Sharing my favorite breakfast casserole today that works great as an overnight breakfast casserole too! Packed with Italian flavors the whole family loves. Great for weekend entertaining, holidays and enjoying family time!
If you love overnight breakfast casserole recipes, they go perfect with these toffee pancakes and lemon pancakes. Whether you are celebrating a Holiday with family and friends, or just cooking on the weekends, this cheesy overnight breakfast casserole with bread will be made on repeat!
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
This overnight breakfast casserole with bread recipe is one of our family favorite recipes we use for a number of occasions. It’s so great for having guests over. We love making it for Holidays too! It’s so great for Christmas morning because you can prepare the recipe a couple days in advance and keep in the refrigerator. You’ve got lots of options with this recipe and I think you’ll love it just as much as we do!
Try my Mexican Overnight Breakfast Casserole too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
What You’ll Need
This overnight breakfast casserole is made with simple ingredients you can easily find at the grocery store. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need.
- French Bread or Sourdough Loaf– Use either French Bread or Sourdough. Check the bakery section of the grocery store.
- ground sausage– Jimmy Dean has regular and hot options in the sausage rolls.
- large eggs– For consistency I use large eggs for my cooking and baking.
- milk– Use 2% milk or higher.
- prepared pesto– Check down the pasta sauce isle for jars of prepared pesto.
- Italian Seasoning– Italian seasoning is added to the egg mixture.
- kosher salt– Kosher salt is a coarse salt commonly used in cooking and baking.
- freshly ground black pepper– Use fresh cracked black pepper for best tasting results.
- shredded cheddar cheese– Mild cheddar works great here.
- cherry tomatoes– Quarter or half the cherry tomatoes to go on top of breakfast casserole.
- green onion– Sliced green onion go on top of the breakfast casserole.
- fresh basil leaves– Fresh thinly sliced basil leaves are added to the top of the casserole as well.
How To Make Easy Breakfast Casserole
Prepare Baking Dish. Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Cubed Bread. Layer cubed bread into prepared baking dish.
Cook Sausage. Cook sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until crumbled and browned. Drain and layer sausage over bread cubes.
Whisk Eggs. Place eggs, milk, pesto, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour over sausage and bread mixture.
Add Toppings. Top with Parmesan cheeses, tomatoes and green onions.
Add Mozzarella Cheese. Add shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over top of casserole. From this step, you can either bake right away, 350 degrees F. for about an hour or refrigerate overnight.
Cover and Refrigerate. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.
Preheat Oven and Bake. When ready, remove dish from oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake dish for 55-60 minutes, until set. Before serving, top with fresh sliced basil leaves. Cut into squares.
Remove breakfast casserole from oven and garnish with finely sliced fresh basil. Let cool for about 5 minutes then cut into squares and serve.
How To Serve Breakfast Casserole
The great thing about this recipe is you can serve it as is or serve with a nice fruit plate to share. You can also have some sweet breakfast dishes to pair with this savory dish. Pancakes go great with this casserole, banana bread, even waffles. Get creative. Have fun and enjoy!
Tips For Overnight Casserole
Here are some helpful tips for making the best overnight breakfast casserole.
- Prepare in Advance. Prepare this recipe a couple days before actually serving.
- Cover and Refrigerate. Cover tightly with foil and keep in refrigerator.
- Let Sit at Room Temp Before Baking. Remember to take out of refrigerator a couple hours before ready to bake if possible. Having the dish more room temperature will keep cook time the same as recipe states.
- Longer Cook Time If Cooking Straight From Refrigerator. If dish comes right out of the refrigerator to the oven, you may need to bake longer.
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed.
- Freezing Instructions. If you are freezing the breakfast casserole, cover very tightly with aluminum foil or scoop cooked casserole into an airtight container or freezer safe bag. Freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheating Instructions. Reheat refrigerated breakfast casserole on a heat proof plate in the microwave, covered lightly for about 60 seconds or until hot. If reheating frozen casserole, thaw before reheating. Same instructions as refrigerated.
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Italian Overnight Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Equipment
- 9 x 13 inch baking dish
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- chef knife
Ingredients
- 8 cups cubed crusty loaf of bread
- 1 pound Smithfield fresh ground breakfast sausage
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups 2 % milk
- 1 Tablespoon prepared pesto
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup fresh shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chiffonade for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer cubed bread into prepared baking dish. Cook sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until crumbled and browned. Drain and layer sausage over bread cubes.
- Place eggs, milk, pesto, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour over sausage and bread mixture.
- Add Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and green onions. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and from this step you can bake now at 350 degrees F. for 55-60 minutes or see next step for instructions on the overnight casserole.
- If you'd like to prepare the overnight casserole, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours. When ready, remove dish from oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake dish for 55-60 minutes, until set. Before serving, top with fresh sliced basil leaves. Cut into squares
Notes
- Prepare in Advance. Prepare this recipe a couple days before actually serving.
- Cover and Refrigerate. Cover tightly with foil and keep in refrigerator.
- Let Sit at Room Temp Before Baking. Remember to take out of refrigerator a couple hours before ready to bake if possible. Having the dish more room temperature will keep cook time the same as recipe states.
- Longer Cook Time If Cooking Straight From Refrigerator. If dish comes right out of the refrigerator to the oven, you may need to bake longer.
Nutrition
Welcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! 
My son loves Italian sausage so I will have to try this. I think it would be great for school classroom brunches too! Pinning now.