Growing up, I couldn’t tell you what we ate for breakfast on Christmas morning – I was much more concerned with our presents. But now as a busy mom, and looking back at my own mom’s Herculean efforts – I realize it’s an orchestration of a million moving parts to create holiday magic. Preparing ahead of time and using what you have are two of the most necessary attributes to what we shall call “holiday-ing.” And this versatile, breakfast casserole fits both of those requirements. Hundreds of versions of this exist so the name of the game is to use ingredients that you like and that you have on hand. This will serve enough for multiple guests and the ingredients are familiar enough to please even the pickiest of eaters (see notes for additional ingredient ideas). Most importantly, assemble this the night before you plan on eating it and your morning will feel slightly less chaotic. Enjoy!
Breakfast Casserole
Active Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hour and 20 Minutes
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 LB. BACON
- 8 EGGS
- 2 CUPS MILK
- SALT & PEPPER TO TASTE
- 1 TBS DIJON MUSTARD
- 2 CUPS FROZEN TATER TOTS
- 2 CUPS CHEDDAR CHEESE, SHREDDED
Directions
- Cut bacon into bite-size pieces and slowly cook over medium heat in a heavy, oven-safe pot. Turn off heat, use a slotted spoon to place cooked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour most of the rendered fat out, reserving about 1 TBS in the bottom of the pot
- While bacon is cooking, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard together in a large bowl. Fold shredded cheese into egg mixture
- Place tater tots at the bottom of the pan, briefly tossing to coat in the remaining bacon fat. Sprinkle with half of the cooked bacon. Pour egg-cheese mixture into a pot and top off with remaining bacon pieces
- At this point either refrigerate overnight OR bake immediately at 375 degrees for one hour *baking time will ultimately depend on how deep your pot is, start checking at about 45 mins for more shallow pans
Notes
- As mentioned this can be made with a variety of ingredients. You could use sausage instead of or in addition to bacon, you could add diced peppers and onions, spinach, or any other vegetable you enjoy with eggs.
- I use milk but I have also seen similar recipes call for sour cream or even one can of cream of mushroom soup. Those additions will make the dish a tad creamier and the final product will be a bit more “wet.” If you choose that route, you may want to add diced bread or croutons in place of tater tots to soak up some of the extra liquid in the recipe, but all of these options will give you the same all-in-one breakfast dish.
- I make mine in my beloved Dutch oven but a baking dish will also work – you’ll just need to cook the bacon in a separate pan first.
