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
This has become a family favorite. MY sister-in-law made it a couple of years ago and I fell in love, so now I make it every New Year’s morning (and, of course, other “special” occasions). Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Has anyone tried making this in muffin tins? Would it work?
I know this recipe was posted a few years ago, but my family LOVES it. When we have breakfast for dinner, I used to do pancakes/waffles, eggs, bacon, hash browns separately and it was a lot of work and a big pain. This is so easy and it combines the eggs, bacon, hash browns and other yummy things all together in one dish. This is such a winner. Thank you!
Can I use shredded hashbrowns for this recipe?
Why do you have to refrigerate overnight?
Awesome! Made as directed for an extended family gathering today and everyone LOVED it! I expect it would be easy to tweak with another meat or add’l veggies. Thanks!
Can I use another cheese besides the pepper jack?
The bacon casserole turned out great! I used fresh potatoes, didn’t have to soak over night and used 10 eggs and it was a hit!
I have a large family, so I’ll need to double this! How long should I cook this in a 9×13 with double ingredients??
Can I bake this in a store bought throw away pie pan?
I made this for breakfast this weekend. I have tried and tried to find a breakfast casserole that I LOVE. I’ve made many over the years and while they are all ok, I have yet to find one that can be a “go-to”. That has all changed. Even my “I hate breakfast casserole” husband liked this. I will say that the kids claimed it was spicey, but I just noticed a pleasant heat from it. That being said, I will likely put in more cheddar than pepper jack next time for their sake. I also think I would prefer it to be just a bit more eggy. So I am thinking of adding an extra egg or two into it next time. I had NO problems with it being watery/soggy at all. In fact, it was all pleasantly browned on the bottom and edges. Possibly those that are having issue with it didn’t have their potatoes all the way thawed? In any case, I LOVE this casserole and it is what we will be eating on Christmas morning. Thanks for another hit!!
A lady I know brought this casserole to church for a breakfast. It was so good, she gave me the recipe. I can’t wait to try it myself. Thanks for the recipe.
I would use sweet onions instead of green onions and add red and green peppers to add color to the casserole.
I made this for Fathers Day weekend this morning and the eggs were still very runny and not cooked all the way. I had to stick this back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes. I used the pie pan so maybe that had something to do with it? Other than that it was a great recipe and my husband loved it.
I have to say that I made this for the Mother’s Day brunch this year, and it was a huge hit! My family loved it, and so did I!! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Can I bake this in a non-stick pan? If so, how much should I adjust the temp?
You should be able to (as long as it’s oven-safe, of course); no need to adjust the temp. Hope that helps! 🙂
Kate, do you think this would be okay if made a couple of days ahead of time? I’m wanting to make it for my parents this weekend but will need to prep it Thursday! Will it have sogginess issues do you think? I’m excited to make it! Love all that bacon. Thanks!
I am going to make this for Sunday morning. First of all, what size is the lovely dish your made your casserole in? What do you thin about using the pre-cooked bacon? Do you think I could add spinach and/or fresh mushroons? And what could I sub for pepper jack cheese?
I made this and it was delish! I have never really liked egg casserole things. The only issue I had was that the potatoes were not cooked thru and my potatoes were completely thawed for the recipe. Next time I would par cook potatoes. This reheated well also.