This sausage egg casserole in a time saver for breakfast and brunch. Cooked sausage and kale are mixed with torn bread and Cheddar cheese. An egg mixture is poured on top, and the whole thing is left in the fridge overnight. The next morning, it’s slid into the oven. Breakfast is done.
This is not the mushy sausage egg casserole your mom used to make, says author Melissa Coleman. Not that there’s anything wrong with what you grew up with. But technically, this make-ahead marvel, which will have family and friends cooing for seconds, is a strata. So if family or brunch guests start to get sassy with you about making a casserole, know that you have semantics on your side.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Sausage Egg Casserole
Ingredients
For the sausage mixture
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 4 cups cubed or torn crusty bread (like sourdough, baguette, or ciabatta)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
For the egg mixture
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
Garnish
- Sprig fresh thyme
Directions
- The night before serving, in a 10-inch (25-cm) cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, stirring with a spoon to crumble, until it’s browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the kale and cook for 2 minutes more. Place the sausage-kale mixture in a 12-by-10-inch (30-by-25-cm) baking dish. Add the bread and cheese and toss to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all the egg mixture ingredients until combined. Pour evenly over the sausage mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the eggs are set. Garnish with fresh thyme.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Crunchy, custardy, and rich, this is one of those dishes you can’t help but indulging in just another bite. The top crisps up nicely while the center bakes into a creamy yet firm balance of egg, bread and flavorful sausage. The kale and thyme accent the dish with freshness that keep it from being too heavy. I used day-old homemade sourdough bread which added a layer of yeasty tang to an already flavor-forward recipe. My hens provided the eggs, a local dairy the fresh milk and I used my family’s beef to make breakfast sausage, so I felt very en vogue with my local ingredients. When I went to bake the casserole, I feared there wasn’t enough egg mixture, as all of it had been soaked up by the bread, but I was surprised that it came out perfectly custardy without drying out at all. This egg casserole is a craveable winner.
This was good. I served it at brunch yesterday. I think this casserole depends heavily on the type of sausage used because the flavor comes out very strongly.
Originally published April 13, 2018
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Virginia H.
Wow, this sausage egg casserole is a definite keeper! This was a great recipe that absolutely worked. Not too many ingredients, simple to assemble and achieves big flavor. This is also very adaptable, you could use spinach or vegetables instead of kale or different herbs to change it up. For health’s sake, you could reduce calories with some substitutes as well. I might mix half ground turkey with pork, and use lowfat milk. This will be in my rotation.