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The best way to start any day is with a breakfast that cooks while you sleep! This Crockpot breakfast casserole combines creamy scrambled eggs, shredded hashbrown potatoes, chopped onions, melty cheese, and crispy bacon (or savory sausage) for an all-in-one meal you’ll be excited to wake up to. Perfect for entertaining, weekly make-ahead meals, and holiday mornings! Vegetarian and dairy-free options included.

A square, multi-layered slice of Crockpot breakfast casserole on a plate in front of a slow cooker.

🍳 What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • Whether you need to feed overnight guests or you just need a quick way to jumpstart your day, this Crockpot breakfast casserole is the perfect solution. It cooks low and slow over 8-9 hours, so you can throw everything in the slow cooker and let it work its magic while you get some well-deserved shut eye. When you wake up, you’ll have a fully-loaded hot breakfast ready to garnish and enjoy! How easy is that?!
  • Our original 2018 version of this recipe had you assemble the casserole in the slow cooker in layers, adding the eggs last and letting them trickle down through the rest of the dish. We’ve updated the process so that everything is mixed together and then added to the Crockpot all at once. The result? The ingredients are much more evenly distributed, ensuring you get a little of everything in every bite. It also eliminates the risk of the eggs not reaching a layer completely, so you won’t get any dry or bland sections.
  • One thing I really love about this recipe is how easy it is to customize depending on your mood, preferences, and dietary needs. Instead of bacon, use breakfast sausage, diced ham, chorizo, or omit the meat entirely. Add diced bell peppers, finely chopped jalapeños, and pepper jack cheese. Replace the half-and-half with your dairy-free milk of choice. Dress up your breakfast casserole even more by serving it with green onions, salsa or pico, ketchup, sour cream, or hot sauce.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

  • Make sure you spray the bottom and the sides of the Crockpot insert really well! If you don’t, the breakfast casserole WILL stick and may burn.
  • If you notice any burning around the edges of the casserole, don’t panic. When you cut into the casserole to serve it, start by cutting just inside the burnt edge. That way you don’t serve any burnt spots to your guests or family.
  • This Crockpot breakfast casserole is really best when it’s cooked on LOW overnight. If you’d rather cook it while you’re awake, though, I totally understand. To save some time, prepare the casserole the night before, cover the insert with the lid, and keep it in the fridge until morning. When you wake up, set the slow cooker to HIGH for 3 hours. Check on the casserole fairly regularly to make sure the eggs aren’t cooking too quickly. Once the eggs are fully cooked, add the shredded cheese topping. Let the cheese melt, then serve and enjoy your brunch casserole!
A black Crockpot insert, angled up toward the left of the photo, holding a breakfast casserole topped with melted cheddar and pieces of bacon.

For More Tasty Breakfast Recipes

A black Crockpot insert, angled up toward the left of the photo, holding a breakfast casserole topped with melted cheddar and pieces of bacon.
Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
5 from 19 votes

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Prep 20 minutes
Cook 8 hours
Total 8 hours 20 minutes
Layers of shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs, melty cheese, and crumbled bacon, fully cooked while you sleep! This is the very best breakfast to wake up to on Christmas morning (or really any morning at all).
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12 servings

Equipment

  • Large plate
  • Paper towels
  • Large skillet
  • Slotted spoon
  • 6-quart Crockpot or similar slow cooker
  • neutral spray oil
  • large mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • Silicone spatula

Ingredients

For the Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

  • 1 pound diced bacon see Notes
  • 12 large eggs
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt more or less to taste
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste
  • 2 ½ cups shredded cheese of choice cheddar preferred
  • 1 26-ounce bag frozen shredded hashbrowns
  • 1 cup chopped onion white or yellow onion, divided
  • ½ cup shredded cheese of choice cheddar preferred

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

  • diced, cooked bacon
  • chopped green onions
  • salsa

Instructions
 

  • Line large plate with paper towels and set aside.
  • Place large skillet on stovetop over medium heat. When skillet is warm, add 1 pound diced bacon. Cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp.
  • Transfer cooked bacon to plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Discard rendered bacon fat, or save bacon fat for other uses (like bacon gravy).
  • Crack 12 large eggs directly into large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups half and half, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Whisk ingredients together until mixture is fully combined and eggs are no longer streaky.
  • Add 2 ½ cups shredded cheese of choice, 1 26-ounce bag frozen shredded hashbrowns, and 1 cup chopped onion to mixing bowl with scrambled egg mixture. Break cooked bacon into small pieces and add to scrambled egg mixture. Stir ingredients together until fully incorporated.
  • Spray bottom and sides of Crockpot insert with neutral spray oil. Transfer scrambled egg mixture to prepared Crockpot insert and cover with lid.
  • Cook casserole on LOW 8 hours.
  • After 7 ½ hours, check doneness of casserole to ensure eggs are fully cooked. Continue cooking as needed, checking casserole often until eggs are fully cooked. Do not exceed 8 ½ hours total.
  • Once eggs are fully cooked, sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese of choice evenly across surface of casserole. Cover and cook on LOW 30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
  • When cheese is melted, garnish casserole with diced, cooked bacon and chopped green onions if desired and serve warm with salsa or condiments of choice. Alternately, switch Crockpot to WARM setting until ready to serve. Garnish before serving if desired.
  • 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.
  • Hashbrowns: No need to defrost the hashbrowns first. I recommend breaking them up, though, so they distribute through the casserole more evenly.
  • 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. 
  • Leftovers: Let the casserole cool completely, then transfer the leftovers to an airtight container. Refrigerate the leftover casserole up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven until just warmed through.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 447calProtein: 21gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 253mgSodium: 833mgPotassium: 503mgTotal Carbs: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gNet Carbs: 15gVitamin A: 711IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 277mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
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.

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Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

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62 Comments

  3. Hi! I made this with the bacon and it was delicious. I’m planning to make these for a baby shower breakfast and do one with sausage and one with bacon. My question is; should I put the sausage in with the mixture instead of putting it on top at the end like you do with the bacon? (seems like it will be a lot of sausage on top and would have to heat up first).Also, could you put some of the bacon in with the mixture instead of all on top? Thanks!5 stars

    Reply

    1. Yes, I would mix the sausage in! Brown it in a skillet first, then mix it into the scrambled egg mixture. Also, I apologize – until your comment, I didn’t realize that the cooked bacon was missing from the scrambled egg mixture! Yes, definitely use the bacon throughout the casserole rather than only on top. So sorry!! We’ve updated the recipe to include that instruction.

      Reply

    1. We didn’t test it this way, but you could try using cauliflower rice… I can’t guarantee it’ll work as well, though.

      You might prefer one of these low carb oven-baked breakfasts instead:

      – Italian Breakfast Casserole: https://40aprons.com/italian-breakfast-casserole-whole30-keto/
      – Breakfast Casserole With Sausage, Eggs, Spinach, And Mushrooms: https://40aprons.com/whole30-breakfast-bake-sausage-eggs/
      – Keto Quiche: https://40aprons.com/keto-quiche/

      Reply

  6. 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!

    Reply

  7. Sounds amazing! Do you by any chance know if you could use tater tot’s instead of hash browns?
    Thank you!

    Reply

    1. 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! 🙂

      Reply

    1. 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.

      Reply

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