Cheesy Sausage Spinach Breakfast Casserole
At 32 years old, I continue to be a stereotypical kid on Christmas morning. I love opening my eyes knowing that it’s Christmas. That excitement is heightened exponentially if I sneak a peek outside and see even the slightest bit of snow. For me, Christmas morning has always meant putting on comfy pajamas and sitting in front of the tree exchanging presents. Usually as soon as gifts are done being exchanged, I’m like a 5-year-old and immediately want to try on or put together whatever it is I’ve received. For maybe the only day of the year, food is nowhere near the forefront of my mind. I just enjoy the coziness of family, giving and making memories. However, at some point we need to eat in order to fuel us through a day full of jumping from one family member’s house to another. I usually end up eating something quick, like pb&j on toast, on my way into the shower since I play with my toys until the very last minute. However, a breakfast casserole would be way more satisfying! You could easily make this the night before then pop it into the oven while you’re exchanging gifts, then when you’re done, poof! You have a nice warm breakfast waiting for you. It ups the holiday special factor quite a bit!
Last year, I began playing around with breakfast casseroles, trying a French toast version, as well as a savory sausage and egg version. This new casserole takes a standard sausage and egg casserole and amps it up with the addition of spinach and prepared stuffing (no soaking bread!). More cheese, less eggs, throw in some spinach, and you have an unbelievably hearty breakfast. If I were in charge of planning Christmas breakfast, I would have one French toast casserole and one of these sausage spinach casseroles in the oven bright and early Christmas morning… and then I would hoard any leftovers for days to come!
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Do you have any Christmas morning food traditions?
One year ago: Peppermint Whoopie Pies
Two years ago: Mini Cheesecake Cookies
Five years ago: Biscotti
Cheesy Sausage Spinach Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) packaged herb-flavored stuffing mix
- 1 pound (453.59 g) bulk breakfast sausage
- ¼ cup (25 g) chopped scallions
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 10 ounces (283.5 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1½ cups (354.88 ml) half-and-half
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Prepare the stuffing according to package directions; set aside.
- Cook the sausage over medium heat in a large skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the scallions and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, or until the garlic is fragrant. Drain any fat from the pan.
- Add the prepared stuffing and the spinach to the skillet with the sausage and mix together until thoroughly combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the Monterey Jack cheese.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the half-and-half and eggs and pour evenly over sausage mixture. Rap the dish against the counter once or twice to make sure the liquid is evenly distributed.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees F. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for 5 more minutes, or until bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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This was awesome!!! i followed exactly but added black beans because I needed to use them up. Best breakfast casserole ever!
I found your blog through the Google search engine. I’m looking for ideas on what to make for breakfast, and keep it interesting. I’m looking forward to making this casserole for breakfast very soon!!! Super excited!!!! :-)
I had this pinned for awhile now and finally made it for Christmas morning. It was delicious and easy to make – bonus! Had my family going back for seconds, some had thirds!
Can part or all of this recipe be assembled the night before?
Yes, you could assemble this the night before.
Hi Michelle, We just made your cheesy sausage spinach breakfast casserole over the weekend for our family and friends. We followed your suggestion and put it together the night before. It worked wonderfully and was a big hit with all our overnight guests. Thank you!
Hi Michelle… I want to make this recipe and I am not finding the breakfast sausage. Do you think that would work to use Italian sausage (mild) and the regular stuffing? Thank you!
Hi Rosie, Yes, both will work! Enjoy!
So I accidently started to cook the stuffing for the stuffed mushroom recipe on the back of the box. But then I made this recipe and it actually turned out amazing! So so good also I only had buttermilk instead of half and half so I did half buttermilk half milk with the eggs still was good!
This was so yummy! I made it the night before and kept the stuffing dry. I just added a little melted butter to the stuffing/spinach/sausage mix before adding the eggs and cheese. I let it sit for about 10 hrs overnight in the fridge and baked it for about 40 mins in the morning. It came out great!
I made this 2 times now and both turned out great! If I want to make the casserole the night before and bake the next day, do you think the stuffing will be too mushy from sitting overnight in the refrigerator? Would it be better to add the stuffing in dry or half dry?
Hi Doreen, Since the stuffing is already prepared (and not just a dry mix) when you assemble this, I think it would be fine to prepare it ahead of time.
I’m actually worried about the prepared stuffing becoming too mushy if made the night before. So I’m asking if the stuffing should be added in dry instead.
