Sausage and Veggie Breakfast Bake

Sausage and Veggie Breakfast Bake – This cozy breakfast casserole is perfect for holidays, get-togethers, or meal prep. It reheats like a dream and tastes fantastic!

There are few times when the word “casserole” really inspired us to get excited about dinner when I was growing up (though heaven knows my mom made some delicious casseroles in my youth). So, my mom used to make this breakfast bake with eggs, sautéed veggies, and a whole lotta (delicious) cheese.

Hoping to avoid the word casserole, we named it “Egg Thing.” Which, of course, is significantly more appetizing sounding than…something. I’m sure.

But we loved Egg Thing. Not a quiche, not quite a frittata…Egg Thing was delicious and it was always funny to hear “we’re having Egg Thing for dinner.”

There have been a LOT of incarnations of Egg Thing in my life, since it’s really just about tossing together a bunch of delicious ingredients with eggs and popping the whole thing in the oven. With dairy off the menu at our house, we’ve revamped our take on Egg Thing and (thanks to Pinterest and food blogs around the world) we’ve adopted the term “bake,” which spares us from calling it Egg Casserole or Egg Thing.

This one is really delicious (and easy). There are so many goodies that it’s not especially “egg-y,” and the flavor is just awesome. Add about 2 cups of veggies, 6-8oz of bacon or sausage (or another 1/2-3/4 cup veggies), a few tablespoons of fresh herbs (if we have them), and 8-10 eggs. Pour into an 8×8 dish or pie pan, and bake till done.

This makes a perfect brunch or holiday breakfast dish since it doesn’t involve any close attention (like scrambling or poaching eggs) so you can make something a little more hands-on (like waffles or pancakes) without too much distraction. AND you can change it up any way you like.

HERE’S WHAT GOES INTO MY SAUSAGE AND VEGGIE BREAKFAST BAKE. 

• SAUSAGE. You can use whatever your favorite bulk sausage is for this sausage and veggie breakfast casserole. I usually go for pork or turkey breakfast sausage, but you can mix things up by choosing chorizo or Italian-style sausage. I don’t recommend link-style or sliced pre-cooked sausage for this recipe, since the ground sausage blends in better for each bite.
• BELL PEPPERS + ONION. The base of my veggie blend is colorful bell pepper. You’ll use about 2 cups, so you can use 2 different colors, or dice up a few colors and measure out 2 cups. I love the bright color and flavor they bring to this breakfast bake!
• MUSHROOMS. Mushrooms are a great pairing with sausage, and they are lovely mixed in with the veggies and eggs. If you’re not a mushroom fan, feel free to swap in sliced zucchini, yellow squash, or cooked sweet potato or butternut squash.
• KALE OR SPINACH. It’s easy to sneak some greens into this sausage veggie breakfast casserole, since they cook down so much on the stove. There are a full 2 cups in the recipe as written, but it can EASILY take up to 4 cups if you want more!
• EGGS + (DAIRY-FREE) MILK. Once all the veggies and sausage are cooked and added to your baking dish, you’ll whisk together eggs and milk to bind everything together. We’re a dairy-free family, so I use unsweetened almond or cashew milk, but you can use whatever your family uses and drinks. (Just make sure you don’t add anything with vanilla in it!
• SIMPLE SEASONINGS. The sausage and veggies bring a LOT of big flavor to the table here, so you can really keep things simple on the seasonings. I usually use a mixture of salt, pepper, and then a little garnish of fresh herbs (like cilantro or parsley), though you can also certainly add a pinch of chili powder, dried sage, or rosemary to the egg mixture to play up the flavors in the sausage. It’s up to you!

MIX THINGS UP! TRY CHANGING UP THIS BREAKFAST CASSEROLE WITH ONE OF THESE TWISTS!

• PLAY WITH THE SAUSAGE FLAVOR! The simplest way to change up the flavor profile in this dish is by using different flavors or varieties of sausage. Feel free to use Italian sausage, Mexican-style chorizo, sage sausage, etc. Or swap out turkey sausage for pork sausage. Use whatever sounds good or what’s on sale!
• USE BACON OR HAM INSTEAD OF SAUSAGE. If you’re not into sausage or have other breakfast meats on hand, feel free to add them instead! Cook up 8 oz. of bacon or dice up 8 oz. of cooked ham to use in place of the sausage.
• ADD A CAN OF DRAINED DICED GREEN CHILES. One of my favorite easy variations is to add a can of drained diced green chiles. They give it a Southwest feel that you can play up even further by adding 1/4-1/2 tsp. chili powder to the egg mixture.
• MIX UP THE VEGGIES. You can easily play with the veggie mixture here. Feel free to add things like zucchini or yellow squash, thawed frozen hash browns, asparagus, baby tomatoes,
• USE UP LEFTOVER COOKED VEGGIES. You can absolutely mix things up by using leftover cooked veggies, like roasted or pan-cooked potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potato, etc. These kinds of veggies take a little longer to cook than peppers, onions, and mushrooms, so it works best to add cooked leftovers or cook them separately.
• FEEL FREE TO ADD CHEESE. Of course, you can also add flavor by topping this with some grated cheddar, Pepper Jack, or Monterey Jack cheese if you eat dairy. It’s delicious! 1 – 1 1/2 cups should be plenty, but add it to taste!

FAQ + TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE BEST SAUSAGE AND VEGGIE BREAKFAST BAKE:

GREASE YOUR PAN. If you can, try to remember to grease your pan before adding the veggie + sausage mixture. I usually use spray olive oil or spray avocado oil, but you can drizzle or brush it on if you like! This will make cutting and removing slices easier later.

LET IT REST BEFORE SLICING! One BIG tip for the best sausage and veggie breakfast bake is to LET IT REST before slicing. The residual heat in the baking dish will help your eggs set better and make slicing easier later. Wait at least 10 minutes (15, if you can!) before cutting into it for the best results.

CAN I CUT THIS RECIPE IN HALF? If a 9×13″ pan of sausage and veggie breakfast casserole sounds like too many serving for you and your family, you can cut this recipe in half and bake it in an 8×8″ or 9×9″ square pan instead. Note that you will likely want to check it a few minutes earlier in the oven since it cooks faster than a large pan.

MAKE IT AS MINI QUICHE! You can totally cook this sausage and veggie breakfast bake in muffin cups mini-quiche-style, as I do with these paleo mini quiche. Just divide the sausage and veggie mixture into 10-12 muffin cups (a silicone muffin pan is great for this!), then pour the egg mixture over the sausage and veggies in each cup. Bake 15-20 minutes or so, or till just set in the middle. It’ll turn out really similarly to these egg muffins!

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Like this recipe? You may also like:

• Sausage and Squash Frittata (GF, DF, Paleo)
• Apple Fritter Muffins
• Buttermilk Syrup (GF)
• Sweet Potato Waffles (GF, DF)