We all love a warm, hearty homemade breakfast that’s quick to make, and this Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is simply the best. This dish is perfect for breakfast, brunch, and holiday breakfasts, but you can also bake this on Sunday and let the family heat a slice throughout the week.
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Don’t you love a casserole that takes just minutes to prepare? This one-pan breakfast bake satisfies a hungry appetite for any meal; I serve this supper, too. The first time I made this, the family plowed through the whole dish, and then they asked if I could make another one for later.
This dish is also my go-to recipe for holiday mornings when I need to feed a lot of people. Come on over for Christmas, Easter, or your birthday, and I’ll make this for you.
If you want an easy egg dish, grab a skillet and make this simple Scrambled Egg Recipe with four ingredients.
Why we love this casserole
- This dish is full of cheesy goodness from the cottage cheese and the cheddar cheese, which bakes up nice and creamy.
- The breakfast casserole ingredients are all easy to find; nothing fancy is needed, just a bag of shredded hashbrown potatoes, eggs, sausage, cottage cheese, and cheddar cheese.
- It takes minutes to prep. Just cook the sausage, stir in the other ingredients, then bake.
- You can make and bake this one day and heat it for later. It’s also an easy make-ahead dish.
- Try pairing this casserole with a salad for an easy supper.
- Not that I don’t like soup, but this casserole is made without soup.
Casserole Ingredients
- Hashbrowns – I like the Simply Hashbrowns, but you can use other brands. If you are using frozen hashbrowns, make sure they are thawed.
- Sausage – Use a mild country sausage like Jimmy Dean. But if you like things spicy, you can try chorizo.
- Eggs – Use large eggs.
- Cheese – This recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but I have mixed cheese before and love the different flavors. Try Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or Swiss.
- Cottage Cheese – Opt for the small curd.
My family are cheese freaks; we eat too much of it, but we like to serve this casserole with our favorite Cheesy cornbread recipe full of fresh veggies and two kinds of cheese. And, if you are a biscuit person, which I don’t blame you for that, try our favorite homemade biscuit recipe.
How To Make A Hashbrown and Egg Casserole
Step 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. You can use various sizes of baking dishes, but I use an 11 x 7” dish that makes a nice thick slice. Don’t go any bigger than a 13” x 9” dish. Make sure to grease the bottom and sides.
Step 2. Chop the onion and set it aside. Heat a medium-sized skillet and cook the sausage over medium heat until browned. Use a spatula or a heavy spoon to break up the meat as you cook it.
Step 3. Once the sausage starts to brown, add the onions and continue cooking the sausage until it’s brown and cooked through. When done, drain any excess grease.
Step 4. In a mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk them until they are broken up. Chop the red pepper and the parsley.
Step 5. Add the potatoes, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, red pepper, salt, and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Step 6. Mix the sausage and onion into the egg mixture and stir until combined.
Step 7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Tip – If you want to bake this for later, you can cover it and refrigerate it at this point. Add an extra 10 minutes if baking this after refrigeration.
Step 8. Bake the casserole uncovered for 50 minutes to one hour until the top is browned. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Make-ahead tips
You can make this casserole a day before you want to bake it. Make the casserole, put it in the pan, then cover it with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. When ready, bake as directed.
“Such a comforting and satisfying way to start the day. We love all egg casseroles and with hashbrowns it moves to the top of the list. Thanks for sharing your recipe!”
— Glenna E.
Freezing tips
Freeze the unbaked casserole
You can freeze this casserole unbaked. Just mix the ingredients and put them in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and then with foil, then freeze. When ready to bake, let the casserole thaw and bake as instructed above.
Freeze the baked casserole.
Or, go ahead and bake this tasty hash brown sausage casserole, let it cool, then cut into squares. Wrap each square in foil or place it in a freezer container; this makes it easy to have individual servings for a quick meal.
Breakfast casserole FAQs
Even though they both can have the same filling, a casserole is baked in a baking dish, and a quiche is baked in a pie shell.
Can breakfast casseroles be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze this casserole either unbaked or baked.
Bake the casserole until it is done in the center. It can be a little jiggly when removed from the oven, but it is best to test the center with a knife to see if it is done.
