If breakfast had a favorite child, it'd be this hash brown breakfast casserole with bacon. Crispy bacon, melty cheddar, pepper jack with just enough spicy attitude to start the day right, and golden hash browns all piled into one pan that's equally at home on Christmas morning or a random weekday when everyone suddenly expects a hot breakfast.
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🥰 Is this breakfast casserole recipe for you?
This recipe is perfect if you:
- Want a make-ahead breakfast that lets you spend more time drinking coffee than standing over a skillet.
- Need a hearty breakfast for Christmas morning, weekend guests, potlucks, or hungry teenagers who appear in the kitchen like they smelled bacon from three counties away.
- Love crispy-edged hash browns baked into a creamy, cheesy casserole instead of juggling eggs, bacon, and potatoes in three different pans.
- Appreciate leftovers that reheat beautifully, making tomorrow's breakfast just as easy as today's.
There are only a couple of steps and minimal fuss, so you might even be able to enjoy your morning coffee while it's still hot for once.
🧾 Ingredients
Grab the bacon, hash browns, eggs, and cheese because breakfast is about to become everyone's favorite meal of the day.
- Frozen hash brown potatoes: Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and drain any excess liquid if you have time.
- Bell peppers: I usually use a mix but green, red, yellow, or orange work just fine if that's what's hanging out in the crisper drawer.
- Bacon: Cook it until it's crisp because floppy bacon has no business in a casserole.
- Cottage cheese: Low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese will water down the casserole, so choose regular cottage cheese-it should have a 4% fat content.
- Cheddar cheese: Sharp cheddar brings that classic cheesy goodness.
- Pepper Jack cheese: Adds a little kick without setting anyone's eyebrows on fire.
- Onions: Sweet onions are my favorite, but use whatever you've got. Breakfast is no place for unnecessary grocery trips.
- Eggs: They hold the whole thing together and provide protein.
- Salt and black pepper: Season to taste. The bacon adds plenty of salt, so go easy until you've had a bite.
Be sure to download the free printable hashbrown breakfast casserole kitchen cheat sheet. It's got extra tips, faqs, variations, and more.
📖 Recipe
Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole with Bacon
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound bacon, diced
- 1 ½ cups onion, chopped
- 1 cup bell pepper, diced
- 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1-½ cups 4% cottage cheese
- 1-¼ cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Grease a 13x9-inch pan or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cook bacon over medium heat until bacon is about halfway done.
- Add onions.
- Continue to cook bacon and onions until bacon is crisp.
- Drain the fat.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
- Stir in bacon mixture.
- Spoon into the prepared 13x9-inch baking dish.
- Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes, or until it registers 160℉ on an instant read thermometer poked into the center.
- Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- Coat the sides and bottom of your casserole dish with non-stick spray. Otherwise, the potatoes, eggs, and cheese will stick.
- Low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese will water down the casserole, so choose regular cottage cheese-it should have a 4% fat content.
- It's never a good idea to put an ice-cold casserole dish into a piping-hot oven. If you prep this cheesy breakfast casserole in advance, pull the dish out of the fridge to warm up a bit while the oven preheats.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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🔪 How to make hash brown breakfast casserole with bacon
You can make this easy breakfast casserole in advance! Assemble the casserole and cover it tightly. Refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to three months.
- Saute the bacon and onions until cooked.
- Mix the cheeses, eggs, potatoes, and peppers.
- Add the bacon and onions to the egg mixture.
- Spread in a greased dish and bake while you doom scroll social media.
😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)
🥓 The casserole is watery.
Did you use the potatoes frozen? Frozen hash browns can release extra moisture as they bake. It's still delicious, but if you want cleaner slices, let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.
🥓 The center is still jiggly.
Every oven has a personality. Give it another 5 to 10 minutes and check again. The center should be set, and about 160F degrees, not auditioning to become breakfast pudding.
🥓 The top is getting too brown.
Loosely cover the casserole with foil for the rest of the baking time. No one likes breakfast with a side of charcoal.
🥓 The leftovers seem dry.
Warm individual servings in the microwave with a damp paper towel over the top to help hold in moisture.
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Still wondering about something? Drop your question in the comments. I actually read them.
Nope! You can put them straight into the mixing bowl frozen, which is one less thing to have to remember before coffee. You may need to add 10 minutes to cooking time.
Sure can. Brown and drain a pound of breakfast sausage, then use it in place of the bacon.
Sure. Simply omit the bacon or use your favorite breakfast meat substitute.
None of the ingredients I used have gluten in them. Be sure to read your ingredients to make sure - especially if you use pre-shredded cheese.
⏲️ Marye's time saving hacks -
Don't like chopping? Use a bag of frozen peppers and pre-diced onions to speed up prep. Simply toss the frozen veggies into the bowl with the potatoes, and cook the onions with the bacon as written.
📚 More easy breakfast casserole recipes
🏡 One thing I really like about breakfast casseroles is that they are great for those family potlucks and brunches that happen throughout the year. Add to that the ability to make a week's worth of breakfasts in an hour or two and... well, you see my point?
Martha says
I’d love to make this in advance and freeze it but am concerned about the cooked bacon’s texture after freezing. Will the casserole compare favorably with unfrozen?