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Crockpot breakfast casserole is perfect for holidays and busy mornings. Tender potatoes, fluffy eggs, and savory sausage cook up overnight in the slow cooker, so you can wake up to a delicious, healthy breakfast!
Featured with this recipe
- Ingredients for Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Steps to Cooking Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Tips for the Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Variations for the Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Popular Combinations for Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What to Serve with Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Ways of Storing Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- More Breakfast Recipes You Will Love
- How to Make Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- CrockPot Breakfast Casserole Recipe
This crockpot breakfast casserole is the perfect breakfast to add to the slow cooker and let it cook on its own! Less preparation and more time with your family. It is a win-win breakfast recipe. The eggs cook up light and fluffy all around the ingredients, so it is a giant omelet once it is all baked. Saves time and all hands-off cooking! Your family will love this crockpot breakfast casserole!
Breakfast casserole is so easy to whip up the night before and then let the Crockpot do the work while we all sleep. Then guests are greeted with fragrant breakfast smells first thing in the morning and you get all the credit for serving a delicious breakfast. It is great for Christmas Eve, busy Sunday mornings, or any time you want a big family breakfast but don’t want all the fuss.
Ingredients for Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Take your breakfast to the next level with this crockpot breakfast casserole! Easy ingredients with simple ingredients that cook together perfectly. The best crockpot breakfast casserole is a crowd-pleaser!
- Sausage – Add protein to this chopped sausage. Cut the sausage into even bite-sized chunks.
- Eggs – This is the base of the breakfast casserole. Eggs are filled with nutrients and are a great source of protein.
- Milk – Adds creaminess and moisture to the egg mixture. Milk helps the eggs fluff up and become lighter.
- Potatoes – Frozen diced potatoes with red and green bell peppers.
- Tomato – Slice and chop the tomato into small pieces that are added to the crockpot.
- Cheddar cheese – Give this crockpot breakfast casserole that gooey cheesy texture with shredded cheddar cheese. Shred the cheddar cheese for it to slowly melt throughout the breakfast casserole.
Steps to Cooking Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
If your Crockpot cooks hot or if you have an oval one it may only take six hours on low. A smaller, round crockpot may take the full 8 hours to cook through the center. To make clean-up even easier try using a crockpot/slow cooker liner!
- Cook – Brown sausage links in a large skillet until cooked through and cut into pieces. Set aside.
- Whisk – In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add salt and pepper.
- Combine – Spray the crockpot with cooking spray and layer the cut-up sausage, potatoes O’Brien, tomatoes, and cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Stir everything together.
- Slow cook – Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours. The oval crock pots like the one shown may cook faster than the typical round crock pots. Try to aim for the 6-hour mark if using one like this.
Tips for the Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Follow these helpful tips to make a delicious crockpot breakfast casserole! Making this breakfast will be a family favorite. Your morning will be better waking up to a full-filling breakfast!
- Grease the crockpot – Make clean up even easier! Grease with nonstick cooking spray, and butter, or use a crockpot liner to keep the breakfast casserole from sticking to the sides.
- Layer – Make sure to layer the ingredients individually. This will help the structure of the breakfast casserole hold together and be stable as well as cook properly.
- Evenly distribute – When pouring in or placing the ingredients, try to evenly distribute the ingredients in the slow cooker breakfast casserole. Each bite will have a little bit of all the ingredients. This will help the ingredients from being overcooked or undercooked.
- Cooking time – Cooking times can vary depending on the size of the crockpot.
- Don’t overcrowd – Try not to overfill the crockpot with ingredients. If it is overcrowded then the ingredients will not be able to cook properly.
- Toothpick trick – Check to make sure the crockpot breakfast casserole is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the slow cooker. If the toothpick comes out clean, the breakfast casserole is cooked properly.
- Let it rest – Before serving, let the breakfast casserole sit and let the flavors enhance for a few minutes before cutting and serving.
Variations for the Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Our recipe for Crockpot breakfast casserole is very flavorful with the simple ingredients we use. We love it this way, but we have also tried variations depending on what we are in the mood for and what we have on hand.
- Potatoes – I love using the Potatoes O’Brien because they are already chopped and they come with red and green bell peppers. This just speeds up the process for me and makes this recipe even easier. However, you can use any frozen hash brown variation. You can even use fresh grated potatoes, but the casserole will cook up a lot quicker with fresh as opposed to frozen.
- Meat – I like using sausage links because it is what my family prefers, but you can use any breakfast meat you have on hand! It just needs to be cooked first. Feel free to use sausage, bacon, turkey bacon, or ham. If meat isn’t your thing, you can use meat substitutes, or no meat at all!
- Veggies – If you have got it in the fridge, it can go in this recipe (almost, haha). We’ve used peppers, onions, green onions, mushrooms, spinach, kale, green chiles, zucchini, tomatoes, and asparagus, just to name a few. If you can find it on an omelet bar, chances are it will taste delicious in this recipe!
