California Breakfast Casserole
Breakfasts can be crazy for any family, so finding an easy healthy recipe that can be prepped the night before and still taste great can make mornings run a little smoother.
This easy, healthy breakfast casserole is quick to throw together the night before and tastes great whether it’s hot from the oven, or cut into slices and taken to-go.
I call this recipe a California Breakfast Casserole because of the avocado, sweet potatoes, and roasted tomatoes we add to it, and it tastes great with a dollop of salsa or guacamole on top.
I love how healthy and hearty this recipe is, really filling the kids up until lunch time with lots of nutrients and protein. While I do add some bread cubes for a great texture, this breakfast avoids the “carb heavy” trappings of most make-ahead breakfasts.
First, start off by browning your sausage meat. Depending on how much meat you want each serving to contain, you can use anywhere from half a pound to a full pound of sausage. (I used the type traditionally purchased at Thanksgiving for stuffing, but chopped up sausages would also work.)
While the sausage is cooking, assemble the rest of your breakfast casserole ingredients:
- eggs
- cheese
- avocado
- roasted tomatoes
- bread cubes
- sweet potatoes
Start with a layer of cubed, raw sweet potatoes along the bottom. I peeled two medium-sized sweet potatoes to create a firm “base” for this breakfast casserole and they cooked perfectly. You could also use slices or cubes of white potato, but I like the added nutrients offered by the sweet potatoes.
Next, take the sausage off of the heat and distribute it evenly overtop of the sweet potato. Ideally, it’s nice to allow the sausage to cool down a bit before moving on but since there will a couple more layers before you add the egg, it’s not a big deal if you’re in a rush.
Next, crush some roasted whole tomatoes over top of the sausages. You can potentially use raw tomatoes, but the roasted tomatoes add a bit of their own special flavour and take very little effort to make.
Top those tomatoes with a ripe avocado, or guacamole if you have some prepared.
Cover the avocado layer completely with bread cubes. Whisk together the eggs and cheese, and pour overtop of the bread cubes. Add additional eggs if you have dry spots, as the egg mixture will get soaked up quite a bit overnight.
Cover the whole breakfast casserole and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, before you do anything else, turn the oven to 350F and pop in the uncovered breakfast casserole. Go about your morning routine, and depending on your oven’s temperatures, in one to one and a half hours you will have a perfectly cooked breakfast casserole that your whole family will love, and will keep them satisfied throughout the morning.
(It’s a good idea to try out this recipe on the weekend to see how long your oven takes to cook it to your preferred consistency.)
I love making this easy healthy recipe for overnight breakfast casserole because it’s a guaranteed way to set my family up for success the next day. No matter what kind of morning shenanigans happen, breakfast is taken care of — all I have to do is serve.
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California Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 6-8 eggs
- 4 thick slices bread, cubed
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 lb ground sausage
- 1 avocado
- 6 roasted tomatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
Instructions
- Brown the sausage meat while preparing the tomatoes for roasting.
- Chop the sweet potatoes and bread cubes, shred the cheese, and remove the flesh from the avocado.
- This recipe is really a series of layers. Lay down the sweet potatoes first, completely covering the bottom of your casserole dish.
- Next, evenly distribute the browned sausage meat.
- Place the tomatoes on next, and squish with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Evenly place dollops of the avocado all over the tomato layer, before completely covering with bread cubes.
- Mix the eggs and cheese and pour over the entire casserole. Ensure that all bread cubes have been completely covered, and add extra eggs if necessary.
- Cover the whole casserole and set in fridge overnight.
- Bake uncovered at 350F the next morning for 1-1.5 hours until eggs are completely set. Plan on 1.5 hours the first time.
This is such a unique version of the typical breakfast casserole. Sounds yummy!
By the way, I’d love to have you post at my new blog hop—The Weekend Blog Hop at My Flagstaff Home (http://www.myflagstaffhome.com). It starts on Thursday evenings and goes through the weekend, if you’re interested.
Jennifer
This looks so easy and so delicious! Thanks for linking up with Tuesday Talk!
-Sarah (co-host) 🙂
Jennifer,
One of my favorites is breakfast casserole! Breakfast, lunch, dinner – it works for all! I’d love to try your recipe – Pinning!
Thank you for sharing it with us today at Brag About It!
~Laurie
This looks wonderful and so easy! Can’t wait to try it for a quick, easy breakfast.
Love how healthy it is but I did not like the taste of cooked avocado. I think next time I’ll wait to add the avocado until after the casserole is cooked,
I’m glad you tried it – sorry the avocado was disappointing!