Homemade Sausage Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Hash brown and sausage breakfast casserole will see you through your toughest mornings when another bowl of cereal just won’t do. The best part is the hash browns — they’ll stay nice and toasty even after combining with the cheese, sausage, and eggs AND the leftovers are pretty fantastic. 

For more breakfast casserole ideas, try out my posts for Slow Cooker Loaded Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole, Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast Casserole, and Blueberry Doughnut French Toast Casserole. 

I’ve mentioned before that I draw inspiration from everywhere for my recipes. From my friends’ gardens, (hence my Southwest Stuffed Poblano Peppers recipe) to my mom (Slow Cooker Beef Roast) and from Italy (Ravioli Alfredo Bake with Spinach and Bacon) to my brother-in-law. What’s that you say? You weren’t expecting me to say my brother-in-law? Me either! 

He recently came to one of our family gatherings raving about a sausage breakfast casserole recipe he had made for a Sunday brunch and he told me that the hash browns retained their crispness because he first cooked them on a sheet pan to ensure they got nice and crispy before adding the rest of the ingredients. Of course, I had to try this myself. So try it I did — the very next week. It’s now a new family favorite!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Eggs – Use large eggs. If you have medium, you might want to add 9 eggs instead of 8 to be sure you have the right amount of egg.

Salt – Any kind of salt will work. I prefer fine sea salt.

Cracked Black Pepper – “Cracking” your pepper just means to grind it fresh. If you don’t have peppercorns to grind, you can use any ground pepper you have on hand.

Frozen Hash Browns – Any brand of frozen hash browns will do here. Be sure to thaw them first.

Oil – I use canola or vegetable oil.

Ground Breakfast Sausage – Pick your favorite sausage with your favorite seasoning blend to use here. If you don’t have ground, you can use links and take the casings off before browning or crumble sausage patties.

Shredded Cheese – And now for the best part – cheese! I prefer to use mozzarella, cheddar, pepper jack, or a blend of the three. Pre-packaged, store bought is okay here but if you grate your own, you won’t regret it!

Why This Recipe Works 

Sheet pan — You simply must make these hash browns in a sheet pan. That is KEY to their cripiness and therefore the key to a solid foundation for this sausage and hashbrown breakfast casserole. A regular baking dish can be used, but your shredded hash browns won’t crisp up quite as nicely.

Sausage crumbles — You really want the sausage mixed up into this breakfast casserole, so be sure to not skip this step or you might get mouthfuls of casserole with zero sausage. And that would be sad. 

Easy ingredients — I start with frozen hash browns and it doesn’t get any harder than that, ingredients-wise. If you have frozen hash browns then you probably also have everything else you’ll need. 

Perfect for a crowd — One of the reasons this is such a great recipe is that it is perfect for holiday mornings and special occasions. This sausage breakfast casserole with hash browns recipe feeds 8, but it’s super easy to double it if you have some extra guests!

How to Make Hashbrown and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

As I mentioned, the key to this sausage breakfast casserole is all in making the potatoes nice and crispy before adding them to the casserole dish. 

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and grease a large sheet pan. Spread the thawed, frozen hash browns out on the pan, then toss them with oil, salt, and pepper and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes while you turn your attention to the eggs and sausage mixture.
2. When the hashbrowns are done cooking, turn the oven down to 350 degrees. 
3. Next, whisk together the eggs, salt, and pepper, and set aside. Then, in a skillet over medium-high heat, saute the sausage and break it up as it cooks so that you have small crumbles. When there is no more pink sausage, you can take it off the burner, it’s done cooking. 
4. Add the cooked hash browns to a greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Stir in half of the egg mixture and a ½ a cup of the cheese of your choice (I recommend cheddar cheese or pepperjack!). Add the rest of the hash browns on top of the eggs, along with the cooked sausage, then pour over the rest of the eggs and finish by sprinkling the remaining cheese on top. 
5. Cover the dish with foil (being careful not to let the foil touch the cheese) and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through and the cheese is all melted. Cool slightly and serve.

What to Pair with Hash Browns? 

Although this sausage and hashbrown breakfast casserole is really great all on its own, if you want to round it out a bit or are serving it to guests as a larger breakfast or brunch then these side dishes will be great to serve with this breakfast casserole. 

• I love a good fruit salad with a breakfast casserole recipe or served at brunch. A little bit of sweet with a lot of healthy really makes me feel like I’ve got a well-rounded breakfast to start my day. Try a fruit salad or a fruit dip with this casserole. 
• If you’d prefer to drink your fruit, try a refreshing berry smoothie on the side. My kids love helping me prepare (and drink) a smoothie. 
• If you have a crowd, consider also putting out a plate of various muffins from which your guests can choose. 
• And, for kids who may not like the hashbrown casserole (I know some can be picky about that kind of “mixed together” food) offer pancakes or breakfast bars. 
• Another fun brunch item for kids (and adults too) is a drink bar. Fill it with your favorite juices in fun glass containers, or serve one or more of these fruity/sweet fancy milk drinks.

Expert Tips 

I’ve made this hashbrown breakfast casserole recipe so many times I could probably do it with my eyes closed. Don’t worry! I’m about to pass on my best tricks to you, friend.

• Because the eggs will cook a whole lot quicker than the sausage, you should cook the breakfast sausage all the way through before adding to the sausage breakfast casserole with the eggs and putting into the oven. 
• Consider adding chopped bell peppers and onions to your casserole! My mother always did this and it’s an easy way to take this yummy dish to the next level!
• This breakfast casserole is best served right out of the oven or soon thereafter. If you have a whole lot of chaos in your kitchen (been there), you can always cook it a couple hours ahead of time and then let it warm up for a few minutes in the oven right before serving. 
• Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

More Tasty Recipes

• Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Overnight French Toast Casserole
• Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
• Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
• Japanese Souffle Pancakes
• Sheet Pan Breakfast
• Bacon in the Oven
• Best Belgian Waffles

Did you make this sausage breakfast casserole recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!