This hash brown and sausage breakfast casserole is a Whole30 breakfast recipe that’s filling, creamy, and full of flavor. With hash browns, a creamy sauce, spicy sausage, and creamy eggs, this is one of our favorite Whole30 breakfast recipes and good enough to eat for dinner!
Whole30 breakfast recipes are a challenge for me.
I need them to be…
- quick
- easy
- damn delicious
And if they’re not? I’d honestly rather skip breakfast, which is a no-no on a Whole30!
So I make my Whole30 breakfast a priority.
I have a super non-Whole30 breakfast recipe I absolutely love (Though the post and photos are insanely embarrassing, I’ll let you look if you want), loaded with shredded hash browns and a creamy béchamel sauce and breakfast sausage and lots and lots of cheese. I love it so much and never tire of eating it but decided it was time to make it a bit healthier!
Why this hash brown and sausage Whole30 breakfast recipe is so good:
- I used my hash brown and sausage casserole as the inspiration but focused on creamy eggs and a dairy-free sauce, making it healthier and more filling at the same time. Whole30 breakfast perfection.
- It’s creamy and rich, thanks to the coconut milk and eggs.
- The pre-shredded hash browns make it an easy Whole30 breakfast to throw together on a Sunday for meal prep to eat all week.
When I made it the first time, we ate it for dinner, and my husband finished… wait for it… An entire half of the dish. Whoa. While not a serving size I’d necessarily recommend, it just truly goes to show how delish this Whole30 breakfast is!
Variations
- Use coconut milk instead of cashew cream if you’re allergic to nuts: use 1 13.5-ounce can of coconut milk or cream.
- Shred your own hash browns: peel a couple Russet potatoes and shred with a box grater or food processor. Wrap in a paper towel and squeeze to reduce any excess moisture.
- Use cassava flour in place of the arrowroot powder if you prefer.
Tips
- Make your Whole30 breakfast sausage with my super easy recipe.
- Use frozen hash browns – they’re easier to find Whole30 compliant – and let them thaw a little ahead of making this Whole30 breakfast.
- A knife inserted into the center of the casserole will not come out clean when it’s done, but the surface will be firm.
- You can use tapioca flour if you don’t have arrowroot or cassava flour on hand.
How to make this Whole30 breakfast recipe:
Brown sausage in a large skillet, crumbling with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, make cashew cream. Put 3/4 cup raw cashews in a 2-cup measuring cup then pour warm or hot water over to make 2 cups. Let side while sausage browns then blend in a high-speed blender until very, very smooth. Alternately, skip this whole thing and use 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk.
Sprinkle arrowroot over browned sausage then stir in 1 1/2 cups cashew cream. Bring to a boil and cook about 3-5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Whisk together eggs and remaining cashew cream, salt, spices, and 1/3 of the sliced green onions.
Spread hash browns evenly in a 3-quart baking dish and season with a bit of salt. Top with 1/3 of the green onions, then the sausage mixture, then the egg mixture. Bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes or until the surface is firm. Sprinkle with remaining green onions, let cool slightly, then cut into squares, and serve.
Other Whole30 breakfast recipes you’ll love:
- Whole30 Breakfast Casserole with Sausage, Eggs, Spinach, and Mushrooms (Keto)
- 15 Whole30 Breakfast Ideas
- Sweet Potato Whole30 Breakfast Bowl
- Easy Whole30 Breakfast Sausage
Did you make and love this recipe? Give it your review below! 👇 And make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
Hash Brown and Sausage Whole30 Breakfast Casserole
A filling and flavorful Whole30 breakfast recipe with hash browns, a creamy sauce, spicy sauce, and plenty of protein-rich eggs. Easy to make ahead, this Whole30 breakfast makes great meal prep, too.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage Whole30 compliant or make your own
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 3/4 cup raw cashews or coconut milk, see note
- warm water
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1- pound package shredded hash brown potatoes
- 1 bunch green onions finely chopped, about 9 small or 7 medium
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 t garlic powder
- 1/2 t onion powder
- 1/2-1 tsp. salt
- spray coconut oil or coconut oil for greasing
Equipment Needed
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray or grease a 3-quart baking dish with coconut oil.
