Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Name: Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 16 slices white bread (cubed); 16 ounces cooked ham (cubed (use a ham steak to get thick cubes, or buy ham cubes)); 8 eggs; 3 cups milk; ¼ cup butter (melted and cooled); 2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded); ½ onion (chopped); ½ tsp Salt; ½ tsp pepper; 1 tsp onion powder; green onion (garnish)

2 Comments By Alicia

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This Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole is a comforting flavor-packed breakfast casserole for the entire family to enjoy! Starting with a base of soft white bread, delicious ham and melted cheese are suspended in a creamy egg filling and baked until golden brown.

plate of ham and cheese casserole with casserole dish in background

It’s a great make-ahead breakfast you can prepare the night before and heat in the morning. Because it’s such an easy breakfast casserole recipe is’t perfect for Christmas morning breakfast and other holiday mornings.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

This breakfast casserole is super quick to prepare and assemble and can easily be varied by using different meats, or adding in your favorite vegetables. It’s like a cheese bread pudding.

For a stress-free and simple breakfast meal, you certainly can’t go wrong with this Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole. In fact, it’s unlikely that you’ll even have any leftovers to store!

Ingredients

16 slices white bread, cubed
16 ounces cooked ham, cubed
8 eggs
3 cups milk
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
½ onion, chopped
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
Green onion for garnish

Instructions

four steps: bread in casserole dish, topped with diced ham; bowl with whisk and egg mixture; casserole dish with cheese on top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Layer bread cubes in a single layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Spread a layer of ham on top of the bread.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, butter, cheddar cheese, and onion, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Pour mixture on top of ham and bread. (Be sure to gently incorporate the melted butter. If it’s too hot it will curdle the eggs.)
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the eggs are fully cooked.
Garnish with chopped green onion.
Slice and serve.

How Should I Store Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole?

You can store leftover ham and cheese breakfast casserole in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

Ensure that you wrap your casserole dish tightly before refrigerating it, and don’t leave it at room temperature for over two hours. This way, your cooked ham and cheese breakfast casserole will stay fresh for a long time. If you want to store it for a longer period, I recommend freezing it.

To reheat, serve however many portions required instead of the entire remaining casserole and warm it in the microwave on high for 20-30 seconds.

Can I Freeze This Casserole?

Yes, you can! Make sure that your casserole is completely cool before storing it in the freezer and I also suggest removing any toppings that may wilt or get soggy through the process of thawing and defrosting – rather add fresh toppings just prior to serving.

Another option is to store single portions of your casserole in the freezer, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. That way you won’t need to defrost more than you need at any given time.

To thaw, leave your casserole overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat in the oven at 350℉ for 10-15 minutes, covered with aluminium foil to avoid burning.

white casserole dish with brown spatula and two pieces taken out

Variations

While I love this Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole as is, here are some great ways that you could easily adapt it:

Sausage – add pre-cooked sweet Italian sausages and stone-ground grits to bulk it up.
Hash browns – many versions of this recipe will add frozen hash browns
Tater tots – you can layer frozen tater tots on the bottom or top layer before baking
Bacon – add some crispy bacon pieces as a topping to this casserole.
Veggies – For a vegetarian breakfast casserole, add in your favorite vegetables to replace the ham. You could include sweet potatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, or broccoli.
Red peppers – this is especially nice at Christmas to add a tough of red into the casserole
Cheese – add in Swiss cheese or gruyere cheese. Even leave out the ham and make it just a cheese breakfast casserole recipe.

What to Serve with Ham and Cheese Casserole?

This breakfast casserole is a pretty hearty dish that you could quite easily enjoy without adding anything to it. If you’re feeding a larger crowd or just feel like pairing it with something else then consider adding the following side dishes:

hash browns
toast
english muffins
fresh fruit

Tips

Bread cubes – if using regular sandwich bread slices you can choose to cut the crusts off and cube the rest.
Whole milk – we recommend using whole milk (some even use a combo of heavy cream) to make the custard portion creamy
Ham – use a ham steak to get thick cubes, or buy ham cubes
Use leftovers – ham and cheese breakfast casserole is a great way to use up any leftover vegetables or meat in your refrigerator and can certainly bulk it up.
More cheese – sprinkle additional shredded cheese on the top of your casserole before baking. I’ve used cheddar cheese but you can use any other cheese that melts well.
Herbs – add in fresh or dried herbs into the egg mixture for even more flavoring.

This breakfast bake is perfect for a crowd or busy mornings when you don’t know what to make. I make these on Sunday nights and serve the next morning, and then reheat for the rest of the week to make a quick breakfast for the kids.

It’s so versatile and is perfect for special occasions like a family reunion and holidays when you need to feed a crowd.

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