Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is perfect for entertaining a crowd or serving up a simple weekend brunch. Made with frozen hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, and three different types of cheese, this savory breakfast casserole can be made in advance and is designed to feed a crowd. Serve with homemade biscuits and fruit salad for a simple yet delicious breakfast!
This post is sponsored by Friendship Dairies cottage cheese.
Breakfast Casserole
Without a doubt, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Fortunately my husband and kids are also breakfast lovers so breakfast happens a lot in our house, even at dinner time 🙂
I love to mix it up for breakfast. Sausage gravy and biscuits, blueberry scones, pancakes and bacon – you get the idea. But we always come back to our beloved casseroles.
Casseroles are one of my favorite types of food. They work equally well for dinner as they do for breakfast and are a staple in our house.
I’ve shared many casseroles before here on Mom On Timeout – some sweet like this Triple Berry French Toast Casserole and some savory like this Tater Tot Casserole. What can I say? I love casseroles!
Today I have another amazing breakfast casserole to share with all of you, one that you’ll be making for years to come – I’m sure of it! It’s perhaps one of the easiest breakfast recipes and it’s super versatile and easily customizable. And, dare I say, the best casserole recipe I have on my site. I’m not even kidding here folks.
More Must Make Casseroles
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
- Overnight Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast Casserole
- Slow Cooker Overnight Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
- Ham and Cheese Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
What Makes This Breakfast Casserole The BEST
There are a few things that make this breakfast casserole stand out above and beyond any others that I’ve had before for a few reasons.
- Combination of cheeses. You’ll find three different type of cheeses in this casserole: cheddar, Swiss (can also use Gruyere if you’re filling fancy), and cottage cheese. I used Friendship Dairies 4% Small Curd Cottage Cheese for this recipe. The flavor is amazing and it adds a lovely creaminess to the casserole. And the funny thing is NO ONE notices the cottage cheese. It just kind of disappears into the casserole leaving your friends and family wondering what your secret ingredient is.
- Versatility. I’m sharing the bacon version today but we make it all the time with sausage, ham, turkey bacon, veggies, whatever sounds good and let’s be honest here, whatever I happen to have on hand at the time.
- Prep Time. Very minimal. It’s about 5 minutes of actual work. I mixed everything up in a bowl for the video (see below), but in reality, I would probably just toss it straight into the casserole dish and mix it in there. I’m always up for less dishes to wash 🙂 Honestly, if you were to go with ham, it would be even faster. I would still saute the onions in a little olive oil to soften them up before throwing them in though.
Why Make A Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast casseroles are the way to go when entertaining. They can be assembled in advance and thrown in the oven as your company starts to arrive. You do want to allow for about 10 minutes for this casserole to set up after removing it from the oven.
This breakfast casserole is the perfect dish for entertaining, busy mornings, or weekend brunch. Here’s why:
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Can be made in advance.
- Complete all steps except for baking, cover and refrigerate the night before. Take out of the fridge as your oven is preheating and bake for an additional 10 or 15 minutes. Easy!
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Extremely versatile.
- This breakfast casserole can be made with any type of breakfast meat or veggies to suit the needs of your family or guests.
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Feeds a crowd.
- If you have a large family or are serving brunch for your guests, this easy breakfast casserole is perfect! You can easily get 12 servings from this recipe and it’s just as easy to make up a double batch as it is to make a single casserole.
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Super easy to make.
- You guys. It really doesn’t get any easier than this. Hash browns, eggs, cheeses, salt, pepper and a little hot sauce if you want.
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Pretty darn inexpensive too.
- The casserole itself is so simple to make and most of the ingredients aren’t costly. It’s one of those meals that I consider “hearty not heavy”. You get a super protein punch between the eggs and cottage cheese and the hash browns make it extra filling.
The casserole itself is so simple and delicious but I do like to dress it up with some fresh chives. Just snip them right over the top of the casserole. It adds a subtle onion flavor and a lot of freshness. Serve with fresh fruit and juice and you’re done!
More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love
- Buttermilk Pancakes
- Biscuit Recipe
- Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
- Almond Bear Claw
- Cinnamon Bread
- Breakfast Burritos
How To Make Breakfast Casserole
Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 oz bacon diced (can also use ham, sausage, veggies, etc.)