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Make cashew cream: put 3/4 cup raw cashews in a 2-cup measuring cup then pour warm or hot water over to make 2 cups. Let side while you cook sausage then blend in a blender on high speed until completely smooth.
-
Cook sausage in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until brown, breaking into small pieces with a spoon or spatula, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle arrowroot over sausage, stirring to coat, then add in 1 1/2 cups cashew cream. Cook until mixture thickens and comes to boil, stirring occasionally, about 3-5 minutes. Add plenty of fresh black pepper.
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In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and add remaining cashew cream, spices, salt, and 1/3 of the green onions.
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In baking dish, spread hashbrowns evenly, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Top with 1/3 of green onions, then sausage mixture, then egg mixture. Bake 45-50 minutes then sprinkle with remaining green onions. Knife inserted in the center won't come out clean because of the creamy sauce, but the surface should be firm. Cut into squares and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
You can use 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk instead, if preferred.
Recipe originally published in December 2017 but updated with new photos, directions, and video December 2018.
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So what looks like cheese in these photos is just the creamy sauce made with the coconut milk, sausage, and arrowroot powder?
That’s right!
I might be missing it, but how many eggs?! Thank you!
6 eggs 🙂
Are the hash browns frozen?
I think you could use frozen but I prefer the fresh from the refrigerated section 🙂
Can you make this the day before then cook in the morning?
I would assemble almost everything but wait to pour the eggs over in the morning.
Have you ever tried freezing this? I’m working on meal prepping for the month and was considering making this and then freezing serving sizes but wasn’t sure how it would hold up in the freezer.
I haven’t but I think you could! As long as you wrap it very, very well, it should work OK 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
Could coconut flour be used in place of arrowroot? I’m trying to keep my shopping list simple and not buy things only used in one recipe. It’s basically being used to thicken up the recipe, right?
I would not recommend coconut flour here. Arrowroot is actually a bit more versatile in terms of thickeners. It MIGHT thicken the same in this recipe but I don’t think the taste or texture would work as well. You can totally try it though!
You might be able to find arrowroot powder in the bulk shopping section, especially if there is a more “health food” type of store in your area. That way you could get just a very small quantity to try in this recipe. Another option would be to just omit the arrowroot. I don’t even use it most of the time recipes call for it. In this case, you are going to have a lot of evaporation of the liquid during the cooking. You could also potentially cut the quantity of coconut milk, or add a couple extra eggs for additional binding.
Do you think cashew milk would work in place?
Absolutely!
This looks great! Any reason I couldn’t use shredded sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes? I have some I need to use.
Yes, I think that would work!
Where do you find whole 30 compliant breakfast sausage? I have never been able to find it
It’s so easy to make! Try my recipe here: https://40aprons.com/easy-whole30-breakfast-sausage-paleo/
This is so good and filling!
Can you use tapioca flour instead?
I would not recommend it. Tapioca flour, especially heated with this mixture, might result in a very gummy taste. OR it might taste a bit cheesy! It might be OK, but I can’t recommend it without having tested it that way 🙂
My Husband and I are absolutely obsessed with this casserole. It is SO GOOD! We have made a batch of it every single week since we have been on whole30 and have not gotten tired of it haha it is outstanding!
Have you used frozen hash browns? Currently have a batch in the oven with frozen hash browns and hoping it turns out ok. Also, when you add the arrowroot and coconut milk to the sausage and it thickens – does it still look white/creamy? Or just like a sausage with some thick/clear sauce?
I haven’t used frozen hashbrowns but I think those would work just fine. The sauce won’t look super super white, but it shouldn’t really be clear. Are you using full-fat coconut milk from a can?
So good! Amazing comfort food. We used chorizo sausage. Really, really good recipe. I did use tapioca flour and had no problems. It has made it into the family favorite arsenal.
