Cheesy Hash Brown + Egg Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 to 16 ounces (227 to 454 g) bacon, chopped, or sausage (see note for other options, too)
- ½ cup small diced onion or shallots
- 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4-5 cups (567 to 680 g) shredded hash browns, frozen or thawed
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional (but delicious)
- 1 teaspoon salt, I use coarse kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¾ cup (170 g) cottage cheese
- ¾ cup (170 g) sour cream
- 1 cup (114 g) shredded cheddar cheese (preferably sharp)
- 1 cup (114 g) shredded Swiss cheese
- Chopped green onions or chives, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon or sausage and onion until cooked through and crisp (for the bacon). Drain excess grease.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, hash browns, hot sauce (if using), salt, pepper, cottage cheese, sour cream, and cheese. Add the bacon (or sausage) and onions. Mix to combine.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan (at this point the casserole can be covered and refrigerated overnight).
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly golden on the edges, puffy in the center, and a thin knife comes out clean from the center (add 10-15 minutes to the baking time if the casserole has been refrigerated).
- Garnish with chopped green onions or chives. Let the casserole rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
Notes
Meat: you can nix the bacon or sausage and use chopped ham, if you'd like. If doing so, saute the onion in a skillet with a little oil and then add the cooked onion and chopped ham (no need to cook) to the other ingredients.
Eggs: the eggs can be increased if you want it a little more egg-heavy. I'd suggest not adding more than 11-12 eggs.
Pepper: I also think chopped green pepper would be delicious in here (but I have kids that would revolt); I'd add it to the skillet with the onion if it were me. Add more cheese if you like (no judging here!).
Hash Browns: I'm super lazy when it comes to thawing the hash browns for this recipe, which is a roundabout way to say I never do. The recipe will work with either thawed or frozen hash browns; if using thawed, you can probably cut the baking time down by 10 minutes or so. If your hash browns have added salt, you may want to reduce the salt.