Broccoli Cheddar Egg and Hashbrown Casserole is an amazing indulgent breakfast recipe to share with family. This easy hashbrown casserole can be made ahead of time, and is a great meal prep recipe too!
Okay, so this doesn’t go down in history as the all-time healthiest breakfast recipe I’ve ever posted, but it is magnificently, notably delicious.
Plus, it’s February 1st, which in my mind means we’re allowed to combine fat and carbs again. Just kidding, but only kinda.
If you’re looking for a lower-carb, more nutritious breakfast casserole recipe, check out my Mediterranean Breakfast Casserole, Zucchini Herb Sausage Breakfast Casserole, or Sweet Potato Sausage and Kale Breakfast Casserole.
I’m going to identify the elephant in the room lickety split: hashbrowns. Of the store-bought varietal.
Yes, I’m using a packaged food in a recipe…please don’t kill me with fire. The packaged frozen hashbrowns I found are miraculously clean and really only contain potatoes plus one ingredient that I discovered after a google search is simply to keep the potatoes from turning brown.
Suffice it to say, I wasn’t concerned about the hashbrowns being overly processed. If you run an unprocessed household, feel free to replace the store-bought version with 5 cups of grated russet potato.
There are remarkably few ingredients for this breakfast casserole recipe, yet it’s HUGE on comforting flavor.
Let’s have a looksy.
Ingredients for Broccoli Cheddar Egg and Hashbrown Casserole:
Hashbrowns: I use store-bought frozen hashbrowns that come in a 30-ounce bag. And the whole bag is needed for this recipe. You can swap the regular white potato hashbrowns with sweet potato hashbrowns, and/or make your own hashbrowns by grating your potatoes of choice. You’ll need 5 cups!
The hashbrowns will need to be thawed before you prepare the recipe so be sure you keep that in mind prior to making it.
Bacon: Thick cut crispy bacon (and drippings!) make this hashbrown casserole extra enticing. The fat and smokiness of the bacon yields a great deal of flavor and makes each slice nice and satisfying.
You can always swap the bacon for breakfast sausage or chopped cooked ham if you prefer!
Broccoli: Broccoli helps add freshness to an otherwise indulgent casserole, and also provides that amazing broccoli flavor that seems to go so dang well with cheddar cheese! Feel free to omit it or swap it for cauliflower, sweet potato, or butternut squash.
Eggs: The glue that holds this whole thing together! Eggs complete the breakfast casserole with a nice amount of protein, add flavor and richness, and also help hold everything together into one cohesive breakfast unit. Do you do dairy? If so, feel free to add ½ cup of cream or half and half to the eggs when you beat them for an extra sultry adventure.
Cheddar Cheese: That ingredient that makes just about anything better 😉 Cheddar cheese creates a lovely little crust for the hashbrown casserole, adds that creamy tanginess, and makes this breakfast irresistible. Of course you can change it up with your favorite cheese!
…And sea salt!
Optional Add Ins:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half (whisk it in with the eggs)
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 cups baby spinach or kale
- Any of your favorite hearty vegetables, like cauliflower or butternut squash
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Egg and Hashbrown Casserole:
First things first: Grab your hashbrowns out of the freezer and thaw them either in the refrigerator or on the counter until they have completely thawed.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray or grease a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish.
Place a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat on the stove top and add the chopped bacon. Cook the bacon, flipping occasionally, until it reaches desired level of doneness.
Transfer the thawed hashbrowns to the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle liberally with sea salt (use your best judgement on based on how much salt you ordinarily like on your potatoes. I don’t skimp because I find potatoes bland without a lot of salt), followed by the chopped broccoli and the cooked bacon (including all of the bacon fat!!)
Whisk the eggs and sea salt in a large mixing bowl until well-beaten.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the hashbrowns and use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir everything around until it appears evenly-distributed.
Sprinkle the casserole with cheese.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until eggs are cooked and cheese is golden-brown
Let rest 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Tips:
Be sure to salt both the hashbrowns and the eggs to ensure the casserole is nice and flavorful. Potatoes taste very bland to me without a lot of salt and because this recipe is primarily potatoes, you’ll likely need more salt than you would think in order to maximize the flavor.
But haste! Over-salting is no good, either! So use your best judgement based on your past experience with hashbrowns. If you’re concerned about over-salting, you can always salt each individual slice before you eat it.
Can I Make This Ahead of Time?:
You can easily prepare this hashbrown casserole the day or night before you make it. Simply follow all of the steps for preparation (except for the baking portion) and cover it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the casserole for up to 24 hours before baking it.
Remember, the casserole will take 45 to 55 minutes to bake, so keep that in mind when planning your meal 😉 It is also best to bring the casserole to room temperature before you put it in the hot oven to ensure it bakes evenly and doesn’t break the casserole dish you’re using due to a big temperature difference (some casserole dishes are flimsy like that).
Recipe Adaptations:
- Swap the bacon for 1 pound of breakfast sausage (or add the sausage in addition to the bacon 😉
- Use your favorite melting cheese in place of cheddar. Gruyere, gouda, mozzarella, and Jack cheese are all great! Even feta and parmesan will work marvelously.
- Add in your favorite vegetables. Consider 1 cup of chopped onion, a small head of cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potato, butternut squash, garlic, etc. If you’re adding a hearty vegetable like sweet potatoes or winter squash, be sure you cut it into small chunks (½ inch or smaller) so that they cook through all the way.
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes:
- Spinach Frittata with Zucchini, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese
- Butternut Squash Bacon Mushroom Frittata
- Caprese Frittata with Arugula
- Pesto Sun-Dried Tomato Breakfast Scramble
- Roasted Vegetable Scramble
Enjoy!!
If you make this breakfast casserole recipe, feel free to share a photo on Instagram and tag me @The.Roasted.Root!!
Bacon Broccoli Cheddar Hashbrown Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 30-oz bag hashbrowns (thawed)
- 2 tsp sea salt to taste, divided
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon chopped
- 1 large crown broccoli chopped into small florets
- 12 large eggs well-beaten
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Optional Add Ins:
- 1/2 cup cream or half & half
- 1/2 cup yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Before doing anything else, take the hashbrowns out of the freezer and allow them to thaw. It's okay if they are still cold and a bit frozen, but you want the strands of grated potato to break apart easily.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray or grease a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish.
- Place a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat on the stove top and add the chopped bacon. Cook the bacon, flipping occasionally, until it reaches desired level of doneness.
- Transfer the thawed hashbrowns to the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle liberally with sea salt, followed by the chopped broccoli and the cooked bacon (including all of the bacon fat!!)
- Whisk the eggs and sea salt in a large mixing bowl until well-beaten. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the hashbrowns and use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir everything around until it appears evenly-distributed. Sprinkle casserole with cheese.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until eggs are cooked and cheese is golden-brown. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Do you bake covered or uncovered, I’ve seen recipes that say bake 3/4 of the way covered and last 15 min. Or so uncovered??
Hi Pattie! I bake it uncovered the whole time. If you end up checking on it part way through and it looks too brown on the top, you can cover it with foil, but I haven’t found it to be an issue. But I love a golden-brown cheese on top, so if you prefer less golden-brown, feel free to throw on the foil! xo
Genuinely amused you feel you need to defend store bought hash browns but think nothing of the use of cheese and bacon 😂
It does look delicious though.
When you stir it together, do you incorporate the hash browns or do they stay undisturbed as a crust?
Hi Lisa,
You stir everything together 🙂 Hope you enjoy! xo