English Muffin Breakfast Casserole Recipe (2024)

By Lidey Heuck

English Muffin Breakfast Casserole Recipe (1)

Total Time
1 hour, plus chilling
Rating
4(2,155)
Notes
Read community notes

This easy, make-ahead casserole makes creative use of classic breakfast ingredients like eggs, sausage, Cheddar cheese and English muffins. It’s a perfect no-stress centerpiece for a special-occasion breakfast: Simply assemble the casserole the night before and pop it in the oven before breakfast. Just remember to make sure to toast the English muffins until they’ve dried out a bit, which will help them absorb the egg mixture. For a vegetarian version, use vegetarian sausage or omit it altogether.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

  • Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
  • 6plain English muffins
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 1pound bulk hot or sweet breakfast sausage or Italian sausage
  • ½cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts (about 3 scallions)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 12large eggs
  • cups whole milk
  • 2cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, lightly packed (about 8 ounces)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

623 calories; 44 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 889 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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English Muffin Breakfast Casserole Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step

    2

    Cut the English muffins into 1-inch cubes. (Do not halve them horizontally as you would normally for the toaster.) Place the cubes on a sheet pan and bake until lightly toasted, 12 to 15 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium or large skillet over medium-high. Add the sausage and scallions, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper and cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is evenly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

  4. Step

    4

    Meanwhile, add the eggs, milk, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to large bowl; whisk to combine.

  5. Step

    5

    To assemble, sprinkle half of the sausage, then half of the cheese onto the bottom of the baking dish. Add the English muffin cubes on top in one even layer. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the pan, pressing down lightly to make sure all the bread is moistened. Top with remaining sausage and cheese. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour up to overnight.

  6. Step

    6

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole until puffed and cooked through, about 40 minutes. (It may need a few more minutes, if your casserole has been in the refrigerator overnight.) Cool for 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

Ratings

4

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2,155

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Cate

Easy, yummy crowd feeder though nothing too exciting about this variation on classic egg meat bread cheese breakfast casserole. I did like the use of English muffins; they add a layer of flavor, though got quite mushy. Toast them well! I should have added a few more grinds of pepper and I think a Swiss would pair better with the sausage. Scallions were lovely addition; I think shallots would work well, too. I added a dollop of Dijon to eggs and next time I’ll add more and add spinach. Solid 4*.

Lydia Sugarman

The point of toasting the English muffins cubes well is to dry them out so they will soak up the egg mixture while still maintaining some integrity and not disintegrate into a "mush". This is basically a breakfast bread pudding.

Henri

The English muffins are great. I like to add a bit of color though: I add mushrooms and chopped broccoli over the sausage, then then half the cheese, all the eggs, then more sausage and cheese. For yet more, add halved cherry tomatoes, press down into the eggs, then top with the cheese. Delicious!

Katherine

Per the note, toasting the english muffins helps them absorb the egg mixture. It's definitely worth doing.

suzan

for future reference: english muffins should never be sliced for toasting. they should be separated into two by using the fingers all around the circumference. this separation provides 2 halves with a crater surface better for collecting butter and honey or whatever you fancy.

Lynda in Pasadena

I make something like this but add cut up mild chilies to the mixture. It adds a little zip.

Alex

Love this! Make sure that the English muffin is extra crispy before incorporating. I highly recommend cooking onion and bell pepper along with the sausage and scallion — makes it so much more flavorful!

Cathy Cuff-Coffman

Perhaps making in muffin tins and then freezing or refrigerating the servings?

Eve

I haven't made a breakfast casserole before, so can't compare it to others. I don't see the point of baking the english muffins if you're just going to pour the egg mixture over it, so I didn't this time. But on a future try, I might do that and throw them on top of the casserole with the cheese instead of completely drowning them. Used a sausage with sage (drain well) and sharp cheddar. I only used 11 eggs and 2% milk, what I had on hand. Big hit with the family.

Scott

People are quick to criticize leave no explanation as to their criticism. I find that when this occurs excuse the pun, take it with a grain of salt.

Divatooms

I’d love to make this dish for myself. If I make the full recipe can I freeze the balance? Or can someone help with downsizing the ingredients for a smaller casserole?

Craig

cut recipe in half but use a full pound of sausage and enough cheese to cover top fairly completely. We both rated it a 9.5. It also reheated well.

