Overnight Sausage Egg Casserole is any easy and delicious make ahead breakfast egg bake recipe with Jimmy Dean sausage, cheese and bread, perfect for brunch or dinner!
Jimmy Dean Sausage Breakfast Casserole
With this Jimmy Dean overnight egg casserole, you prep the dish a day in advance so that all the ingredients get set up overnight in the fridge. All that is required after that is to pull it out of the fridge and bake it in the oven.
With the holiday season upon us, there are lots of weekends hosting family or friends and this easy egg bake can take one big thing off your plate in the morning. Prep the dish the evening before and just pop it in the oven in the morning. Or if you are like my Mom, just make me put it in the oven when she is at church. 🙂
Although an egg casserole definitely works great for a brunch dish, you can serve them for breakfast, lunch and dinner too. The leftovers reheat fantastically as well.
Overall this breakfast egg casserole is a filling and delicious meal for just about any time of day!
What is the advantage of setting the casserole up in the fridge?
The overnight egg casserole, also sometimes referred to as an egg bake too, takes advantage of the time it sits to let the wet ingredients absorb properly into the day old bread. You don’t necessarily have to let it sit overnight, but it helps the dish look, feel, and taste more like a casserole and not just like eggs and toast.
How far in advance can I make the dish?
If you don’t plan on cooking your egg casserole right away, then don’t worry. Letting it sit another day or two before you pop it in the oven will be fine as long as you cover it tightly.
You don’t want the eggs to dry out, but you do want them to seep into the bread. For this reason, a bit of extra time is not an issue.
Why do I use day old bread and what if I use fresh bread?
The advantage of using day old bread is that it has less moisture in it. When the casserole cooks you don’t want a lot of moisture in the dish since it will end up steaming the eggs rather than letting them bake. It makes a difference in the flavor because steamed eggs don’t have as pleasant a consistency as baked ones and as a result end up with less flavor.
So, if you are pressed to prep the casserole and you don’t want to wait for the bread to dry out, then just give it a bit of help. You can set the bread in your oven or toaster oven and heat it up on very low heat, about 175 degrees f for approximately 20 minutes ought to do the trick.
You don’t necessarily want the bread to cook, but you do want to dry it out.
Add Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage for a great breakfast and brunch dish
I recommend adding a slightly peppery breakfast sausage. Break up a package of Jimmy Dean sausage or something similar, or chop up some Jimmy Dean sausage links and generously cover the egg casserole so that it is evenly distributed.
I like the Jimmy Dean sausage, links or patties, because they have just the right amount of pepper to add seasoning to the dish. If you don’t have Jimmy Dean sausage to work with, then you certainly can use plain ground pork. I suggest adding a good amount of black pepper and a bit of salt to it.
What are some other suggestions for things to add to the egg bake?
An egg casserole is merely a blank canvas upon which a wide range of flavor profiles can be painted. Feel free to let the creativity flow (or the necessity of whatever you have available) help guide you.
A few variations that work well:
You can make it “Denver” style by using little cubes of ham, green pepper, and onions. Or make it as seafood style egg bake with some cut up chunks of shrimp, or even a bit of crab meat if you want.
Go full veggie, and lower fat and cholesterol, by just using some vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, red, green, and yellow peppers, any type of squash like zucchini works great too.
How do I reheat an egg casserole?
You don’t need a lot of time or heat to bring your egg casserole back to life. Baking at 250-275 F for about 15 or 20 minutes will do the trick without drying it out.
It is actually good the next day cold right out of the fridge as well.
You can keep it in the fridge, properly sealed, for about 3 to 5 days. You can also freeze some slices and save them to reheat in an oven or microwave. The microwave is less ideal because it does change the texture of the eggs, but when time is at a premium and you just want something easy to heat and eat, then that will never be an issue.
Do you recommend any sauces on an egg casserole?
Everything goes great with eggs, and of course you can do a variety of sauces. A sauce is a great way to add another level of flavors to it.
A simple béchamel style gravy like you use on breakfast biscuits is always a great option. Béchamel is simple equal parts butter and flour which you heat and stir together until they are smooth, then slowly add milk or cream to make the sauce and add a pinch of salt and pepper to season.
More delicious brunch recipes!
- Cinnamon Pecan Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Turkey Sausage Breakfast Pizza
- Overnight Ham & Vegetable Egg Bake
- Rhubarb Streusel Muffins
- Caramel Apple Pecan Monkey Bread
- Frozen Bellini
Overnight Sausage Egg Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. pork sausage
- 4 c. cubed day old bread
- 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- 10 eggs slightly beaten
- 4 c. milk
- 1 tsp. dry mustard
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook and drain the pork sausage.
- Meanwhile, place the cubed bread in well-buttered 9×13 pan. Sprinkle with cheese.
- In a medium bowl combine the remaining ingredients and pour evenly over bread and cheese. Sprinkle with sausage and cover and chill overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325°. Bake uncovered for one hour or until the center is no longer jiggly. (Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.)
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with some optional chopped parsley or chives.
Laila says
Used brioche cinnamon bread and fork in the road sausage really good
Danielle Green says
That sounds amazing!
Katie says
I came across a recipe on TikTok that was almost exactly the same. However, I changed a few things. Since my husband does not like mustard, I omitted the dry mustard, and used garlic powder, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence instead. I cooked it until it was no longer jiggly, like the recipe called for (60 minutes). However, the eggs were still too soft. I think, if I use this recipe again, I’ll either cook it longer, or use a different recipe altogether.
Julie says
I added green peppers and onions and it was so good. Love that I could make it the night before!
Alison LaFortune says
Yum– the sausage & cheddar cheese! This was huge hit with my family.
Diedre says
Served my sausage on the side. Used a casserole dish with lid. Ingredients changes: Reduced mustard to 1/4 tsp and added 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, cumin, dried cilantro, and 1/2 tsp chili powder. Changed milk to 2-1/2 cups and added 1/2 cup heavy cream. Used 1/4 cup herbed goat cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1-4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Topped casserole with 4oz can of chopped green chilies. Chilled overnight. Served with butterscotch pecan monkey bread, fruit bowl and mango mimosas! Delish!
Julie says
Everybody loved this at my house!
Bev says
Made this last night for breakfast this morning. Used venison sausage and added a pinch of cinnamon. It baked up beautifully and tasted great. This recipe is a keeper.
Danielle Green says
Oooo, I have venison in the freezer I will need to try with this. That sounds amazing!
marvis morrison says
How much cinnamon did you use?
Malinda says
This is my favorite way to feed breakfast to a large crowd!! It will be perfect for Christmas morning!
Julie says
This will be perfect over the holidays for us! Easy morning breakfast that we can throw in to bake and not spend hours in the kitchen. Thanks for the recipe!
Megan says
This was the perfect recipe to use when we had guests staying with us. I made it ahead of time so I could just pop it in the oven in the morning with no fuss. Everyone loved it! Great recipe!