Our delicious egg casserole recipe is so simple but utterly satisfying to whip up in the kitchen. All you need are eggs (lots of them!), ricotta or cottage cheese, and some butter. Mix it all up together in your trusted cast iron casserole dish and pop it in the oven to bake!
It's a tasty but easy to prepare breakfast casserole that can feed the whole family. You can serve it with a fresh salad for a healthy lunch, or you can bring it out as a side dish at dinner time. It's a wonderful kitchen staple, and in today's recipe, we'll show you the easiest and tastiest way to prepare a cheesy egg casserole!
Egg casserole FAQ
Breakfast casseroles are a wonderful way to feed the whole family with a quick and simple dish. We love this recipe because it's not only practical and quick to cook, but you can add in as many extras you like.
We hope that our easy breakfast casserole is pretty simple to put together, but in case you've got any burning questions, we've also put together a FAQ. Keep on reading to find out more about storing egg casserole leftovers, and whisking up the perfect eggs!
Can I store leftovers in the fridge?
Egg casserole is a great dish to keep stored in the refrigerator (you can even cook it ahead of time to have egg casseroles for breakfast every day of the week!). If you have any leftovers, then you can store portions individually in suitable containers, or store the casserole in bulk. An egg casserole will last for at least 4 or 5 days if properly stored in the fridge.
When you're hungry, you can simply remove your portion and heat it in the microwave. It won't be quite as fresh as when it first came out of the oven, of course, but nothing ever is!
Can I make egg casserole ahead of time?
If you're questioning if you can use this recipe to make ahead breakfast casserole, then, of course, you can. An easy breakfast casserole can be cooked up in advance, and given how many portions the recipe makes, you can use it all through the week if you want to.
If you're busy or need to be up early, then it's great to have plenty of breakfast casserole stored away in the refrigerator. Simply heat the individual portions in the microwave, and it will be just as good as when it first came out of the oven!
We love to cook up a huge batch on Sundays, when we've got plenty of free time, then we get to enjoy egg casserole every morning!
Can I freeze egg casserole?
We don't normally recommend freezing eggs, but it can be done if you really need to. Place your leftovers in a suitable freezer dish and store for up to 3 months. You can remove the egg casserole from the freezer and allow it to thaw overnight before reheating in the morning for breakfast.
Freezing egg casserole really doesn't do much for the flavor though, so we'd suggest only doing this if you absolutely have to. It's much better served fresh!
What can I serve egg casserole with for breakfast?
Egg casserole makes for a great breakfast on its own accord. Still, you can serve it up with plenty of savory additions if you're particularly hungry. You can turn this into a full breakfast by cooking up sausages, a few strips of bacon, or some hash browns.
We like to serve our egg casserole without bread, but that's just us. Egg casserole goes great with some slices of toast or any other fresh bakery items you might enjoy in the morning!
Is this just for breakfast?
Egg casserole is a classic breakfast dish that's long-held its place proudly in the genre of cuisine American, but it doesn't just have to be served up in the mornings.
Egg casseroles can also work well as light lunch, and they are easy to serve up if you've got lots of friends or family over. We love preparing a fresh salad to go alongside our egg casseroles. If you're serving for lunch, you can also add in more vegetables to the mixture to give it more sustenance and to make it more filling.
Can I cook this a side dish too?
Egg casserole makes for a great side dish too, especially if you're having a lighter summer meal in the evening, or if you're preparing a barbecue for lots of guests.
Cook up a large batch and divide it into small portions that people can easily eat alongside their main meal.
How do I get really fluffy eggs?
The best egg casseroles are super, super fluffy when you pull them out of the oven, ready to serve. Using ricotta or cottage cheese really helps to keep the mixture fluffy while it cooks, because these rich cheeses keep the casserole moist as it bakes.
How do I whisk eggs?
You also need to focus on your whisking technique when you're preparing the casserole mix for the oven. You need to thoroughly whisk both the eggs and the cheese together, creating a bubbly mixture that has plenty of air trapped in it. The bubbles help to produce a fluffy egg casserole, as the air is needed while it's baking in the oven.