Make sure any meat you are using has been fully cooked and drained of fat.
High-moisture vegetables like tomatoes can add extra liquid that can make the casserole runny. If using, make sure they are seeded and drained.
Variations
There are so many ways to change up this dish with different tasty fillings.
- Substitute bacon or ham for the sausage, or use turkey sausage.
- For more of a dinner casserole, make it with hamburger.
- Add some extra veggies, like chopped mushrooms, zucchini, green chilis, or tomatoes.
- Try Swiss, feta, Munster, Pepper Jack, or Monterey Jack cheeses, and try a half-and-half cheese blend.
- You can go crazy on herbs by adding rosemary, thyme, or cilantro.
More breakfast recipes for you to make is our simple Apple Cranberry Oatmeal. It’s nothing fancy but hot, filling, and full of cinnamon and nutmeg. If you like waffles, try these Overnight Raised Waffles that have a fantastic yeasted aroma.
These Swiss Cheese Quiche Tarts are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast, and I like making them for brunch too!
If you like sausage for supper, bake this Sheet Pan Chicken Sausage dinner.
More Casseroles To Make
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Easy Egg Sausage & Hashbrown Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 20 ounce shredded hash brown potatoes I used Simply Potatoes, this should be four cups.
- 1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
- 2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- ⅓ cup onion chopped – about 6 ounces
- 1 red pepper you will need about 3 ounces chopped
- 6 large eggs
- parsley optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350° F. Use an 11 x 7 baking dish that has been greased.
- On a cutting board, core and seed the red pepper, then slice and chop into small dice to make 3 ounces. Dice the onion. If using the parsley, chop the leaves on the cutting board and set it aside.
- In a large skillet add the sausage and cook over medium heat breaking it up into chunks as it cooks. Before the sausage is completely cooked, add the chopped onions and continue cooking the sausage until browned.
- In a large mixing bowl add the eggs and whisk to break them up. Add the shredded potatoes, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, red pepper, salt, and pepper. Stir this egg mixture to combine.
- Stir in the sausage until combined, then pour this mixture into the baking pan.
- Bake uncovered for 50 minutes to an hour, until the top is browned and the center of the casserole is set. The center of the casserole will be a bit jiggly when done, but will continue cooking once removed from the oven. Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Notes
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Nutrition
First published: March 29, 2022; last updated: Jan. 27, 2025 for better readability.
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my About page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!
About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
Such a comforting and satisfying way to start the day. We love all egg casseroles and with hashbrowns it moves to the top of the list. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Do you thaw the hash browns first? Also not sure how much onion to use from your description
I wanted to update you on my Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole. I use Simply Potatoes, which are fresh and not frozen. If you prefer another brand, make sure they are thawed first. And for the onion it should be 1/3 cup, or more if you like onion.
Love, love this! Quick & easy, perfect flavor & the cottage cheese for texture did it for me!
Glad you enjoyed the casserole. We love it too!
Delicious! I love breakfast for dinner
I totally agree, pancakes, scrambled egg, waffles, always taste so good at 6pm.
I made this over the weekend for brunch with friends. It turned out great and was just so easy to make. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Made this over the weekend and the leftovers taste just as good as when I first took it out of the oven.
My fam wishes to have this sausage and hashbrown casserole again for tomorrow’s dinner. It was very rich and full of flavors. So impressive!
Loved the addition of cottage cheese in this casserole, great for some extra protein and made the texture really enjoyable.
I agree, I love the texture of the cottage cheese.
This was so tasty for brunch! We loved it, will definitely make again
Yum! This was delicious! I am always looking for easy breakfast recipes and this was a winner in my house! Can’t wait to make it again.
This beautiful casserole is so easy and perfect for make ahead. Delicious enough for company!
I love how easy this is to make! Looks perfect for a weekend brunch. yummy!
I love this recipe! Especially the two kinds of cheese in it! Absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make more!
Well this is one meal that everyone loves. I served it for dinner and the leftovers disappeared before I knew it.
The perfect breakfast/brunch dish! I love all in one dishes and this packs so flavour!