- 1 onion diced
- 8 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce optional
- 4 cups frozen hash browns thawed
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 6 oz Swiss or Gruyere cheese shredded
- 16 oz small curd cottage cheese either 4% or 1% is fine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.
- Add bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until nice and crispy. Add onions and cook until translucent. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.
- Add hash browns, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, bacon and onions.
- Mix until combined.
- Scoop mixture into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Let casserole rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with snipped fresh chives if desired.
Video
Nutrition
For all breakfast recipes, go HERE.
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Frankie Crouse says
Hey Trish! Just wanted to let you know that my little family loves EVERYTHING I’ve made from your recipes and we all love you too! Thank you for making family dinner fun and welcoming, your awesome and everything tastes sooooo great! God bless you and yours❤
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so sweet Frankie! That means a lot to me ?
Vicki says
Oh my, Trisha! I prepped this casserole late yesterday afternoon, wrapped and stored it in the frig, and cooked it this morning while getting ready for church. Not a single bite came home work
w from our Sunday School’s breakfast.
This casserole is delicious and it made even better with the addition of the cottage cheese you suggest. Makes the dish very rich and creamy.
Several of the gals asked for the recipe as well.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Woohoo! Thanks so much Vicki!
Alina says
Thank you for this simple and yummy breakfast recipe!
Marybeth says
I made this for the Staff Appreciation breakfast at my kids’ school and it was a big hit! I used 1/2 tsp onion powder instead of onions, chopped ham instead of bacon, 9 eggs instead of 8, and 1/2 tsp hot sauce instead of 1 tsp. I didn’t get to taste it, but I was told it was delicious! I’ll be making it again. Thank you!
Marybeth says
Nevermind lol – I see the baking dish size now! Thank you! Making this x 2 for teacher appreciation breakfast for my kids’ school. 🙂
Marybeth says
What size baking pan would you use? I don’t see that info in the recipe. Thanks!!
Deedle says
This looks delicious – looking forward to making it soon. Thank you!
Dee says
Can you substitute ricotta for the cottage cheese?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Sure, that should be fine!
Sally Gibbs says
Don’t like the texture of onions but like the flavor. If I use onion powder instead approximately how much should I use?
Thanks.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon instead. Enjoy!
Cat says
This recipe has been around for decades…. and is delicious every time I make it. I use milk though instead of cottage cheese. We have always had this on Christmas day for breakfast. As our family has done, it’s great to pass down through the generations….
Barbara Karr says
What can I use instead of cottage cheese? Hate the stuff! Barb
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You could use ricotta Barb!
April says
This was super easy and tasty! Made the day before it was baked so it ended up taking a full hour at least. Couldn’t find shredded hash browns so used diced. I had precooked the bacon in the oven so I saved the grease and cooked the onions in it. Also used the bacon grease on the casserole dish. Would definitely make again.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Fantastic April! So glad you made it work for you!
Ginger says
I made this casserole exactly as written using sausage and it was amazing! I wouldnt change a thing. It was seasoned perfectly. I am hesitant with hashbrown casseroles because they can be so dry but this one definitely wasn’t. I did put a little extra cheese on top for some color and, heck, who doesn’t love more cheese.
Adina says
The recipe says to make in advance: “Complete all steps except for baking, cover and refrigerate the night before. Take out of the fridge as your oven is preheating and bake for an additional 10 or 15 minutes. Easy!“
Do you bake it for a certain amount of time the night before and then bake an additional 10-15 the next morning?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
An additional 10 to 15 minutes – meaning in addition to the baking time posted which is 35 minutes. So 45 to 50 minutes total.
Tonya Henry says
Do I thaw the hash browns?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yep!
Ann says
I love all your recipes and videos. I tried to watch this video but an ad came up every few seconds and I just gave up. I’m still going to make the recipe though. Looks so yummy.
Christine McGreevy says
This looks absolutely great and so yummy…!!!!! Will try this for Easter Brunch…
Thank You very much, your recipes are always delicious and easy !!!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Christine! It is amazingly delicious, I’m sure you’ll love it! Have a great week!