Sara

Just pulled it out of the oven. Looks and smells great, pretty much what you'd expect flavor-wise. Warm and satisfying, but a little single-note. Kids like it. Probably would benefit from some fresh green onions scattered over the top and another crack or two of black pepper before serving. Very easy to prep and pretty great that it can go from fridge to oven. Made bringing a warm dish to an offsite breakfast situation super easy.

Annie

I agree with others that this is a solid basic breakfast casserole. I found that about 45 minutes in the oven wasn’t quite enough (I had the prepared casserole in the fridge overnight). Next time I’ll check first at 50 mins.

Jane

My beloved aunt, who passed away last year at 83, treated three old friends to a brunch casserole every Saturday. Her basic recipe was this one, but she played with the starch (cut up baguette, croissants, frozen hash browns) and the meat (soy. sausage, bacons of all kinds, soy chorizo crumbles). She even made it a fruit casserole by using fruit and cream cheese) and a fish one with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Jenn

It was easy to put together with simple ingredients. This will be made again and I think it's something great to bring to a Brunch. I did use frozen sausage patties bc I had them on hand. I just thawed and sauteed with red onion bc again what I had available. I also cut up and threw in some pieces of Jalapenos.

Anne

This was yummy. We substituted whole wheat English muffins and the results were great.

Caroline

Classic breakfast casserole and a crowd pleaser. I made this using a package of gluten free English muffins and it worked out perfectly both when leaving it in the fridge overnight or when baking it immediately

Peter G.

The quality of English muffins makes a huge difference here! Very niche, but the ones we get from the Corner Bakery in Pawling, NY are sublime in this recipe!

Ron

Left out onions and topped with maple syrup after dishing on plate. Delicious! Other mods: used chopped up Original Banquet Brown ‘N Serve sausage links, 2% milk, cheddar jack cheese, and whole wheat muffins.

SLC

So yummy! For a shortcut you can use sliced ham (such as you’d use for sandwiches) and sliced Swiss cheese, then pour over the custard.

B

This was probably the best breakfast casserole I've made! I cooked and drained a mix of Longaniza and Chorizo for some extra flavor, and used half and half instead of milk to fluff the egg a bit. Turned out incredible!

Aleks

The cooking time on this recipe is never quite right. I don’t refrigerate it overnight; I just make it morning of, so it’s not any colder. I always seem to need to bake at 375 or 380 for 40 minutes or a bit longer.

BethE

I don’t like breakfast casseroles because I don’t like soggy textures. But being craggier than normal bread, the muffins seemed like they would prevent soupy outcomes. So, I gave this recipe a shot. I regret nothing. It was an absolute hit with a fairly critical crowd. Simply because of what I had on hand, I did use 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, instead of sausage. The English muffins MUST be toasted / dehydrated nigh unto oblivion - I’d suggest even 2-3 minutes longer.

Bree

Used Fontina cheese instead of cheddar. Added 1/4 t of Cayenne pepper to egg mixture. Fantastic!

Big Lar

Made as written with Impossible spicy veggie sausage and it was delicious, although it took 60 minutes to fully cook instead of 40.

Carina

This was a success! I rested it for just less than an hour and the texture was not soggy. A high quality sausage is super important in this recipe. I tossed in a few cups of a left over baked salad we had into the sausage towards the end of cooking. This recipe would allow for all kinds of mix-ins if that's your preference.

Monica J.

This was a hit on New Years morning. The grown ups all had seconds and my 9 and 10 year old loved it as well. I tried to make it exact but only had four muffins so I used a leftover baguette instead and it worked perfectly. Used Cabot cheddar and breakfast sausage and it had a ton of flavor. I made it the morning of so only had time to let it sit on the counter for about 25 minutes and it turned out perfectly. My family nicknamed it “fancy sausage McMuffin casserole.”

KLN

Any egg casserole recipe needs a hero to avoid being good but not great. I would suggest getting high quality, very tasty sausage. I used a breakfast sausage with sage, and it really carried the meal. We prepared it in the evening and cooked first thing in the morning and the English muffins were not mushy at all. We also covered the casserole once the cheese started to brown (after about 30 minutes) and it came out great. Classic, delicious, not overly complex.