- Cheese – Cheddar is an obvious breakfast choice, but you can change it up! Any cheese that melts well will work. We’ve used Swiss, mozzarella, pepper jack, Monterey jack, and Colby jack before. They’ve all been great!
- Toppings – Everyone in my family likes topping this casserole with something different. We’ve tried ketchup, sour cream and salsa, sriracha, avocado, chives, cheese, and Tobasco, just to name a few. Whatever you top this with, we know you will love it!
Popular Combinations for Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Try some of these ideas to make this casserole your own! Follow these most popular combinations. The options are endless!
- Denver Style – Cubed ham, green peppers, onion, and cheddar cheese are a classic and traditional omelet choice!
- California Style – Bacon, tomatoes, peppers, onion, topped with lots and lots of avocado. This is always a favorite!
- Meat Lovers – Bacon, sausage, and ham are every meat lover’s dream.
- Mushroom and Swiss – Spinach, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese are simple and tasty.
- Garden Delight – Peppers, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, and spinach give this veggie breakfast a healthy twist.
- Italian – Pancetta, red bell peppers, and mozzarella are all classic Italian ingredients.
- Southwest – Green chiles, jalapenos, pepper jack cheese, top with avocado, salsa, and sour cream for a complete southern taste!
“This Crockpot Breakfast Casserole is a perfect make-ahead breakfast recipe! We had this for breakfast/brunch today and it was such a hit! I’m so glad I found your site when I was looking for a good recipe, I’m looking forward to more new great recipes.”
-Natasha
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This is a great option if you are short on time. It is best to cook on low for 8 hours but high for 2 to 3 hours. Make sure the sausage and eggs are cooked through before serving.
Yes, you can adjust the quantity of ingredients that is best for your family. Adjust the time on the crockpot if adjusting the breakfast casserole. You can also store the breakfast casserole if needed.
Spray a cooking spray around the slow cooker or a crockpot liner that is done before adding in the ingredients. This will help with cleanup and easy to serve and store.
We used a medium-sized slow cooker. If you have a larger crockpot, you can double the recipe it will fit.
This breakfast casserole recipe will feed about 12 people. For larger servings, it will serve 6 to 8 people.
We love to serve this with fresh fruit, creamy yogurt, or sweet cinnamon rolls to make a complete meal.
What to Serve with Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
This casserole is a terrific all-in-one dish, so you could serve it alone with some toppings and a side of fruit. For a big breakfast or brunch, you can also pair it with our Make Ahead Breakfast Parfaits, our rich Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, or a batch of the BEST Blueberry Muffins.
Ways of Storing Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Learn how to properly make ahead or store the crockpot breakfast casserole! It is so easy to plan for and feed a crowd. Use your leftovers throughout the week or freeze them for a later time. All great options for having this breakfast casserole recipe more than once!
- Making ahead – Place all the ingredients into the crockpot and cover to store in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When ready to cook, let the crockpot warm to room temperature, place in the crockpot warmer, and start the time on low for eight hours.
- Refrigerator – Place the leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the fridge.
- Freezer – Cut and portion the crockpot breakfast casserole into individual portions to freeze.
- Warming up – Reheat the breakfast casserole leftovers in the microwave or in the oven until it is warmed through.
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How to Make Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
CrockPot Breakfast Casserole
Video
Equipment
- Crockpot Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 12-15 breakfast sausage links
- 12 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 pounds potatoes o’brien (hash browns with diced onions and peppers)
- 1 tomato diced
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Brown sausage links in a large skillet until cooked through and cut into pieces. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add salt and pepper.
- Spray the crockpot with cooking spray and layer the cut-up sausage, potatoes O'Brien, tomatoes, and cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Stir everything together.
- Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours. The oval crock pots like the one shown may cook faster than the typical round crock pots. Try to aim for the 6-hour mark if using one like this.
This is such a delicous breakfast to have waiting in the slow cooker! It has become a go-to in our house!
This is one of those easy to make recipes that I don’t have to fuss over to much! Just perfect!
Hash Browns frozen or thawed?
Either one works 🙂 Frozen is easier but if you have thawed, that works too!
Has anyone tried it without eggs? I have a bunch of people coming for Christmas breakfast and this would be great. But I have a couple people who don’t eat eggs. Any suggestions? Thanks!
You will definitely want it with eggs so it cooks right… can they have egg substitute? That might work..
I have used this recipe many times, it always comes out great. I do have to cut the time back as I have an oval slow cooker, and it’s not very slow! I also add bacon, and sometimes sausage gravy. (which is very good, but even more fattening!) Thanks for the ‘comfort food’ breakfast idea, my family really enjoys it!
You’re welcome! So glad you like it.
