This Skillet Sausage and Cheese Bake is a delicious and easy breakfast casserole recipe made with simple pantry ingredients! And it doesn’t need to be prepped the night before either!
A great breakfast casserole recipe is always on the top of my list to make when I’m expecting weekend company or for an easy holiday breakfast.
Most of the time, I’m super prepared and I lean into a make ahead breakfast casserole or a French toast bake.
Other times, I’m cooking a bit more on a whim and I turn towards making an easy frittata with potatoes or this Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Bake. It’s an incredibly easy breakfast casserole in a pan that can be whipped up in a just a few minutes right before you bake it off.
That’s right! This is a casserole you can make right before you bake it – no waiting overnight for this egg strata recipe!
A Winter Holiday Tradition
My New Year’s Eve is way low key these days, nothing like the Eves of my early 20s I used to spend drinking with my friends and sleeping wherever there was room.
My tradition is watching Bridget Jones’ Diary every NYE, by myself with a bowl of popcorn. It’s lovely, really.
Sometimes I made a batch of overnight cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the 1st. Those rolls are flat-out AWESOME. Just check out that drizzle!
Other years, I consider either biscuits and gravy (with a fantastic buttermilk drop biscuit recipe) or this skillet sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast casserole recipe.
Pantry Ingredients for a Simple Breakfast Casserole
I didn’t need to buy anything special for this breakfast casserole recipe.
Instead, I pulled everything from the fridge: leftover cheese and bread, the last of the milk mixed with heavy cream, an onion, thyme, eggs, and that ground breakfast sausage I bought on sale 2 for 1 a few weeks back. Easy peasy!
Here’s the full grocery list for what you’ll need to make this breakfast bake. Be sure to keep scrolling down to the recipe card for the full printable Ingredients list!
- Unsalted butter
- Uncooked breakfast sausage
- Small onion
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Large eggs
- Whole milk,
- Heavy cream
- Fresh thyme
- Scallion or green onion
- Gruyère cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Sandwich bread – white bread or wheat bread
How to Make Cast Iron Breakfast Casserole
Unlike make ahead breakfast casseroles, this cast iron egg casserole recipe doesn’t need to be prepped hours before you bake it! Keep scrolling down to the recipe card for the full printable list of Instructions!
Here are the basic steps for how to make a breakfast casserole in cast iron:
STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Melt the butter in a large cast iron pan, and cook the sausage. Add the onion and salt and cook until the onion has softened.
STEP 2: While the sausage and onions cooks, whisk the eggs, milk, heavy cream, thyme, most of the scallions, the cheddar cheese and gruyere cheese, and pepper in a large bowl until well-combined.
STEP 3: Toss the bread cubes into the sausage-onion mixture, and cook until they start to lightly toast. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove.
Pour the egg mixture into the pan and fold the eggs into the sausage, onions, and bread. Gently press the bread into the egg to help it absorb the egg. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
STEP 4: Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake until the top is puffy and golden brown in places. Allow the casserole to rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the remaining fresh thyme and scallions before slicing and serving.
PRO TIP: You’ll know the casserole is finished when the sides of the breakfast strata have slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. See the photo below for what this looks like!
The best part about this egg casserole? There’s no major thinking required to make it! It’s the perfect breakfast for a weekend or holiday breakfast, along with an iced latte or hot latte, of course!
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Bake
Sausage, egg, and cheese bake is quite possibly the best breakfast for lazy mornings following a busy holiday or late night out. It's a breakfast casserole recipe made in a cast iron skillet in 30 minutes and it's full of everything you love about your favorite egg casserole recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 oz raw breakfast sausage, like Jones
- 1 small onion, minced
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 6 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk,
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp minced fresh thyme, plus extra for sprinkling before serving
- 1 scallion, sliced thin (green and white parts)
- ¾ cup shredded Gruyère cheese
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 slices sandwich bread (wheat is fine), cut into 1-inch squares
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Melt the butter in a 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet (like cast iron), and cook the sausage over medium-high heat, about 2-3 minutes, crumbling it with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until the onion has softened, about 5-6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, milk, heavy cream, thyme, most of the scallions, 1 ¼ cups of cheese, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until well-combined; set aside.
- Toss the bread cubes into the pan and stir them into the sausage-onion mixture, cooking for about 3 minutes until they start to lightly toast. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and fold the eggs into the sausage, onions, and bread. Gently press the bread into the egg to help it absorb the egg. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup cheese over the top.
- Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes, until the top is puffy and golden brown in places, and the sides of the strata have slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Allow the casserole to rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the remaining fresh thyme and scallions before slicing and serving.
Notes
adapted from The Best 30-Minute Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated
Recommended Products
As a member of the Amazon Associate affiliate program, I earn a small percentage from your qualifying Amazon purchases when you click the Amazon links on this page. I'm not informed of who purchases what, just of what products are purchased.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 402Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 217mgSodium: 632mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 19g
[…] Skillet Sausage and Cheese Strata: You’ll love this clean-out-the-fridge option. Made with whatever dairy — a mix of cheeses and […]