Robin

I made last night with plant based Impossible Sausage and am going to try it today on carnivore relatives - without telling them. We’ll see…

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English Muffin Breakfast Casserole Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you know when breakfast casserole is done? ›

How do you know when breakfast casserole is done? Just stick a knife into the center of your egg casserole recipe after 55 minutes of baking. If it comes out clean, your baked egg casserole is ready!

Why is my breakfast casserole soggy? ›

Pre-cook the veggies. Veggies are naturally watery. As they cook, they release that moisture. If they only cook in the casserole, all that extra moisture will also be IN your casserole.

How do you thicken breakfast casserole? ›

Whisk together equal parts cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Use one tablespoon of cornstarch per cup of liquid you would like to thicken. Stir out all the lumps. A few minutes before your casserole is done, add it a little at a time until you are happy with the thickness.

How do you keep breakfast casserole from falling? ›

For a puffy egg casserole, you can prevent falling by cooking at a lower temperature, as with this recipe.

How long should a casserole be cooked for? ›

The time a casserole takes to cook will vary from 2-2½ hours for chuck, blade and thick flank, up to 4 hours for shin, leg and neck. Pork cuts for braising and casseroling normally take 1½ hours, and lamb much the same.

Do I bake my casserole covered or uncovered? ›

Uncovering the foods promotes browning and crisping, and reduces the amount of liquid in the finished dish. If a casserole looks soupy when it's ready to bake, bake it uncovered unless the ingredients include pasta or rice, which absorb liquid.

Why do you have to refrigerate breakfast casserole overnight? ›

The casserole is covered and refrigerated overnight to allow the liquid ingredients to be absorbed into the bread. This is a perishable mixture and should be cooked the morning or day after assembly. Bake in an oven set no lower than 325 °F. Most recipes suggest 350 °F.

How do you make a casserole taste better? ›

Try different herbs for added flavour: sage or lemon thyme work wonderfully well. For a meatier casserole, add chopped sausage or pancetta when cooking the chicken. Stir wholegrain mustard through the casserole at the end of cooking (to taste); this is especially good if you have sausage in the casserole.

How long can you keep a breakfast casserole in the fridge before baking? ›

At this point, you can either bake it right away or refrigerate the casserole overnight and for up to 24 hours. During this time, the flavors mingle together and the bread has a chance to soak up some of the liquid and flavor.

What are the 5 components of a casserole? ›

Let's talk anatomy: A standard dinner casserole usually includes a protein, a starch, a vegetable, a sauce (or other binding ingredient), and cheese. But making a casserole is not an exact science, and you can definitely break away from this formula. Check out some fun side-dish casseroles and desserts below!

How do you moisten a dry breakfast casserole? ›

Covering the dish will trap the steam in and keep it moist while it heats. How do you moisten a dry casserole? Add a little water or milk to the top of the it before reheating.

Can you overcook an egg bake? ›

Tip: it's easy to overcook the eggs! I usually pull them out of the oven when they still look a little underdone. They set up more as they cool, and I want the yolk to still be runny when I serve them.

What temperature should I cook a casserole at? ›

A shallower casserole can take a higher temp and shorter baking time; but if your casserole is a deep one or contains raw vegetables and protein, aim for a slightly longer time and lower temp cook. When in doubt, 350 degrees F is your best friend.

What does the binder of a casserole do? ›

The binder, a liquid that holds the other ingredients together. – Fat-free milk, broth, fruit juice, soup, eggs, or a thickened Béchamel/White sauce.

How many days is a breakfast casserole good for? ›

After baking, leftover egg casserole can be stored in the fridge and enjoyed within 3-4 days. Leftovers are delicious reheated in the microwave.

How long to heat up a breakfast casserole? ›

Cool to room temperature. Wrap tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, then reheat in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes the next morning until the casserole is browned and heated through.

How long can breakfast casserole sit in fridge before cooking? ›

At this point, you can either bake it right away or refrigerate the casserole overnight and for up to 24 hours. During this time, the flavors mingle together and the bread has a chance to soak up some of the liquid and flavor.

What should the internal temp of cooked egg casserole be? ›

Cook egg dishes, such as quiche and casseroles, to 160 °F. In-shell pasteurized eggs and pasteurized egg substitutes may be used safely without cooking.

How long should casserole sit before eating? ›

Let It Rest

Allow the casserole to cool on the counter for 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Doing this means "the boiling juices have time to settle, and your casserole won't be served as a drippy soup," says LaClair.

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