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Home Recipe Index Freezer Meals Freezer Breakfast

5-Ingredient Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

★★★★★ 5 /5 Updated: 1/13/23
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With only 5 main ingredients–potatoes, cheese, sausage (or bacon), eggs, and milk, this Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole is a cinch to throw together. You can even make it ahead of time and store in the fridge, or make this into a freezer meal using our instructions.

a slice of hash brown breakfast casserole being served with a spatula

Contents hide
Reasons We Love This 5 Ingredient Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients for Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns and Sausage
Video Tutorial for Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
More 5 Ingredient Recipes
How to Make Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
How to Serve This Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole
Want More Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas?
More Easy Breakfast Recipes to Try
Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
Did you make this?
Top 7 Overnight Oats Recipes (+ A Cheat Sheet!)
Want More Easy, Freezer-Friendly Meal Ideas?

Reasons We Love This 5 Ingredient Breakfast Casserole

If a cheesy hash brown casserole had a baby with a traditional breakfast casserole (the kind with bread), you’d end up with this Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns! It’s hearty, cheesy, and full of flavor from the meat and cheese. Bonus: This dish is gluten-free!

You can make it with your choice of meat: pork sausage, turkey sausage, or bacon. We like it with any of those choices. Amp up the flavor by adding in your favorite chopped and sautéed vegetables. Onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach or kale would all be delicious additions. But, we decided to keep this recipe simple–5 main ingredients, in fact.

A slice of breakfast casserole with hash browns on a plate with a fruit salad

Ingredients for Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns and Sausage

Here are the 5 main ingredients you’ll need to make this hearty and comforting casserole…

  1. All-natural ground pork sausage or turkey sausage (Sub: uncured bacon, see Cooking Notes)
  2. Refrigerated or frozen shredded hash browns (you’ll need to thaw them if they are frozen)
  3. Shredded cheddar cheese (Dairy-free option: Omit the cheese.)
  4. Eggs
  5. Milk (Dairy-free option: Use unsweetened, plain almond milk or oat milk.)

You’ll also need a few pantry staples–salt, pepper, and a little cooking oil. You can eat the casserole “as is” or top it with items like hot sauce, salsa, ketchup, freshly chopped tomatoes and avocado.

ingredients for a breakfast casserole, including eggs, browned sausage, hash browns, shredded cheese, milk, salt and pepper

Video Tutorial for Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

Watch this 1 minute video to see just how simple this casserole is to make…

More 5 Ingredient Recipes

Try some of our other popular 5 ingredient recipes:

Turkey Pesto Paninis

Avocado Salsa

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Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Foil Packets

cheeseburger on a whole wheat bun with oven fries on the side

Cheesy Chive Burgers

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How to Make Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

After browning and draining the sausage, generously spray an 8×8 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Then, add a layer of half of the shredded hash browns…

hash browns in a glass casserole dish with other breakfast casserole ingredients nearby

Next, add half the sausage…

process shot of breakfast casserole with hash browns and sausage

Finally, sprinkle on half of the cheese in the dish, and repeat with the remaining hash browns, sausage, and cheese.

hash browns in a glass casserole dish with other breakfast casserole ingredients nearby

Now you’ll make the egg mixture. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole.

eggs and milk in a bowl with a fork

Bake the casserole, uncovered, in a 350°F oven for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.

Cheesy breakfast casserole with sausage in a glass pan

How to Serve This Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole

Serve a slice of casserole warm and, if desired, top with toppings like salsa, sour cream, chopped green onion, and diced avocado. Fresh fruit and berries make a great side dish, or serve it with one of our smoothies.

A slice of breakfast casserole on a plate with a fruit salad
fully cooked ham and egg cups in a freezer bag

Want More Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas?

Foolproof make-ahead breakfast recipes that will help you start the morning the right way.

See Top 10 Make Ahead Breakfasts

More Easy Breakfast Recipes to Try

Breakfast Casserole Muffins

Easy to freeze, warm, and take on the go, kids and parents alike love these savory casserole muffins.

breakfast casserole muffins

7 Overnight Oats

We can’t get enough of Overnight Oats in our homes! In addition to our 7 Smoothie Pack Recipes, they are one of the easiest ways to consume whole grains, fruits, and good-for-you proteins every single morning.

