Portions: 6 servings Calories: 484kcal |
This hearty breakfast casserole recipe with bread combines vegetables, lots of cheese, eggs, and day-old bread in a simple breakfast or brunch dish. The best part is how easy it is to make, and that I include instructions for refrigerating and reheating leftovers.
Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation
Day-old bread breakfast casserole.
Why I ❤️ it
If you happen to have day-old bread, there's no need to throw them away, you can make it into an amazing bread "flan", a French toast casserole, or a scrumptious breakfast casserole recipe easy enough for everyday mornings, and with enough flavor for weekend brunches with guests.
We often have brunch on weekends at home since we tend to get up much later than on weekdays. This is the perfect dish to serve. It doesn't require a lot of work and served with some salad it will sustain you for many hours. You can make it into a sausage breakfast casserole with just a tiny change, but it is also good enough in a meatless version.
Stale bread casserole recipe
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Utensils and tools
- Non-stick baking pan (10 inch diameter [25 cm diameter]) or lasagna baking dish
- Large mixing bowl
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk (or skim)
- 4 large eggs (medium)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- 1 day-old or stale baguette, cut into ½" [1.5 cm] slices or cubes
- 2 tablespoons butter or cooking spray for greasing pan
- 1½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- 1 stalk of leek, cut into slices or a small red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup chopped turkey ham or chicken sausage
- 1 cup broccoli, cut into small florets
Preparation
Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.
Step 1: Mix
Preheat the oven to 350 °F [175 ºC]. Grease the baking pan with the butter.
Step 2: Prepare the mold
In a bowl mix milk, eggs, salt, and pepper. Whisk until it is mixed thoroughly. Mix in bread cubes or slices, stir, and let it rest 15 minutes for the bread to absorb the mixture of eggs and milk.
Step 3: Add the vegetables
Combine the two kinds of cheese together. Add 1 ¼ cup of the cheeses, bell pepper, leek and, ham or sausage to the bread and egg mixture, mix well. Pour the bread mixture into the baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
Step 4: Bake
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven, remove the aluminum foil and top with the broccoli, and sprinkle the rest of the cheese. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts [5-10 mins].
Step 5: Serving
Remove from the oven, loosen the edge with a knife and let it rest for a couple of minutes before removing it from the pan. Serve warm.
Variations
You can make this with pork sausage instead of turkey ham by removing 2 sausages from the casing, and browning the sausage meat in a skillet. Remove any excess grease, and add the cooked sausage when the recipe calls for adding the turkey ham.
Another option is adding bacon bits. You can chop 4 slices of bacon and brown the manner described above.
You can make a meatless – albeit not vegan – version by leaving out the ham or sausage. Add some extra veggies in that case.
Other veggies you can add is a small portion of minced blanched spinach, chopped mushrooms, blanched green beans, peas, or sweet corn.
Top tips
I like my broccoli crispy, if you want yours softer, you may cover it with aluminum foil the next time you return to the oven; for soft broccoli, used blanched broccoli, or leftovers if you have from a previous meal.
To freeze or refrigerate, place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper right on top of the leftover and cover tightly with a lid or more plastic wrap. This will help prevent freezer burning and drying out during storage.
Consider doubling the ingredients and freezing an unbaked one for another day, perfect to pop in the oven and have a quick breakfast with no fuss. See freezing instructions above.
To reheat, do so in the microwave for 2 minutes while still covered.
Serving suggestions
My favorite way to serve this is with some slices of avocado, or some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. You can also serve it along with sausages and fried eggs for a larger meal.
You may want to make some hot sauce available to those who partake.
Nutritional information
Calories: 484kcal - Carbohydrates: 40g - Protein: 21g - Fat: 26g - Saturated Fat: 14g - Cholesterol: 195mg - Sodium: 1116mg - Potassium: 337mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 11g - Vitamin A: 1165IU - Vitamin C: 17.3mg - Calcium: 465mg - Iron: 2.5mg
More stale bread recipes
See more: casserole recipes breakfast recipes day-old bread recipes
FAQs
What if I don't have day-old bread?
You can use fresh bread and pop it in the oven while it preheats, once the oven reaches temperature, remove the bread from the oven and let it come to room temperature before slicing or dicing.
How long do breakfast casseroles last in the fridge?
It should be consumed within 48 hours. If you want to save the leftovers for longer, it would be best to freeze them for safety.
What is the best way to freeze casseroles?
To prevent them from drying out or getting freezer burns, the best way to freeze casseroles is to put a layer of plastic film on contact with the top layer, and then cover it with an airtight lid. You can use parchment paper instead of plastic film too.
How do you freeze a casserole without freezer burn?
To prevent freezer burns, the casserole should have minimum to no contact with air. I suggest covering it with a layer of plastic film or parchment paper touching the top of the casserole, then a an airtight lid.
How long can you eat egg casserole?
An egg casserole is best consumed within 2 hours if kept at room temperature, 2 days if refrigerated, and 2 weeks if frozen.
Print card
This is just a printer-friendly summary, some useful details are found in the recipe above.
Day-Old Bread and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (whole or skim)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- 1 day-old baguette cut into ½" [1.5 cm] slices
- 2 tablespoon butter for greasing pan
- 2½ cup sharp Cheddar cheese divided
- 1½ cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 1 stalk of leek cut into slices
- ½ cup turkey ham or chicken sausage, chopped
- 1 cup broccoli cut into small florets
Instructions
Step 1: Mix
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F [175 ºC]. Grease the baking pan with the butter.
Step 2: Prepare the mold
- In a bowl mix milk, eggs, salt, and pepper. Whisk until it is mixed thoroughly. Mix in bread cubes or slices, stir, and let it rest 15 minutes for the bread to absorb the mixture of eggs and milk.
Step 3: Add the vegetables
- Combine the two kinds of cheese together. Add 1 ¼ cup of the cheeses, bell pepper, leek and, ham or sausage to the bread and egg mixture, mix well. Pour the bread mixture into the baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
Step 4: Bake
- Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven, remove the aluminum foil and top with the broccoli, and sprinkle the rest of the cheese. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts [5-10 mins].
Step 5: Serving
- Remove from the oven, loosen the edge with a knife and let it rest for a couple of minutes before removing it from the pan. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
By , published Feb 22, 2013 on Tia Clara
Mayra
I love the idea. I am definitely going to trying
Suzanne Perazzini
What a great way to use up day-old bread! My grandmother and mother always made bread and butter pudding with leftover bread. Once upon a time, nothing was thrown out unless absolutely necessary. We are such a throw-away society now.
It's great to have a recipe tester right in the house. I have two but sometimes their opinions differ, which is confusing.
Sandra Paez
Yum yum Tia Clara!! This dish sounds & looks delish!! Thanks for sharing 😉