Guys, I was REEEEEEALLY skeptical about this one.
Unlike many people, crockpots actually scare me. I’m on board with soups and chili, but pretty much everything else I’ve ever made in a crock pot has turned out burned, dry, soggy, or otherwise not very good. It’s like I’m incapable of mastering it. But I needed a make-ahead breakfast option for my “breakfast day” at work, so the crockpot was really my only option. And guess what? It turned out surprisingly great!
The final result wasn’t *pretty*, mind you, but it was very flavorful, not dry at all, and got a thumbs-up from my co-workers. Plus, the assembly the night before was quick and painless—cooking the bacon was the most involved piece, everything else was just layering.
Cook up your bacon (or other meat) and chop or crumble into pieces.
Whip up the eggs and milk with the salt and pepper. I used an immersion blender to beat and mix everything, which gave the egg mixture a nice, fluffy whipped quality.
Chop up whatever veggies you’re using. I’m partial to red (and orange and yellow) bell peppers.
I used green onion instead of regular onion, since that’s what I had already.
And I added some roughly-chopped spinach for a little green.
Begin by heavily spraying non-stick spray all over the crockpot (or using a crockpot liner), then pouring the frozen potatoes into the bottom followed by some peppers, bacon, onions, spinach, and cheese.
Repeat the layers twice (or until you run out of ingredients) and pour in the egg mixture, making sure everything gets moist and evenly spread out. Top with a little extra cheese and the green tops of the green onions or scallions, if you’re using. I had some fresh rosemary sitting around, so I chopped up a little of that too.
Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours. Twice during cooking I took a folded-up paper towel and used it to soak up liquid that had pooled on top of the casserole. Don’t know if this was necessary, but I didn’t want it getting soggy. I will say that it won’t look super pretty when it’s done, but it did taste delicious!
Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Around 1 pound of meat, degreased & crumbled or diced (I used turkey bacon, you could use ham, bacon or sausage)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 small bell pepper, diced
- 16 ounces of hash browns, frozen
- 3/4 cup of shredded cheese (colby-jack or cheddar are favorites)
- 6 eggs (I used 6 but would probably go with 7 next time)
- 1/2 cup of milk (I used skim, but the recipe recommends 2%)
- Scallions or green onions (optional)
- Other veggies if you want (I used spinach)
- Salt & pepper to taste
1. Grease the crock pot or use a crock pot liner.
2. Layer the ingredients, starting with frozen hash browns on the bottom followed by meat, onions, peppers, and cheese.
3. Repeat layer twice and top with scallions. I played fast and loose with this, my layers weren’t nearly as exact.
4. Beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together.
5. Pour over the layered ingredients in the crock pot (ensure everything gets moistened well). I put some extra cheese & green onions (the green parts, look like chives) on top as well.
6. Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours. Note, twice while cooking I took a folded up paper towel and dabbed around the edges to soak up liquid that was pooling, I didn’t want it getting soggy.
Original recipe here