6 mason jars with various overnight oats in them

7 Smoothie Recipes

Use our 7 different well-tested frozen smoothie pack recipes to start filling your freezer today. My favorite is Chocolate Covered Cherry!

multicolored smoothies on a table

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

These burritos are super handy to have in the freezer for busy mornings or an on-the-go dinner. Hearty and delicious!

freezer breakfast burritos

Fluffy Egg Casserole with Bacon

Fluffy eggs and bacon are a classic, easy breakfast that will bring the whole family together to start the day.

fluffy eggs and bacon casserole

Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

a slice of breakfast casserole with hash browns being served with a spatula
★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

With only 5 main ingredients–potatoes, cheese, sausage (or bacon), eggs, and milk, this Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns is a cinch to throw together. You can even make it ahead of time and store in the fridge, or make this into a freezer meal using our instructions.

Yield: 6 servings 1x
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 50 minutesTotal: 1 hour 5 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil
  • 1 pound all-natural ground pork sausage or turkey sausage (Sub: uncured bacon, see Cooking Notes)
  • 3 cups refrigerated or thawed* frozen shredded hash browns
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (DF option: Omit the cheese.)
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk (DF option: Use unsweetened, plain almond milk or oat milk.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • Optional toppings: hot sauce, salsa, ketchup , freshly chopped tomatoes and avocado

*You’ll need to mostly thaw your frozen hash browns before putting together this casserole. Do this overnight in fridge or using your microwave’s defrost setting. Dab off any excess moisture paper towel. 

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions

Make It Now:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmery, add the sausage and cook until browned and cooked through, breaking it up as it cooks. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel–lined plate to drain and set aside.
  3. Generously spray an 8×8 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer 1 ½ cups of the hash browns, half the sausage, and ¾ cups of the cheese in the dish, then repeat with the remaining hash browns, sausage, and cheese.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over the ingredients in the dish. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
  5. Bake, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until edges are bubbly, the middle is set, and top is golden. Tent with foil if the top starts to get too brown before it’s done. (Note: If the casserole was still cold when you put it in or if it was previously frozen, it will likely take longer. Our tests showed that it will take about 60 minutes to bake after being frozen and thawed. This is because of the extra liquid that’s released during that process.)
  6. Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm, topped with hot sauce, salsa, or ketchup, if desired. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Freeze For Later: Skip Step 1. Follow Steps 2-4, tightly wrap the casserole in plastic wrap or foil, and freeze.

Prepare From Frozen: Note: You may want to have hot sauce, salsa, or ketchup on hand for serving. Thaw completely. Follow Steps 5-6, except bake for about 60 minutes or until set in the middle.

COOKING NOTES:

You can use bacon in place of the sausage. It’s a delicious replacement! We suggest baking it using this recipe and then chopping it up to avoid the stovetop mess.

Equipment

8×8 Glass Baking Dish with Lid (Freezer Container)

Buy Now →
© Author: Thriving Home
Cuisine: American Method: Bake

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a slice of breakfast casserole with hash browns being served with a spatula

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Rachel Tiemeyer

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!

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  1. AvatarSue says

    Posted on 7/16/22 at 10:41 pm

    This was not only easy but very tasty too!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 7/17/22 at 2:33 pm

      Love hearing that! Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply
  2. AvatarMichelle Adams says

    Posted on 4/5/22 at 9:11 am

    This was fantastic! I made this last night for supper and it was so easy, definitely will be adding it to our breakfast for dinner menu! I used bacon instead of sausage and just as good. Definitely could use either! Everything I’ve made from this site is so good. Never dull recipes!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 4/5/22 at 3:41 pm

      Thanks, Michelle! Love hearing this. 🙂

      Reply
  3. AvatarLiz says

    Posted on 8/2/21 at 9:18 am

    This sounds so good and easy! I’m curious if you could make this without the shredded hashbrowns. It’s very hard to find some without flour. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 8/2/21 at 1:00 pm

      Hi Liz, I haven’t tested this recipe without the shredded hash browns, but I haven’t had any trouble finding gluten-free ones in my grocery stores. If you test it with the cubes, let me know. I’d love to hear how it turns out.

      Reply

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