That is great to know! So it didn’t turn out goopy at all? I’d love to be able to update with that note 🙂
Just made this tonight and it is amazing! Just what we needed on Day 28 of Whole30. Even my 2 year old devoured it! I also used tapioca flour as it was all I had on hand. Thank you for a new family favorite!
That’s the best compliment – the 2 year old, ha! I’m so glad tapioca flour worked well for you, too
Hello. Can I just shred some potatoes and use that instead. Do I need to cook them first?
You can! You’ll want to shred them then squeeze all the water out. Continue with the recipe as written otherwise
Thank you.
Also every kind of frozen or refrigerated potatoes I found all had dextrose in them. Is there a brand you use, and store you got them from.
Thanks!
Sam
Try Alexia or a Whole Foods/Sprouts brand. They’re less likely to have non-compliant ingredients!
I get the Cascadia Farms frozen hash browns from Sprouts. I’m totally testing out this recipe tonight!!! I have a MOPS brunch in the morning. I’d this dish good baked the night before and reheated the next morning?
Absolutely! We make it once and then eat it all week 🙂
I am wanting to go Paleo/Whole30 yet am allergic to coconut which is in everything! 🙁
What if anything can I substitute for it? Will this also work universally??
I’d try substituting cashew cream here; the result will be even creamier! I usually do 1 1/2 cup water + 1 cup raw cashews in a high speed blender, blend til completely smooth. You might have to add more water to get it to the right texture. That substitution should work universally, too. Good luck!
This was super fantastic! I added 2Tbsp of sausage spice from the Well Fed website. Just outstanding! Making a second one for a girls brunch tomorrow. It’s recipes like this that make Whole30 sustainable. Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it! And adding that sausage spice is genius. Thanks so much for letting me know how much you enjoyed it <3
would this be good reheated or better fresh?
We like it reheated too, but fresh is the best to me! It keeps it the creamiest
This is incredible! Made it last weekend and plan to make it weekly now. My husband and one year old twins loved it! Thank you!!
I am sooo glad you all liked it so much! <3
Does the final product taste like coconut?
It doesn’t to me!
Have you ever baked this a day ahead and reheated it? If so, HOW did you reheat it? What do you recommend? Thanks!
Absolutely! We eat it over several days when we make it. We typically reheat in the microwave but if you were to reheat the entire thing, I’d slightly underbake it the first time and then heat it in a 300ºF oven for maybe 20 minutes, covered with foil, until hot.
This was amazing! I just used what I had on hand (shredded fresh potatoes, a little leftover taco meat), three in some cilantro and it was so good! Agree- definitely kid approved in our house too!
What a creative take! I love that. I might just have to make that a new recipe 😀
Can I use a gluten free baking powder instead of arrowroot powder?
That’s not a substitution I would make, but maybe corn starch (if you’re not Whole30 or paleo) instead! People have also had good luck with tapioca starch.
Would you still use the same amount of tapioca starch if making that substitution?
This is soooooo yummy! I added some frozen spinach give it more veg. (In the layer right above the potatoes). But really – I was surprised by how good this was. YUM!
Great idea! And so glad you liked it Whitney 🙂
can you taste the coconut in this? I really struggle with the coconut flavor.
I personally don’t find there to be much coconut flavor in this dish. If you’re really sensitive to it, though, you might want to swap it out for cashew cream!
Is it possible to leave out the arrowroot flour? I live in a rural area and don’t have access to any ‘out of the ordinary’ ingredients at all. My local grocery store only has regular flour and cornstarch, but I’m on a Whole30 so can’t use either as a substitute. If this won’t work without a thickener I’ll have to try one of your other recipes instead. 🙂
Thanks in advance!
What you MIGHT be able to do is simply reduce the amount of coconut milk needed. I’d highly recommend you grab some arrowroot, though; Amazon and Thrive are great for this! Not sure if reducing will work as well but it’s worth a shot if you can’t order 🙂
It worked! I reduced the amount of coconut milk by about a quarter and gave it an extra 10 minutes to bake. Its delicious, and think it would be even better with the arrowroot. Thanks for the recipe and the advice!
