Loaded Smoked Breakfast Casserole
On December 21, 2022 (Updated October 24, 2023)
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This loaded smoked breakfast casserole is filled to the brim with all of your favorite morning meal ingredients. Hash browns, sausage, peppers, eggs, and a hearty amount of cheese get a kiss of smoke for a breakfast dish that will make everybody at your table happy.
Smoked Breakfast Casserole
Need a tasty breakfast that is the whole package? This loaded breakfast casserole has got you covered! It’s hearty and flavorful, feeds a crowd, is easy to prep in advance, cooks on the smoker, and makes for amazing leftovers. This recipe really does it all!
We tend to whip up this recipe when we’ve got a big brunch, potluck, or holiday breakfast. These breakfast casseroles are also KILLER as breakfasts on the competition BBQ circuit when you’ve got a hot smoker and a lot of other prep to worry about. Since you can make the whole dish the night before, it makes it super easy to pop into the smoker the next morning and have a hot meal to feed your people without making any more dishes.
Ingredients for Smoked Breakfast Casserole
This casserole doesn’t need anything too fancy! Just down-home comfort food ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Hash browns. You’ll need a 20 oz bag, frozen or fresh. They go into the bottom of the dish, uncooked.
- Sausage. Regular pork sausage is best, but you can use spicy for a little extra heat. No sausage? Try ham, bacon, leftover brisket… you name it!
- Bell peppers. I prefer red for sweetness and the pretty colors in the finished dish. Can use any type of bell pepper or even seeded jalapenos.
- Eggs. A whole dozen!
- Milk and heavy cream. I use a cup of each, but you can also use 2 cups of half and half.
- Cheese. I use a mix of sharp cheddar for a punch of flavor and Colby jack for creaminess.
- Hey Grill Hey Beef Seasoning. This is the kicker for flavor. You can pick up a bottle in my store or swap it for salt and pepper.
Simple ingredients, massive flavor. And you can always add more or different variations by swapping out the meats and peppers and cheeses.
How to Make Smoked Breakfast Sausage
This recipe is a simple few steps of prep, easily done the night before or the morning you plan to make this breakfast.
- Add your hash browns. Just dump the bag into your casserole dish or cast iron skillet.
- Cook your sausage and peppers. Brown up your pound of sausage and add in the peppers to soften. Spread them on your hash browns.
- Mix up your eggs. Eggs, milk, cream, LOTS of cheese, and Beef Seasoning. Whisk to break up all of those eggs and pour them over your hash browns and sausage.
- Chill. Cover your casserole dish with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour (it’s even better overnight).
- Smoke. 300 degrees F for a couple of hours will give you a perfectly baked casserole with just the right amount of smoke flavor.
These easy steps lead to a big old pan of comfort food that happily feeds a crowd!
Tips for Making this Smoked Breakfast Casserole
Here are some tips for smoking breakfast casserole. Even though this casserole is pretty straightforward, these tips will help you get the most out of this breakfast.
- Mix and match ingredients. This casserole is incredibly easy to customize to suit your family’s tastes. Swap the sausage for cooked bacon or ham (or use all three together)! Trade the Colby jack cheese for pepper jack for a little heat. Add in chopped spinach or mushrooms for more veggies. If you can dream it, you can probably add it to this casserole.
- Concerned about using your casserole dishes on the smoker? Sometimes glass or ceramic pans can get a slightly dingy build-up from extended smoker use. Feel free to use a 12-inch cast iron skillet or a disposable aluminum baking pan.
- Want to free up your morning? Prep this casserole the night before, cover it and refrigerate it overnight. All you’ve got to do in the morning is preheat your smoker and let it cook!
- Keep an eye on those temperatures! I know it may seem silly to temperature test a casserole of all things, but hitting that 160 degrees F will give you perfectly silky eggs and melty cheese that doesn’t separate. I use THIS instant-read thermometer that allows me to quickly check temps without losing heat on the smoker.
Can I Cook This Casserole in the Oven?
Absolutely! Follow the recipe as written, but bake at 350 degrees F for about 90 minutes. Use your internal thermometer to check for the finished temperature of your casserole so you don’t overbake it and separate your cheese.
More BBQ Breakfast Recipes
We love smoked, grilled, and griddled breakfasts! Check out these other BBQ breakfasts worth whipping up in the morning.
Smoked Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Let’s make something delicious! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind-the-scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
Loaded Smoked Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork breakfast sausage
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 20 ounces frozen shredded potatoes
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups colby jack cheese grated
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1 Tablespoon Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub or 1 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Cook sausage and peppers. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add the breakfast sausage to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, breaking it into smaller pieces with a wooden spatula. When the sausage has just started to brown, carefully pour in the chopped bell pepper and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
- Layer potatoes and sausage. Sprinkle the shredded potatoes into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and top with the cooked sausage and peppers.
- Make egg mixture. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, cream, cheese, and Beef Rub. Whisk to break apart all of the egg yolks.
- Add eggs and cheese. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the top of the shredded potatoes and sausage and cover the pan with plastic wrap or foil.
- Refrigerate. Place the covered pan in the refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight.
- Smoke. When you’re ready to cook your casserole, preheat your smoker to 300 degrees F. Smoke the casserole uncovered for 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the casserole reaches 160 degrees F.
- Garnish and serve. Let rest for 10 minutes before topping with the sliced green onions and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Big hit with our family on Christmas morning! Thanks!
Excellent flavor but at 300 degrees on my kamado it took just over an hour in a glass 9×13
Can I smoke this and then refrigerate and reheat the next day? Going out of town to a cabin with little/no kitchen so was hoping just to pop it in oven. Or is it best just to only “cook” once?
That will work fine!
Could this be made and frozen? We want to use this recipe for a competition we have coming up for breakfast for our team. We were thinking about freezing it and taking it along to throw on the smoker
To put a southwest spin on this, could you use half sausage half chorizo?
Thanks for posting this. I plan to make this for Christmas breakfast. I’ve made Breakfast casserole on Christmas morning for several years in the oven. It’s going on the smoker this year.