So I’ve been a mother for 6 years and 4 months now and I’ve never had breakfast in bed. As time goes on, I’m pretty okay with that–I love, love, love my husband, but most of you know about my egg aversion issues (by the way, after Sara posted her egg-blowing tutorial, my brain recovered a horrible repressed memory from a 4-H activity when I was 10 and I blew out an egg for the first time and then promptly lost my lunch) and breakfast in bed usually involves eggs and eggs really aren’t his forte.
But for all you ladies who would love breakfast in bed, I think you should email this post to your significant others. Or create an anonymous email address to send the link to plant the idea in their brains. And maybe the anonymous email should include that this recipe needs to be assembled the night before, so you would also need a People magazine, a pedicure, and dinner alone on Saturday night while he whips this together. Just sayin’.
This recipe is beyond easy. Minimal chopping. Pre-cut potatoes. Incredibly delicious (seriously, when our family ate this for the first time, my pickiest eater, who is also a potato-hater, yelled, “THIS IS AWESOME!”) and, like I said, can be made the night before and then popped into the oven in the morning.
You’ll need Southern/country-style hash brown potatoes (the cubes, not the shreds), eggs, milk, bacon, green onions, pepper jack cheese (I promise, this doesn’t come out too spicy), cheddar cheese, and a little salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the bacon. All of it. The whole package. This is how you know things can’t go wrong. You can either cook it in the oven or on the stove top; the oven is my favorite way to cook bacon, but you’re going to be using the bacon drippings a little later, so if you’d rather just do it all in one pan, that’s up to you.
While the bacon is cooking, place the potatoes in a 9×13″ or a deep-dish 9″ pie plate. 
Mix together the cheeses and sprinkle those on top of the potatoes. 
When the bacon is done, place it on a paper towel to drain and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Cook the chopped green onions in the drippings over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until they’re tender and fragrant. Spread them on top of the cheese mixture.
Crumble the bacon and sprinkle that on top of the green onions. 
Um, in case you guys ever doubted, I love bacon so much. 
Look at it?! How could you not love it? Carly, you know I’m talking to you.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, and a little salt and pepper. 
If things are going to get tricky, this is where because you don’t really know how salty the bacon and cheese are and you can’t taste the mixture. But I think about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt is probably good (you can always add more later) and about 10 turns of freshly ground black pepper.
Whisking constantly, pour the egg/milk mixture all over the potatoes and bacon.
Cover it up and refrigerate it overnight (or, if you’re making breakfast for dinner, do this first thing in the morning and then it will be ready by dinner time).
When you’re ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 350. Bake it up, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly but not burned. Remove from the oven and let it stand for about 15 minutes (if you cut into it sooner, it will be a little runny and icky looking). Serve with fresh fruit, orange juice, a jelly jar full of flowers from the yard, and lots of hugs and kisses. Serves 6-8.
Easy Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole
Recipe by Our Best Bites
4 c. Southern/country-style hash browns (cubes), completely thawed (if they’re not thawed, they won’t cook correctly)
1 12-oz. package bacon
1 1/2 c. pepper jack cheese
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 eggs
1 c. milk*
about 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
about 10 turns freshly ground black pepper
*For high altitudes, reduce milk to 2/3 cup and sauté the potatoes in rendered bacon grease until partially cooked before baking.
Begin cooking bacon. While the bacon is cooking, place the potatoes in a 9×13″ baking dish. Mix the cheeses together and sprinkle it over the potatoes. When the bacon is done cooking, drain it on a paper towel and reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Cook the onions in the drippings for 2-3 minutes or until they’re tender and fragrant. Spread the onions over the cheese mixture and then sprinkle everything with the crumbled bacon. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and, whisking constantly, pour the egg mixture evenly over the potato mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for 7-8 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly but not brown. Allow to stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Serve with fresh fruit.
Boise Fans! Sara will be doing book signings in your area this week!
Deseret Book on Eagle Road (see map here). This Friday, 5-7 pm
This Saturday (5/7), Nampa Costco, 12Â noon – 1:30pm
Questions & Reviews
You guys have the cutest dishes and accessories. I really love the red scalloped baking dish. Where did you get it?
Addison, Target is the most evil place in the universe when you’re pinching your pennies, especially if you love cute dishes. I got that dish at Target around Valentine’s Day for 9.99.
This looks SOOO delicious!! I think I’ll make it this weekend for Saturday Breakfast!
If I want to bake two of these casseroles at the same time how long should I leave them in? I love your recipes! Best Bites is my all time favorite website!!! Thanks girls!!!
Awww, thanks, Traci!! 🙂 You could bake two at the same time and not have to worry about adjusting the time at all.
so how many would you say this fabulous recipe would serve? just one very special mother? or a room full of fabulous women? :o)
Definitely a room full of fabulous women–probably 6-8 normal appetites.
Kate… you remind me of some friends of mine who were vegetarians… EXCEPT for bacon! LOL! We always have bacon in the fridge; I do a whole package in the oven, then my teenager heats up a couple of slices (couple… ha ha ha) in the microwave in the morning (often with your most-awesome blueberry muffins that I keep in the freezer). Anyway, due to an egg-issue myself around the 4th grade, they aren’t my favorite either, but I’ll give this a try… bacon, taters & cheese… what’s to go wrong?!
Oh. My. Goodness.