When you reheat a casserole, don't expect the eggs to be as fluffy as when you first serve it fresh from the oven.
Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. Which is best?
You'll have noticed that our breakfast casserole calls for either cottage cheese or ricotta cheese in the recipe. In many different recipes, cottage cheese and ricotta cheese are used interchangeably, but there are a few key differences to consider if you're deciding which type of cheese is best.
Both kinds of cheese help to keep the egg casserole super-creamy, without actually overpowering the ingredients with an overly cheesy taste (that's why we add more grated cheese if you want to actually taste cheesy!). Both look the same and have almost the same texture too.
Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. Which is healthier?
Ricotta cheese is much fattier and much creamier than cottage cheese, which tends to be lighter while coming with a much lower calorie count too. There isn't a huge amount of difference then, but if you're on a diet, then cottage cheese is the better option (it's packed with protein and low in calories). If you're not so worried about calorie counting, go all out with the creamiest ricotta cheese you can find!
What other cheeses go well with egg casseroles?
While you need the ricotta or cottage cheese to give your egg casserole a lovely, creamy finish, you can get much more creative with the rest of the cheeses you add to the mixture.
Grated cheddar cheese will be the most common variety (and most people have cheddar in their fridge!), but other popular types include Monterrey Jack or Colby Cheese. These all have a suitable melting point and give the egg casserole a more traditional, cheesy flavor than you get from the ricotta or cottage cheese. Add these into the mixture and grate them directly on top for an excellent, cheesy finish to the baked casserole.
You can also experiment with many more varieties of cheese too. Sliced or grated mozzarella can produce a lovely, melted finish to the egg casserole. Feta cheese can give your egg casserole a Meditteranean feel, while parmesan can give it more of a stronger flavor. You could even try blue cheese if you want a super-strong taste to the egg casserole (although this could overpower other flavors!).
Can I make larger portions of egg casserole?
Our breakfast casserole recipe uses 8 large eggs and produces 12 small portions, but you can up the recipe considerably to yield much larger portions.
If you have a larger casserole dish, then you can make a mix using 14 large eggs, which cooks up 20 servings of egg casserole. If you're making larger portions, be sure to bake the casserole in the oven for longer (more like 35 min, instead of 25 min). Keep it cooking until the center is nice and springy. If it's still gooey, you've still got some way to go!
You need to make sure, as well, that you are using large eggs with this recipe. Smaller eggs will result in much smaller portion sizes.
What meat can I cook in the casserole?
In the recipe, we mentioned that you can also add your favorite meats to the egg casserole if you want it to be more filling. While the simple combination of eggs, cheese, and butter make for a quick and practical dish, it's not so difficult to add more elements either.
As this is primarily a breakfast casserole, the most popular meaty additions always tend to include sausages and bacon (classic breakfast items, of course). You could also use shredded chicken or pulled pork if you wanted to turn this into more of a lunch or dinner item.
Make sure that all your meats are precooked before you mix them in with the casserole, right before it goes into the oven. If you're cooking bacon or sausages, for instance, cook them until they are just slightly undercooked, as they will be finished off in the oven.
What vegetables can I cook in the casserole?
Equally, you can add lots of fresh vegetables to the egg casserole as well. This not only bulks out the recipe and gives you a heartier breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but adds some much-needed greenness to the recipe!
We love to use spinach, as it cooks really well with the eggs. Bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes all make lovely additions to the breakfast casserole too. You could add some chilis if you like a bit of fire in your food, or you can season the egg casserole with your favorite spices, such as paprika, for instance.
Make sure your vegetables are precooked before adding them to the egg casserole mixture. You can mix the vegetables in which the eggs and cheese, or layer them over the top of the dish before you pop it into the oven to bake.
Our egg casserole makes for an easy breakfast or works well as a light lunch or a delicious side dish at dinner time. With just 3 main ingredients, it's easy to prepare and even easier to cook!
If you master and love this recipe, check out our recipe for Sausage Casserole for another easy morning staple!
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