This hash brown egg casserole is full of ham, veggies and cheese, all baked to perfection. The best breakfast option for a special occasion!
When I need to entertain a crowd in the mornings, I turn to breakfast recipes such as sausage casserole, red velvet waffles, tater tot breakfast casserole, french toast casserole and this cheesy baked egg dish.
The holidays are almost here, which means the entertaining season has begun! I host quite a few gatherings during the holidays, including cookie exchanges, kids holiday parties, and more. One occasion that sometimes gets overlooked is breakfast. I often have guests staying at my house and I want to be able to offer a quick yet satisfying meal in the morning. This hash brown egg casserole is perfect for entertaining. It’s a hearty dish filled with ham, veggies, eggs, hash browns and cheese. Best of all, it’s simple to make and serves a crowd!
Table of Contents
Hash Brown Egg Casserole Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need olive oil, ham, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, yellow onion, salt, black pepper, hash browns, eggs, heavy cream, milk, cheddar cheese and chives.
How Do You Make Hash Brown Egg Casserole?
Preheat the oven and coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan, then add the onions and peppers. Season the veggies with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until they’re soft. Place the vegetables, ham and hash browns in the prepared dish. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, salt and pepper. When the mixture is smooth, add the cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the ham and vegetables in the casserole dish. Bake until golden brown. Add a sprinkle of chives, then cut into squares and serve.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- To get a smooth egg mixture for this casserole, I typically crack my eggs into a bowl, and whisk until thoroughly blended. After the eggs have been beaten, I slowly add in the milk and cream, whisking as I go.
- You can use either fresh or frozen hash browns for this recipe. If you’re using frozen hash browns, you don’t need to thaw them, simply break them up a bit and add to the pan. Fresh hash browns are located in the egg section of most grocery stores.
- I typically use a ham steak in this recipe, but it’s also a great way to use leftover holiday ham.
- You can prepare your casserole up to 8 hours before you plan to bake it. Store it covered in the fridge, then when you bake it, add an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time.
Quick Tip
You can serve your casserole as-is, or top it with some sour cream, sliced avocado or even homemade pico de gallo for extra flavor.
Recipe FAQs
You do not need to thaw frozen hash browns for casserole. They will thaw as they bake in the casserole.
I like to pair my hash brown egg casserole with a fruit salad, such as winter fruit salad, berry fruit salad or tropical fruit salad.
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Flavor Variations
This recipe is great as is, but you can switch up some of the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Meat: No ham on hand? This recipe will also work with cooked bacon or breakfast sausage.
- Potatoes: Instead of hash browns, feel free to use other types of frozen potato products such as tater tots or diced potatoes.
- Cheese: Swap out the cheddar for other cheeses such as mozzarella, gouda, swiss cheese, fontina or colby jack.
- Vegetables: Instead of peppers and onions, you can use other veggies such as spinach, mushrooms, jalapenos or asparagus.
Whether you need a hearty breakfast on a Sunday, or something impressive to serve on Christmas morning, this casserole is sure to be a hit!
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Hash Brown Egg Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces ham diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and finely diced
- 1/2 cup yellow onion diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 20 ounces fresh or frozen hash browns
- 12 eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chives sliced
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9″x13″ baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and peppers, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened, 3-5 minutes.
- Place the cooked vegetables, ham and hash browns in the baking dish, stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until thoroughly blended. Add the cream, milk and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the cheese.
- Pour the egg mixture over the ham and vegetables in the pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Sprinkle with chives. Cut into squares and serve.
Notes
- To get a smooth egg mixture for this casserole, I typically crack my eggs into a bowl, and whisk until thoroughly blended. After the eggs have been beaten, I slowly add in the milk and cream, whisking as I go.
- You can use either fresh or frozen hash browns for this recipe. If you’re using frozen hash browns, you don’t need to thaw them, simply break them up a bit and add to the pan. Fresh hash browns are located in the egg section of most grocery stores.
Hello
There are several brands of Hash Browns on the market, what is your favorite one to use for this recipes.
Thanks for another good one…
I typically use Ore Ida!
Could you please specify a serving size with your nutritional information?
It’s for 1 1/2 cups.
can i use half and half?
That will work fine!
Loved this casserole. To serve I added a little salsa and sour cream to give it a little kick.
Hello,
Can you make this a day ahead and bake later?
Thanks
that should be fine!
Awesome recipe! One change is 8 oz. ham. Usual amount in store packages and is plenty. It also takes more than 10 minutes prep time if you use all fresh veggies and have to dice each one. Another change is using 3 peppers (medium size — red, green, yellow) since we love peppers!
I made it for a shower brunch and everyone loved it! So nice when people comment on your food and ask for the recipe.
I don’t have cream. Can I use the same amount of milk?
Yes that’s fine!
I love it. Make it all the tim
I usually do not submit a commit, this is an exception. I was looking for something different from my well over used breakfast casserole recipes that I had in my binder. I chose this one for two reasons. 1. I always have great success with other recipes that I have used from “Dinner at the Zoo” 2. I had all the ingredients available (a real plus). The only change that I made was to cut the recipe in half as 10 servings is way too much, and to add seven(7) eggs. Also I was using pre-diced ham and experience told that if I put the ham in as is, there would be a chance that the ham would water down the casserole as most pre-cooked hams have water added. I put the diced ham in a fry pan to cook to remove some of the added water, while I sliced the peppers and onions. I also added thawed diced hash browns (I like diced instead of shredded, personal choice) to the same fry pan after the ham was done, as frozen/thawed potatoes can also add unneeded moisture. This may sound like extra work in prep, it was not all that inconvenient to do, as I was not exactly cooking as much as removing some moisture. This is all of the changes to the recipe that I made. I also mixed all of the ingredients as the recipe directed , put in a 8×8 baking dish and come morning only had to POP it into the oven…a PERFECT breakfast, to start the New Year…..thank you”DInner at the Zoo”
This looks like a great recipe that I will be making this evening. That’s a great tip! About drawing out the moisture. I’m going to bake it in my cast iron skillet only cause it makes for a great pic. 🤣 Anyway, thank you for sharing! ✌
I have really enjoyed this recipe. I modify it based on what ingredients I have available. Meat is optional, whether chorizo, steak, corned beef hash (in place of ham) – but always diced jalapenos – this is a hearty and tasty meal. And it is one that reheats well. Stewed tomatoes accent well. Yum!
Can I make this without meat? Do I need to alter the liquids if I omit the meat?
You can reduce the milk to 1/2 cup!
Can I make ahead and freeze?
Yes that’s fine!