Breakfast Casserole with Cream Cheese and Crescent Rolls
This easy Breakfast Casserole with Cream Cheese and Crescent Rolls is a guaranteed family favorite. It’s simple enough for busy weekday mornings, but special enough to serve on holidays, or for a brunch bridal shower. It’s protein packed and extra cheesy, which makes it perfect any time you just need a delicious breakfast that everyone will eat.
Why You’ll Love This Breakfast Casserole
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Save time in the morning by prepping it the night before and just pop it in the oven next morning.
- Kid-Approved: My family gobbles this up – even my picky husband!
- Versatile: Endless ways to customize with your favorite add-ins, and can be served for breakfast or lunch.
- Seriously Delicious: A base of buttery croissants AND hashbrowns, fluffy egg, savory cream cheese and sausage mixture, with two kinds of melty cheese…need I say more?
Ingredients:
- 1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough (I like this brand or this one works too)
- 1 lb mild breakfast sausage (I like this one or this one)
- 8 oz brick cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2.5 cups frozen hashbrowns (thawed)
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Prep the Oven & Pan: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Cook the Sausage: In a large skillet, crumble and brown the sausage over medium-high heat. Tip: Use this tool to make crumbling the meat extra easy.
Once sausage is cooked through, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Grab a second paper towel and blot access grease off of sausage. Divide cooked sausage into two equal parts and return half of it to the warm skillet. Cut cream cheese into smaller cubes and stir into skillet with sausage. Warm over low heat until cheese is melted.
Crescent Roll Base Layer: Unroll the crescent roll dough and press it into the bottom of the baking dish, pinching the seams together to create a solid crust.
Sprinkle the Hashbrowns: Evenly distribute 2.5 cups of shredded hashbrowns (thawed) over the crescent roll crust. Season the hashbrowns with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
Layer the Sausage Mixture: Spoon the sausage and cream cheese mixture over top of the hashbrowns. Using a spatula, spread as best you can so that it is evenly distributed throughout the pan.
Whisk the Eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk together the 8 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp onion powder. Pour this egg mixture over the sausage layer, making sure it spreads evenly.
More Sausage: Add the remaining crumbled sausage on top of the egg mixture.
Top with Cheese: Sprinkle 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup mozzarella cheese over the top.
Bake to Perfection: Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the eggs are fully set and the top is golden brown. Tip: Rotate your pan at the halfway mark as not all ovens bake evenly. If your cheese is starting to look too brown before the egg has fully set, add a sheet of tin foil over top and bake for the remaining time. I usually need to add this for the last 5 minutes to prevent cheese from burning.
7. Cool & Serve: Let the casserole cool for about 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm and enjoy!
What to Serve with Breakfast Casserole
This casserole is a hearty dish on its own, but if you want to round out your breakfast or brunch, here are some great sides:
- Fresh fruit salad
- Yogurt with granola
- Crispy bacon or sausage links
- muffins like Easy Blueberry Muffins or Lemon Raspberry Muffins
- Toast, English muffins or bagels (serve with cream cheese and fun jams)
- A simple mixed green salad w/ vinaigrette or Best Ever Side Salad
How to Store and Freeze a Breakfast Casserole
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I use these glass ones) in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You can freeze the baked casserole for up to 3 months. I double wrap mine using one layer of tin foil and one layer of plastic wrap before slipping it into an airtight plastic bag or glass container. This will help prevent freezer burn.
Let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
How to Reheat Breakfast Casserole
- Microwave: Place a slice on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 30-45 seconds.
- Oven: Cover with foil and warm in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through and cheese is soft and melty.
- Air Fryer: Heat at 300 degrees for 3-5 minutes for a crispy top.
Casserole Tips:
If you prep this crescent roll breakfast casserole the night before, fully cook the sausage, and assemble the entire casserole. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. The next morning, either let the casserole sit on counter for about a half hour to come to room temperature before baking, or add a few extra minutes to the baking time if putting in oven cold.
Use a clear baking dish if you have one. Oven temps can vary, which means cook times can as well. The best way to tell if the crescent roll crust if fully cooked is to simply lift the clear dish over your head and take a peek at the bottom of the dish. If its still doughy through the clear glass, it needs a few more minutes in the oven. If its a golden brown color, it’s ready to come out.
Have some fun customizing casseroles depending on the occasion, or with whatever you have on hand. The possibilities are endless! Add green chiles, different cheeses, different breakfast meats, or even some chopped veggies.
