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Mediterranean High Protein Breakfast Casserole
A nutrient-dense, low-carb, high protein breakfast casserole that’s cheesy, colorful, and absolutely packed with flavor. Best of all, it works great for weekly meal prep or as a freezer meal.
Yield: 9 servings 1x
Prep: 25 minutesCook: 40-50 minutesTotal: 65-75 minutes
Units:
Scale:
Ingredients
- Butter (for greasing the pan)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 1/2 pound ground turkey breakfast sausage (sub: pork breakfast sausage)
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 ounces (half package) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of all excess moisture (sub: 4 packed cups baby spinach or stemmed kale, roughly chopped and sauteed until wilted)
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (crumble any large chunks)
- 10 large eggs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8×8- or 9×9-inch casserole dish well with butter (it works better than cooking spray!). (See Cooking Notes about different pan materials.)
- In a medium-sized skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil and cook the turkey sausage over medium-high until no longer pink, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain off any grease. Sprinkle the crumbled meat in the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Add another teaspoon of oil, if needed, and the red bell pepper to the pan and saute just until soft, about 4-5 minutes, seasoning with a pinch of red pepper flakes and lightly with salt and black pepper. Add the garlic at the end of the cook time, stirring around for about 30-60 seconds. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Remove from the heat.
- Spread the red bell pepper mixture over the turkey sausage. Sprinkle the spinach over the peppers. Finally, top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and then all the feta cheese.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, Parmesan, milk, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Pour egg mixture over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese over the top last of all. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Bake for 40-50 minutes (keep a close eye on it!), rotating the pan around once. Casserole is done when the top looks puffy and is slightly golden brown and the center just barely jiggles when you give a gentle shake of the pan. You can also insert a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean, it’s done.
- Let cool slightly. Then slice and serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and used for breakfast and lunches for up to 5 days.
Freezer Meal Instructions:
To Freeze: Put casserole together (through Step 5) but do not bake. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and/or foil. Carefully place in freezer.
To Prepare: Thaw about 24 hours in the refrigerator. Bake according to directions.
Notes/Tips
- The non-stick metal pan was by far my favorite way to bake this and had the best results. It didn’t stick to the sides and baked very evenly. I used this Caraway 9×9-inch square pan which I highly recommend investing in!
- It’s super important not to overcook this casserole and it can go fast. So check it on the front end of the cooking time and keep checking every few minutes. It’s better to remove it when it appears just slightly underdone in the middle because it will carry-over cook while it sits. The test is if a knife/fork inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- If you made this ahead and it’s cold from being in the fridge, either set it out on the counter for 30-60 minutes to come to room temp before baking and just know that it will take a little longer to bake if it’s chilled.
- Leftovers will keep well for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Gently reheat in the microwave or oven. You can freeze leftovers (after they fully cool), but it may lose some of it’s moisture and adversely affect the texture when you thaw and rewarm. Be sure to thaw in the fridge and then gently reheat.
- If you want to omit the sausage, you can. It will bake about 10 minutes faster, so keep an eye on the casserole.
- Place thawed spinach in an older kitchen hand towel and twist it hard to squeeze out excess moisture.