Hi Doreen, I don’t think that would be an issue, but if you’re very concerned, then you can prepare everything through step #4, then in the morning whisk together the eggs and half and half, then bake.
THIS IS THE ULTIMATE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE. Seriously. I love all casseroles, but this one is my favorite. I have made it for family and friends and they have ALL asked for the recipe. It’s easy and delicious.
This. Was. Scrumptious! Made it a day ahead and warmed it for breakfast for our friends. Fabulous!
I just wan’t to say that your blog is wonderful and I wan’t to bake and cook everything!
Love from Sweden
Lina
What kind of stuffing did you use? Cube stuffing or the other non-cube crumb kind? I so want to make this for Easter Sunday.
Hi Nicole, The cube stuffing. Enjoy!
I am making this as we speak but I was wondering if the stuffing can be added it dry . i was thinking the dish may be too mushy if the stuffing goes in prepared and wonder if it would have a little crunch if it goes in dry. Would it be too dry maybe add more half and half? What would be your advice?
Hi Kelly, It’s not “mushy” although it’s not a crispy dish. You can add it dry with some extra liquid if you prefer.
Ok, I’ll try that! Thanks!
I don’t know which one is making my mouth water, the pictures or the actual recipe. I cannot wait to try this!
This looks sounds sooo good – I am in search of something like this to make & take weekday mornings … to get the cravings for cheese, carbs and something more substantial than cold cereal out of the way! :) Not really interested in sweets in the morning (also am an insulin dependent diabetic. If I made this, do you have any suggestions as to how many days afer making it, that it would be safe to reheat? Also, silly question but how many carbs/calories do you suppose there would be? Thanks so much!
I would say three days, however I tend to be overly conservative in how long I keep leftovers. Sorry, but I have no idea how many carbs or calories are in the recipe!
Just made this for New Year’s day breakfast and it was fantastic! I did substitute mushrooms for the spinach and cheddar instead of monterey jack (because i forgot to buy it). It was so good!
Yum!
I’m probably going to add the spinach to the sauteed onions and peppers so I’m no longer too worried about excess moisture which I will let cook off gently. I was a bit unsure about when to add the spinach so as not to overcook it. After reading this recipe, I realized that the only way was to add the spinach after I’ve taken the onions and peppers through most of their frying pan cook time.
And yes, I’m using fresh spinach which will be towel dried or spun after a good rinse process.
As a new subscriber, I was so glad to see this recipe using spinach as I make a similar breakfast casserole using potatoes (which I steam, dice, season and pan fry) instead of stuffing. I wanted to add spinach but need reassurance that adding them to wilt after sauteing diced onion, scallions, diced sweet peppers (red and green for the holidays) was the correct sequence. I made it for Xmas without the spinach (forgot actually) but will be repeating for a New Year’s day brunch and this time there will be more green nutrition. Thank you.
Hi Mags, I’m trying to figure out if you are asking if you can use regular spinach that you wilt yourself? I suppose you could, just make sure that all of the liquid is completely cooked off and/or drained. You could also just buy the frozen chopped spinach and add it in.
This was a big hit on Christmas morning! Thanks! I used 1/2 pepper jack instead of regular jack and it was really good for a little extra spice, but not too much! BTW I made it the night before and baked it Christmas morning and it came out fine.
This recipe was wonderful! My family and I had it on Christmas morning- loved it!
Michele, the recipe looks delicious. It looks like the perfect recipe for New Year’s morning. We’ll definitely have to try it out. YUM!
Thank you! Made this for Christmas Morning and it was great!
I made this for our Christmas brunch and it was a hit! Very, very yummy! I used Trader Joes sweet chicken sausage, which worked well.
I made this for Christmas morning and it was yummy thanks for the recipe. And your wonderful blog.
I think you could use the meatless “sausage” crumbles in place of the real sausage… I’ve used MorningStar Farms brand that way before, it tastes almost the same with the rest of the ingredients.
Its all mixed up and in the frig for the morning, Question what whould happn if i had not cooked the stuffing mix first i almost did not beacuse it should cook with the milk and egg mixture, but i did follow the directions. Can not wait to dig in. Thanks
Has anyone made this and frozen it?
We always have an egg, ham and cheese breakfast casserole on Christmas morning. This casserole sounds like a great way to expand the breakfast offerings. Looks delicious!