How Long to Bake Breakfast Casserole at 350°F
For this recipe, you’ll want to bake your breakfast casserole at 350°F for 35-40 minutes. The eggs should be set, and the top should be lightly golden brown.
How to Pick Out Eggs at the Grocery Store
Not all eggs are created equal.
I try to buy eggs collected from chickens fed an organic diet, and raised in a situation where they are allowed to roam freely in a pasture for several hours a day. This it typically labeled as “pasture raised”, but since that term is not regulated by the USDA, I try to take it one step further, and make sure what I am buying also has the Certified Humane® label. This label on a “pasture-raised” carton means, that the chickens get 6-hours of outdoor time per day, and 2-square-feet our outdoor space per bird.
Because these chickens have extensive access to the outdoors and sunshine, they tend to have richer diets including grasses, insects, worms and grubs, which typically results in them producing eggs with higher levels of vitamins and nutrients. You can usually see the difference in the yolks as free range chicken’s yolks tend to be a brighter orange color, where as cage raised chickens produce more yellow yolks.
Your will pay more for these cartons of eggs, but in my opinion, the taste and added health benefits are worth it.
When selecting eggs in the grocery store, it’s important to know how to read the labels as marketing buzzwords can make eggs sound great, but may not actually mean what you think. Here are some common descriptions:
- Free-Range Chickens: These birds roam freely and have access to outdoors, though there is not formal regulation on how long they are allowed outside, or how much space they have. Look for the “Certified Humane®” label as well which ensures they get 6 hours of outside access and 2 sq feet of space if you want to know exactly what you are getting.
- Pasture Raised: In theory, these hens have full access to grassy areas, and sunlight anytime, but again, that term is not regulated, so look for the “Certified Humane®” stamp on this label as well to ensure strict regulations have been followed.
- Cage Free Chickens: Kept in a building or structure of some kind, these chickens are protected from predators, and have roaming space indoors. This label IS regulated by the USDA, but is does not specify how much space each chicken has. To be sure, look for this term paired with the “Certified Humane®” label which requires each chicken gets 1.5 sq feet of space. It has additional requirements including perching spaces, dust bathing opportunities and air quality standards.
- Vegetarian Fed Chickens: This does NOT mean the chickens are fed vegetarian diets, but rather their food is made without animal by product additives.
- Outdoor Access: This is vague but usually means chickens are kept indoors, with some time spent outdoors. Or it could mean they simply have either a window or opening of some kind where they can breath fresh air and get some access to sunlight. Always look for the “Certified Humane®” label to know exactly what was required of the farm that these eggs came from.
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Breakfast Casserole with Cream Cheese and Crescent Rolls
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 baking dish
- 1 skillet or fry pan
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 large bowl
- 1 spatula
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 1 lb breakfast sausage
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 2.5 cups frozen shredded hashbrowns (thawed)
- 8 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, crumble and brown the sausage over medium-high heat. Tip: Use this tool to make crumbling the meat extra easy).Once sausage is cooked through, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Grab a second paper towel and blot access grease off of sausage.
- Divide cooked sausage into two equal parts and return half of it to the warm skillet. Cut cream cheese into smaller cubes and stir into skillet with sausage. Warm over low heat until cheese is melted.
- Unroll the crescent roll dough and press it into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, pinching the seams together to create a solid crust.
- Evenly distribute 2.5 cups shredded hashbrowns over the crescent roll crust. Sprinkle the hashbrowns with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
- Spoon the sausage and cream cheese mixture over top of the hashbrowns. Using a spatula, spread as best you can so that it is evenly distributed throughout the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 8 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4t garlic powder and 1/2t onion powder. Pour egg mixture over the sausage layer, making sure it spreads evenly. Tip: Pick up baking dish and slightly tip it from side to side so that egg mixture can spread into all corners.
- Top the egg layer with the remaining crumbled sausage, and sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheddar and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese over the top.
- Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the eggs are fully set and the top is golden brown. Tip: Rotate your pan at the halfway mark as not all ovens bake evenly. If your cheese is starting to look too brown before the egg has fully set, add a sheet of tin foil over top and bake for the remaining time. I usually need to add this for the last 5 minutes to prevent cheese from burning.
- Let the casserole cool for about 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Fresh fruit salad
- Yogurt with granola
- Crispy bacon or sausage links
- muffins like Easy Blueberry Muffins or Lemon Raspberry Muffins
- Toast, English muffins or bagels (serve with cream cheese and fun jams)
- A simple mixed green salad w/ vinaigrette or Best Ever Side Salad