I used Tapioca flour and it was just fine. Super easy and delicious.
Can you use an egg substitute with it instead of whole eggs?
You could use egg beaters or something like that but i would not think a vegan egg substitute would work
Wow! I made this yesterday for my husband who is allergic to dairy and pork (used hot turkey sausage). He was so pleased! I was worried about using coconut milk because it tends to have a strong flavor, which I do like in other recipes, but I was glad the other flavors stood out enough to cover that up. Didn’t have arrowroot powder on hand and he is also allergic to corn so I couldn’t reach for the cornstarch, but I used 4 T of white rice flour and that did the trick. Frozen hashbrowns worked great, I let them sit on the counter about an hour before using them and baked for 50 mins in a ceramic casserole dish – not sure of the size, smaller than 9×13. We recently gave up dairy here and have been craving something creamy so this hit the spot. Thanks so much!
This looked great, but the coconut milk flavor overpowers everything. Not enjoying it. I would rather taste sausage, hashbrown,and egg. Next time I will just use more eggs and eat another source of fat on the side.
If you’re sensitive to the taste of coconut milk I would definitely recommend substituting cashew cream for it as mentioned in other comments!
I used cornstarch instead of arrowroot flour, and it worked well. Excellent recipe. My guests ate so much of it!
That is great to hear! I’m so glad they liked it 🙂
I used the frozen hash browns , was i supposed to cook the first ?
Nope! Just thaw a bit 🙂
If you use frozen hash browns – do they have to be thawed before putting it for baking? Or can they go right in?
Just thaw a little!
I’m calorie counting because…..holiday weigh gain {face palm} do you know the calorie count of this dish per serving?
I made this last week and my husband RAVED about it (he asked me to make it AGAIN… he seriously won’t stop talking about it). I added a layer of mushrooms and am thinking about trying with bacon instead of sausage next time because I like bacon so much more that sausage. I’m going to make a sausage one to freeze for Christmas morning. Another note, I used tapioca flour instead of arrowroot and worked great. Did make it taste a little “cheesy” which was amazing! And the recipe doesn’t taste like coconut at all (I’m generally not a fan of coconut).
Thanks for an awesome recipe… has anyone else ever tried with bacon?
Just made this over the weekend and really liked the flavor a lot. For me, the only downside was I really like a crispy hashbrown. Going to try this again and do my crispy hashbrowns in ghee on the side and just do the sausage, sauce & eggs baked in a cast iron skillet, just reducing the bake time. I think it will be delish!
Thanks for the yummy inspiration! 🙂
I made this recipe with the following changes and it was devoured by the group! Everyone loved it! This will definitely be in my go-to recipe list, thanks 😀
Changes:
*I used turkey sausage instead of pork (I used the Paleo recipe referenced to make my own)
*I used cornstarch instead of arrowroot
*I used 10 eggs instead of 6
*I cooked the sausage ahead of time and drained the grease, then put it back in the pan and added the cornstarch and coconut milk
This recipe was a LOT of work for breakfast (I’m a simple sausage, eggs, and whatever veggies are prepped kinda gal or often just leftovers). However, my husband loved this. The hash browns (I couldn’t bring myself to buy the ones at the store – even my health food store had additives, so I hand grated, part of why this took so long) made a bread-like texture that he loved and we both really enjoyed the creamy sauce. I want to make that sauce for a gravy over latkes or almond meal biscuits. And we’ve used this general format as a launch pad for other, similar, mixes (chorizo and spinach, bacon and hatch chilies). For my personal needs, this is more fancy than I need, but it’s perfect for those who need meal prep. He ate this for about 4 days and it stayed good in the fridge that entire time.
This was delicious! My husband gave it a 10. Made it exactly as written, with coconut milk.
Can you substitute almond milk for the coconut milk?
That would work!
Sure!