Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Posted: 12/16/19
Updated: 04/06/23
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This breakfast casserole is made in the Crockpot or slow cooker and is super versatile, making it perfect for entertaining, the holidays, or Christmas morning. With hashbrowns, eggs, onions, cheese, and your protein of choice (with vegetarian options!), it’s loaded with flavor and is so easy and quick to make.
Why This Casserole is So Good
- This breakfast casserole is so quick and easy to make, you just have to fry the bacon and then dump everything in the slow cooker.
- You can easily make this casserole vegetarian.
- You can set this casserole overnight for an easy to grab breakfast in the morning.
Such an Easy Overnight Recipe
This casserole is perfect if you have overnight guests that need feeding in the morning. It takes around 8 to 9 hours to cook the casserole in the slow cooker, so pop everything in just before you go to bed and you will wake up to a ready to serve hot breakfast.
Variations
I love this recipe, as it’s so easy to adapt it to different tastes and diets.
- You can use 1 pound of breakfast sausage in place of the bacon. Brown and crumble the breakfast sausage then drain and continue with the recipe as written.
- It’s so easy to make this Crockpot breakfast casserole vegetarian. You can simply omit the bacon, or you could substitute it for vegetarian bacon or sausage.
- If you prefer, you can use non-dairy milk or half-and-half. I like Ripple’s Half and Half.
How Long Does It Keep?
This is such a great make-ahead breakfast, not only can you cook it the night before serving, but it also stores well too. Transfer the cooked casserole to an airtight container and it will keep well in the fridge for about three to four days and then you can reheat it in the oven.
Top Tips For Making
- When sprinkling on the cheese, leave a slight border from the sides of the crockpot. This will prevent as much burning of the edges as possible
- There will be SOME burning on the edges but it won’t affect the rest. just leave a small border when cutting into the casserole to serve
- You must spray the crockpot first. this dish cooks for quite a long time and will burn or stick otherwise
For More Tasty Breakfast Recipes
- Freezer Breakfast Burritos
- Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole
- Easy Peel Eggs
- Whole30 Hashbrown Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl
- The BEST Croissant French Toast Casserole
- Instant Pot Eggs
- Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
- The BEST Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
- Vegan Biscuits and Gravy
Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
This breakfast casserole is made in the Crockpot or slow cooker and is super versatile, making it perfect for entertaining, the holidays, or Christmas morning.
servings
Ingredients
- 1 26-ounce bag frozen hashbrowns divided
- 3 cups shredded cheese of choice cheddar preferred, divided
- ⅔ cup chopped white onion divided
- 1 pound bacon diced, see Notes
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper more or less to taste
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Spatula
- Plate lined with paper towels or bowl lined with paper towels
- neutral-flavored spray oil
- Crockpot or similar slow cooker
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
Instructions
- Heat large skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add diced bacon. Cook bacon until crisp, then transfer to plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Discard rendered bacon fat or save for another use (like bacon gravy).
- Spray bottom and sides of Crockpot insert with spray oil. Layer half of frozen hashbrowns in bottom of Crockpot insert, then top hashbrowns with 1 ½ cups shredded cheese and ⅓ cup chopped onions. Top onion layer with half of cooked bacon. Repeat layers in same order until all ingredients have been added to Crockpot.
- Crack eggs directly into large mixing bowl. Add half and half, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper, and whisk until mixture is fully combined and no longer streaky.
- Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole layers in Crockpot. Cover with Crockpot lid and set to low for 8 hours. After 8 hours, check doneness of casserole to ensure eggs are fully cooked. Add additional time as needed, cooking no more than 9 hours total.
- When casserole is cooked through, serve immediately or set Crockpot to warm and serve when ready.
Notes
- Bacon: You can use 1 pound of breakfast sausage in place of the bacon. Brown and crumble the breakfast sausage, then drain and continue with the recipe as written.
- Make it Vegetarian: If you like, you can leave out the bacon altogether for a vegetarian version. Or use veggie sausage or bacon in place of the meat!
- Make it Dairy Free: Use dairy free cheese and non-dairy milk or half-and-half. I like Ripple’s Half and Half.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 511kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 38g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 296mg, Sodium: 871mg, Potassium: 461mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 767IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 312mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 16g
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
delicious, I will make this again !
So happy to hear it, Martha! Thank you!!
Hello looks delicious!
Do you know if you can use tater tot’s instead of hash browns? I’d love to make this Easter but my family doesn’t really like hash browns they like tater tots.
Thank you!
We haven’t tried it, but it should work! If you tried it, let us know how it turned out!
Sounds amazing! Do you by any chance know if you could use tater tot’s instead of hash browns?
Thank you!
We haven’t tested it but it should work! Let us know if you try it!
Hi! Could you set this on high for 4 hours and get it done quicker? Thanks!
Hi, Amanda! Putting the slow-cooker on high would run a risk of burning the eggs. Slow and steady has been the best result for this casserole! Because it takes such a long time in the slow-cooker, a great alternative is to start it up right before you head to sleep- that way, when you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a fresh and delicious breakfast! Hope this helps! 🙂
Have you ever made this recipe in the oven, more like an overnight one?
This is actually a great overnight recipe as-is! It takes 8-9 hours in the Crockpot. We haven’t tried it in the oven, but our gluten-free breakfast casserole is done in the oven and is similar to this one. It only needs about 40 minutes in the oven, though.