I am always so amazed at all the goofy questions people ask about recipes! People this is the recipe she has and uses, she doesn’t do all these weird things you are asking. If you want to know if something can be changed, then change it and let her know if it can. Do any of you know how to cook? You be the ones that experiment and tell us if it works. She knows her recipe works and she likes it the way it is I am sure. By the way I make my own version of this but I mix in cut up biscuits and bake in the oven. This is very easy to make it your own by adding or not adding whatever you would like. I often leave out the hashbrowns. Bake it until you think it is done. You should be able to tell when it is, if eggs are done, biscuits, are done or whatever if you know anything about cooking. People cooking is like experimenting! Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, always amazes me at all the goofy questions, and how just because someone submits a recipe they are suppose to know how many different way it can be changed, what do they think you try all these different things?
When someone posts a recipe, I think they expect questions and might even welcome them. Your comment could possibly make someone with very little groceries embarrassed to ask if something can be substituted, added, left out. This could ruin their meal and waste money. Getting something off YOUR chest may help you but burden someone else.
Haha, Sue I just read all these comments/questions and thought the exact same thing! SO many questions, so many weird variations, hah!
Planning to make this soon can’t wait to try it! Thanks! 🙂
I just made this last night. Everyone liked it, except me. I didn’t like the texture of the hash browns in it. I used 2 pounds of pork sausage that I cooked up first, that was great! I sprayed the crock pot with Pam first and it came out very nice. I cooked mine of low for 9 hrs. and it was a little too long.
Can you use canned diced tomatoes?
You can… I just prefer fresh!
Has this ever been cooked with just regular russet potatoes either cut up in small chunks or shredded? I don’t have any hashbrowns on hand and am looking for a breakfast dish for supper tonight. THANKS!!!
Is that slow-cooker insert one that was purchased separately? It doesn’t look like the black oval inserts for that type of slow-cooker. I broke my insert and wasn’t sure if I should toss the entire unit or not. If it is separate, do you know if it is lead-free? Thanks!
It is actually the one that came with it… sorry! I don’t know what to recommend you do
It is the one that came with it. I don’t know what to tell ya!
Should be able to go to the website for the manufacturer of the crock pot and see if you can order a replacement.
Do you think that Rotel would be ok to use rather than a tomato?
Sure, just be sure to drain the excess juice from the can.
Made this last night and had it this morning… My kids were not impressed with it. And I wasn’t a fan either.
do you stir it at all throughout the time in the crock pot or just let it cook?
No… you just leave it. You just let it cook.
how many calories per serving
I think we have this recipe in MyRecipeMagic.com. It has the calories and everything there… lol, you may not want to know!
Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 400mg | Sodium: 665mg | Potassium: 791mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1120IU | Vitamin C: 15.5mg | Calcium: 388mg | Iron: 3.8mg
Can you double the recipe in the crock pot?
You would need a HUGE Crock Pot, but sure! I have a pretty big crock pot (the biggest you can buy at WalMart) and if I doubled the recipe it would definitely overflow.
Could you cut Time in half and cook on high?
Never tried it. Let me know if you do it and how it works out!
What if you have mini crock pot like a 2.5 or 3 quart? I’m only trying to make this for 2 other people…. I’m sure i can figure out how many eggs/milk/bacon etc to use to fit my crock pot..but I’m worried about cooking time! i sure don’t wanna over cook/burn it! I’ve seen people make breakfast casserole in a crock pot before and the eggs almost turn out grey/brownish from overcooking.
Yikes. I for sure wouldn’t cook it as long. I would say the first time you do it, keep your eye on it. Then let me know how it turns out!
I was wondering if it would work with fresh potatoes, onions and peppers instead of the frozen potatoes o’brian? If so, should I alter the recipe in any other way (i.e. when to put them in or cooking time?)
I’m sure it would be fine! I wouldn’t alter the cooking times or anything
How did the fresh potatoes work out for you?
Thats what I did. I baked russet potatoes and chopped onion and green pepper from my garden. was going to throw in some garlic but making it for people at work so I thought not.
Haha! Leaving out the garlic was a smart idea – especially with tight work spaces. Nothing is better than fresh from the garden! We’re glad you liked the recipe!
Just wondering if you can add biscuits to the top? I’m gonna do this for Christmas.. looks yummy.
You could sure try it!
Do you think I could use french bread instead of hashbrowns?
I’m sure you COULD.. Can’t promise how it will turn out though!
Dry bread works best. I buy seasoned stuffing cubes. It’s how we make Christmas morning baked eggs 🙂 And it’s delish!
Can you do this without the potatoes and if so would it be less cooking time??
I’m sure you can.. It would lose a lot of substance though!
Do you cook this casserole overnight? and if you do what setting,low,or high?…thanks
Yes it cooks overnight- low heat. The instructions above will tell you everything you need to know. Hope this helps!