff over your casserole. Get it in the corners. Grab a fork and push down on the bread chunks so they actually get wet. My sister-in-law just pours and walks away and then complains half her bread is bone dry. Push it down.

Step 7: Top and Bake

Dump the rest of your cheese on top. Slide it in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Middle should be set and not jiggly, top should be golden brown. Stick a knife in the center—comes out clean, you’re good.

Step 8: Rest and Serve

Let it sit ten minutes before cutting. Yeah I know it smells amazing and you’re hungry but trust me on this. Cut it too early and it falls apart all over the plate looking sad. Ten minutes and it holds together perfect.

You Must Know

Critical Tip: Fresh bread will ruin this whole thing. It dissolves into this weird mushy paste nobody wants to eat. Use day-old bread or dry out your fresh bread first. Cube it, leave it on your counter overnight, or throw it in a 300°F oven for a few minutes. This is the hill I’ll die on. Stale bread only.

Personal Secret: Quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika goes in mine every single time. Not enough to taste smoke, just enough to make it taste different and better than everyone else’s.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Drain that sausage grease. Seriously. Made this once without draining and it was like eating breakfast soup floating in oil. Disgusting.
• Push the bread down after pouring the eggs. Not optional. Otherwise you get dry crusty bread on top that nobody touches.
• Jiggle the pan to check if it’s done. Wiggles like jello? Keep baking. Barely moves? You’re golden.
• Those ten minutes of waiting aren’t a suggestion. I’ve tried cutting early probably fifteen times thinking “it’ll be fine” and it’s never fine. Always a mushy disaster.
• Adding spinach or mushrooms? Cook them first and squeeze out every drop of water. Otherwise hello watery casserole nobody wants to eat.

Flavor Variations / Suggestions

Southwest Style: Make this when we have people over because it looks like I tried hard. Pepper jack, can of green chiles, cilantro on top. Salsa and sour cream on the side. Everyone acts impressed and I’m like yeah I opened a can and dumped it in.

Florentine Version: My mom visits and I make this because she likes pretending we’re fancy. Swiss cheese, pile of spinach and leeks. Tastes like you spent money at a restaurant. Actually costs maybe six bucks.

Ham and Cheddar Classic: Three Christmases in a row I’ve made this the day after because I always buy too much ham. Dice up leftover ham instead of sausage. Tastes like holidays without any of the stress.

Loaded Breakfast: Husband requests this for his birthday breakfast every year. Bacon plus sausage, three different cheeses, green onions on top. It’s ridiculous and he loves it.

Veggie-Packed: My vegetarian friend shows up to brunch and I make this version. No meat, tons of peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, onions. Sharp cheddar so it’s not boring. She takes leftovers home every time.

Make-Ahead Options

This is the whole point of this recipe existing. Saturday night or even Friday night I throw this together, cover it with foil, stick it in the fridge. Sunday morning take it out, put it straight in the oven. Add maybe five or ten minutes if it’s really cold. Make coffee while it bakes. That’s it. Zero morning cooking stress.

Got one in my freezer right now for emergencies. Use those disposable aluminum pans—make the whole thing, wrap it tight in plastic then foil, freezes for two months easy. Move it to the fridge the night before you need it, bake like normal. Saved me when my in-laws showed up unannounced last month. Pulled it from the freezer, looked like a hero.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• More bread makes it thicker and fills people up better. Less bread makes it lighter and more eggy. I load mine up with bread because my family’s always starving.
• Whole milk’s richer but 2% works if that’s what you got. Wouldn’t use skim. Needs fat to taste right.
• Shred cheese yourself if you got time. Pre-shredded has this coating stuff that makes it not melt smooth. It works fine but fresh is better.
• Top browning too fast? Throw some foil over it loosely. Keeps the edges from burning while the middle finishes.

Serving Suggestions

It’s basically a whole meal already. I throw out whatever fruit’s in my fridge—grapes, those little oranges, berries if they’re not moldy yet. Sometimes grab muffins from the bakery if I’m feeling ambitious or forgot to shop and need more food. Make a huge pot of coffee because everyone wants multiple cups.

Put out green onions, sour cream, hot sauce for people to add. Salsa too if I’ve got it. Makes people feel like they customized their own plate even though all I did was turn on the oven.

How to Store Your Sausage and Egg Casserole

Refrigerator: Cover your pan with foil, stick it in the fridge. Good for 3-4 days. Usually gone by Wednesday at my house. My kids actually eat the leftovers which never happens so I’m counting it as a parenting win.

Freezing: Cut into squares, wrap each one in plastic then foil. Throw them in a freezer bag. Or freeze the whole pan before baking. Either way keeps for two months. I always have some in there.

Reheating: Oven’s your best bet—cover with foil, heat at 325°F about 20 minutes for the whole pan, 10 for pieces. Microwave works too if you’re rushing. Minute and a half per square. Just don’t overdo it or the eggs get that weird rubbery texture.

Allergy Information

Common Allergens: Eggs, milk, cheese, bread, pork sausage. Pretty much everything actually.

Substitutions:

• Dairy-free: Almond milk or oat milk instead of regular. Dairy-free cheese instead of real cheese. Doesn’t taste exactly the same but my lactose-intolerant friend says it’s still good enough.
• Gluten-free: Buy gluten-free bread. That’s all you gotta do. Just make sure it’s sturdy bread that won’t fall apart.
• Egg-free: Can’t help you. It’s an egg casserole. Try a tofu scramble recipe maybe?

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use fresh bread instead of day-old?

Only if you dry it out first. Cube it, spread on a pan, stick in 300°F oven for five minutes. Fresh bread straight from the bag turns into nasty mush. First time I made this I used fresh bread and it was so bad we ordered Denny’s delivery for breakfast instead.

My casserole turned out watery—what happened?

Didn’t drain the sausage good enough or added wet vegetables without squeezing the water out. Mushrooms and spinach are sneaky—hold tons of water. Squeeze them out or pay the price with soup casserole. Also double check you’re using two cups milk, not more.

How do I know when it’s fully cooked?

Shake the pan. Middle wobbles? Not done. Barely moves? Good to go. Or stick a knife in the center—should come out clean with no wet egg. I use a thermometer because I’m paranoid. Should hit 165°F in the middle.

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