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!
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
This breakfast casserole 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
- 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
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 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. Gently mix in cheeses, tomatoes and green onions until combined. Pour over sausage and bread mixture.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.When ready, remove dish from oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees Bake dish for 45-55 minutes, until set. Before serving, top with fresh sliced basil leaves. Cut into squares.
You’ll place your cooked sausage over the French Bread pieces then start to prepare the egg mixture that gets poured over the breakfast casserole. It’s best to use a large mixing bowl.
Once you’ve added your seasonings and pesto to the eggs, whisk until well beaten. Pour over bread and sausage layer.
Top with ground Parmesan Cheese, quartered cherry tomatoes and green onions.
Top with lots of shredded Mozzarella Cheese and it’s time to bake. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about an hour or until eggs are set and bread starts to brown.
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, even waffles. Get creative. Have fun and enjoy!
Tips For Overnight Casserole
- Prepare this recipe a couple days before actually serving.
- Cover tightly with foil and keep in refrigerator.
- 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.
- If dish comes right out of the refrigerator to the oven, you may need to bake longer.
How To Store Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed.
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. Gently mix in cheeses, tomatoes and green onions until combined. Pour over sausage and bread mixture.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.When ready, remove dish from oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees Bake dish for 45-55 minutes, until set. Before serving, top with fresh sliced basil leaves. Cut into squares
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Smithfield. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make Picky Palate possible.
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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.