Looking for truly memorable breakfast casserole for that family get together? This Southwestern Breakfast Casserole is essentially a classic, but with heat and flavor pumped up.
I started with my favorite breakfast casserole, but boosted flavor and heat by using a distinctively hot Italian sausage, Canino’s Hot Italian Sausage (available at Safeway). Note that they come in sausage casings that I cut off in order to cook up sausage crumbles.
This recipe uses a hot, spicy sausage and also sharp cheddar cheese. A sharp cheese is important to offset the heat and intense flavor of the sausage. Feel free to add more cheese or tweak the balance of sausage and cheese to taste. Note it is spicy but not hot-hot; if you are serving wimps, you can reduce the sausage or mix it with a milder sausage. Personally, I like the heat level at this level very much.
This casserole also keeps well in the fridge and is just as good reheated several days later. Hope you enjoy it!
- 2 pounds Canino's hot Italian pork sausage (see note)
- 12 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 4 green onions
- 1 green (or red) bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup diced hot green chiles (see note)
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13’’ glass pan with cooking spray.
- Cut the casings off the Canino's sausages: With a sharp knife, slit each sausage lengthwise just to cut the casings; then peel the casings off and discard.
- Place a large skillet on stove over medium heat. While it heats up, add sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with large wooden spoon and cooking until browned.
- While the sausage cooks, combine the eggs, sour cream, milk, green chiles, cheese and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Beat with a fork or mix on low speed with electric mixer, until combined. Drain most of the grease and add the sausage to the bowl with the egg mixture.
- Add the bell peppers and onion to the same skillet the sausage was cooked in and sauté for 2- 3 minutes. Add to the bowl with the eggs and stir everything to combine.
- Pour mixture into greased 9x13’’ pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the edges are set and the center barely jiggles..
- Leftover egg casserole can be stored in the fridge, then reheated in the microwave and enjoyed within 3-4 days.
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