Recipe Details
Overnight Cheese and Egg Casserole
Photo by DeliciousAsItLooks
Basic Recipe Info
Total Prep + Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (plus overnight chilling)
Servings: 6
Total Ingredients: 11
Ingredients
1 lb ground pork sausage
1 (5 ½ ounce) package seasoned croutons
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded pepper jack Monterey Jack cheese
8 large eggs
1 pint half-and-half
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon minced onion
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
Add sausage to a large deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned through. Drain excess grease, crumble the sausage, and set aside to cool.
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish, then spread croutons in a single even layer across the bottom. Top croutons with all shredded cheeses, then add cooked crumbled sausage on top.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, milk, dry mustard, minced onion, salt, and pepper until fully combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly over all layers in the baking dish.
Cover the dish tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the casserole for 45 to 60 minutes, until the egg is fully set.
Let the casserole rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Community Questions
Home cooks have shared these common questions about the recipe:
Can anyone share an approximate volume measurement for croutons? 5 ½ ounce boxes (the original Pepperidge Farm size) are no longer widely available. Also, if I substitute bacon for sausage, how much bacon should I use—1 pound?
How do I print this recipe?
Can I freeze this casserole for a few days before baking? I’m planning a girls’ getaway and want to make this ahead for breakfast. Should I freeze it unbaked, or bake it first then freeze?
Reader Reviews
This recipe has overwhelmingly positive feedback from home cooks:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A++++++! This deserves 10 out of 5 stars. I halved the recipe for 2 people, and both of us said it tasted better than the version we get at our favorite restaurant. I didn’t have pepper jack on hand, so I added extra cheddar and Swiss, and used garlic butter flavored croutons. Since it sits overnight, all the croutons soaked up the egg mixture and added incredible depth of flavor. I also added chopped green peppers to the top. This will definitely be a permanent staple in my rotation, and it’s perfect for church brunches or group breakfasts. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I highly recommend it—you won’t be disappointed!
Mmmmm, such good stuff! I used only cheddar and pepper jack, and left out Swiss. I loved that this recipe uses herbed croutons instead of plain bread cubes. It’s so easy to put together and absolutely delicious—thanks for posting!
This is probably the best egg casserole I’ve ever made! I love the flavor the croutons add, and the Swiss cheese really makes this stand out from other recipes. I can’t forget to mention how simple it is to make!
I love how easy this recipe is. I made a few adjustments the second time I cooked it: I only used ½ pound of sausage, and cut total cheese down to 2 cups of pre-shredded Mexican blend. This recipe makes amazing leftovers for quick breakfasts all week long.
Very yummy! Even my picky kids ate it and asked for seconds. A quick helpful note that isn’t mentioned in the original instructions: you’ll want to uncover the casserole before baking. I kept mine covered for the first 50 minutes, and the center was still runny. I uncovered it and baked an extra 30 minutes, and it turned out perfect.
13 additional reader reviews are available on the original recipe post.
Community Adaptations & Tweaks
Home cooks have shared these delicious variations for different diets and preferences:
Low-Calorie Quiche Style: I made this without croutons and it was delicious. It turned out more like a quiche and cut down on calories. I added 1 tablespoon of Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning, 4-5 sliced cleaned white mushrooms, ½ a roughly chopped bag of baby spinach, and grated half a yellow onion. I cut the recipe down to 2 servings, and it was amazing. I served it with toasted buttered crusty French bread, and I’ll definitely make it again.
Vegetarian Version: I had vegetarian guests coming for brunch, so I swapped sausage for two 8-ounce packages of sautéed sliced baby bella mushrooms. It was amazing! All my guests loved it.
Spicy Flavor Version: I used hot pork sausage, zesty Italian croutons, 1 cup almond milk, and one large sautéed onion. I skipped the Swiss cheese, and used a blend of half sharp cheddar and half pepper jack. I loved the extra spice! Thank you for this great recipe.
Herb Twist: The second time I made this, I used regular breakfast sausage and added 1 teaspoon dried rosemary. I kept everything else the same, and it is very yummy!
Green Chili Twist: Absolutely amazing! I added chopped green chiles, and I’m planning to try roasted Poblano peppers next time.
4 additional tweaks are shared on the original recipe post.
About the Recipe Creator
This recipe was submitted by Jess, who shares the following notes:
A quick fun tip: Did you know you can type the degree symbol ° by holding the Alt key and typing 248? Go try it—pretty cool, right? A quick note for anyone making my recipes: If you take photos of your finished dishes, please feel free to post them! I love seeing what other home cooks create, and I want all your versions shared. I’m also very slow to reply to private messages, so I apologize if it takes me a day to get back to you with an answer. I will reply, just a little slower than most! Thanks. :)
Jess is a pierced and tattooed work-at-home Senior Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay, and a follower of Jesus Christ who prioritizes Faith first, Family second, Career third—a priority that has helped everything fall into place in her life. She has been married to her husband for 10 years, has four children at home (ages 12, 10, 8, and 6), her oldest son (who has severe autism) lives with his father, and she has a beloved cat named Furrynando who gets more attention than anyone else in the home.
Jess lives with fibromyalgia and chronic back issues: she was scheduled for spinal fusion surgery in September 2008 that was unexpectedly denied by insurance, and lived with daily chronic pain for over 10 years before she finally received the successful procedure. She now shares that she can walk, sit, and enjoy daily life again after her surgery.
Jess's Recipe Rating System
Jess uses this simple system for rating other recipes on the site:
5* = Awesome! Totally rocked our socks off!
4* = Very good, but needs a little extra something
3* = We ate it, and enjoyed it just fine
2* = Yuck. We ordered pizza instead
1* = Terrible food, terrible instructions. Even the cat tried to bury it.
She rarely gives ratings below 3 stars, usually just leaving a comment if a recipe isn’t for her, but will leave a lower rating if the recipe was truly frustrating, and always explains her experience in full.
Community Participation Badges
Cooking Tag Games
Jess participates in dozens of community cooking tag games, with badges for Kid-Friendly Tag, Zaaar Iron Chef, I Recommend Tag, Bargain Basement Game, and more.
Community Events
Jess has participated in multiple community cooking events, including cookathons, holiday events, and community adoption events.
Ingredient & Recipe Swaps
Jess has joined multiple community swaps, including spice swaps, cookie swaps, and vegetarian ingredient swaps.
Decorative Blinkie Collection
Jess displays a collection of decorative glitter graphics and blinkies, including a popular viral funny cat meme graphic.