I’m making this as soon as possible! Or hubby is… YUM!!!!
do you think that someone who only likes bacon A LITTLE would find the bacon overpowering? sometimes I dont like how salty bacon is so I didnt know if having all of that would be too much and take away from the dish (for me). but it looks like the casserole is pretty thick so maybe only a thin layer of bacon wouldn’t be too bad. also, is this a type of thing that would be freezer friendly? and this brings me to my other question — is bacon an okay thing to freeze (like just the bacon). I’m young and not married yet so a lot of food items I buy go bad before I’m able to use them
I think if you only like bacon a little, I would either bake it in a 9×13″ dish to spread it out a little more or cut back on it and use something like smoked paprika (you should be able to find it in the spice aisle) to help make up some of the flavor that you’re losing. But yeah, it is a thick casserole and when it comes down to it, you’re really not getting that much. You could also look for a low-sodium bacon if the salt bothers you.
You can definitely freeze this. And yes, you can freeze bacon, too–I do it all the time when I find it on sale! 🙂
After frozen, how would you reccommend reheating single servings? what about the whole dish?
i <3 bacon!!! i can't wait to try this recipe!!
Your recipe says to refrigerate overnight. Does it HAVE to refrigerate all night? Can I whip it up and stick it in the oven right away or will it not turn out right?
Carrie–It definitely does better when it sits for a little while; the potatoes soak in some of the moisture. But worst case scenario, it would still be good if you stuck it straight in the oven (if you can, try to let it sit for a little while at least, just to let things settle and redistribute).
Thank you for the help! Can’t wait.
How many portions does this make….how many will it feed?
Joan, it really depends on who’s eating. I have no doubt that 2 teenage boys could polish it off themselves. 🙂 I would say roughly 6-8 normal person servings.
Oooo! I’m going to try this! I actually get to be with my mother on Mother’s day this year! Thanks!
I’m a HUGE fan of breakfast casseroles so this one is a must-make – thanks!
I have never had good luck with breakfast casseroles. But I have had good luck with everything I have tried from yall’s site so I am sure this one will turn out great when I make it!
Yum, I love bacon, too. And I love a good brinner (breakfast for dinner) recipe! What if I wanted to make it in a 9×13 casserole dish? Just a bit more of all of the ingredients or is the recipe as it is now enough to fill a casserole dish?
Anna, you could totally do it the way it is in a 9×13″ dish, no need to change any of the proportions. I just like it in a smaller dish because then every little bit of the top has bacon on it. 🙂
I think that if you bake it in a 9×13, though, you would need to cook it for a lot less time, and it wouldn’t be as thick. A 9 inch pie plate has almost half the area of a 9×13 pan. It would be kind of like baking a cake in a 9×13 when it’s really meant for an 8×8 (which has almost the same area as a 9 inch pie plate).
i wonder if this would work if I did it in the crock pot?
I’ve made a very similar dish, but with the meat (sausage, ham or bacon) on the bottom layer of the pan, and I brown the hash browns in oil prior to putting them in the baking dish. This gives the potatoes a great flavor 🙂
I make this at home and the family LOVES it, but instead of bacon….I used little bits of ham and instead of the scallions on top…I use Potatoes O’Brien (frozen potatoes with bits of peppers & onions. NUMMY NUMMY!!!!
Fresh potatoes work too right?
Yep–check out the two comments above you. 🙂
Will this work with shredded hashbrowns too? I don’t like to bite into potato chunks.
Heather, I’m usually partial to the shredded ones myself, but I really like the bigger pieces here. HOWEVER, I’m sure you could use the shreds if you want.
Will this work with potatoes diced small? I have an extra bag of potatoes left over and I need to use them up. How many potatoes do you think it’d take?
Jen, you could, I think you’d just need to parboil them a little first. As far as how many you’d need, I have no idea on numbers, but you’d need 20 ounces.
YUMMY!!!! Can this be done with real potatoes cut into chunks and not the frozen kind? The frozen chunks are really hard to find in a one store town!!
Karalee–I’m sure you could, you might just need to partially cook them first (either parboil or underbake them). I think if you tried doing raw potatoes, they’d take too long.
I’ve done similar dishes with broken up frozen french fries (couldn’t find the diced at the store) if the potatoes are still frozen it just takes a little longer in the oven, but its better if you give them a chance to thaw for a day in the fridge first.
This looks sublime! Perfect for a Mother’s Day Brunch!
I am so excited! I have been so hungry for a breakfast casserole but am trying to stay away from bread. This is perfect!! Thank you SO much!
Yum! We love breakfast food for dinner so I will be adding this to my menu for this upcoming week. Thanks, you ladies are great!
I think I will be taking your advice and emailing this to the hubs! I LOVE breakfast casseroles and this looks right up my alley. I love eggs and pretty much any combination of eggs, cheese, breakfast meat and potatoes. 🙂
I’m totally making this for myself…with sausage. Haha. Sorry, not a bacon lover here either. But everything else in it makes me want to drool!
I’m guess that’s the reason why my potato dishes always turn out with a funny consistancy, I never thaw the potatoes first…good to know!
Happy Mother’s Day Kate & Sara! Thanks for making the cooking lives of even us non-mom’s tastier!
Yummity Yum Yum Yum Yum. That is all 🙂
Ok this looks like a keeper~ Has anyone tried this with sausage? I’ve got a killer wheat sausage recipe and would love to try it with this. Bacon will be totally wonderful, just trying to find different ways to sneak wheat into my family’s diet.
I haven’t tried it with sausage, but I bet it would be good! Just different. 🙂
oh this looks wonderful! it’s on my list now of things to try! thanks for sharing this!
This looks so good! Just a quick question: Will the potatoes thaw while preparing the other ingredients and while waiting in the refrigerator before baking? Or should I thaw them before I start preparation?
Also, do you know how to make the cute little degrees symbol after your temperature settings (i.e., 350º)? Alt 167. That’s it. Just thought I’d share.
Missy–AWESOME!! Thanks so much for the info! 🙂
As far as the potatoes go, they probably won’t thaw in time–I’d stick them in the fridge a day or two before you plan on making this (or gasp, leave them on the counter for a few hours).
never knew that! awesome!!!