Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
with winter fruit salad / mimosas
Smarts: After assembling the casserole, let it rest for 20 minutes or as long as overnight. The egg mixture will soak into the bread cubes and give the finished dish a texture that is soft in the middle and crisp on the top.
Ingredients
- Baguette - 6 oz, cubed
- Bell peppers, red - 1, diced
- Bell peppers, green - 1, diced
- Onions, medium - 1, diced
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Cheese, shredded cheddar - 5 oz
- Eggs - 4
- Milk - 2 cups
- Heavy cream - 1/4 cup
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Apples, any type - 1, cubed
- Oranges, mandarin - 4, segments (sub canned mandarin oranges, drained and rinsed)
- Kiwis - 4, peeled and sliced
- Pomegranate seeds - 1/3 cup (look for these removed from the pomegranate shells in the produce section)
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Honey - 2 tsp
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Poppy seeds (opt) - 1 tsp
- Sparkling wine or champagne (opt) - 1/2 bottle
- Orange juice (opt) - 2 cups
- Ice (opt) - for serving
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Baguette - Slice into ½” / 1.3cm cubes. Leave the cubes out on the kitchen counter for up to 8 hours. They will hold up better in the casserole if they are a bit dry / stale. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Bell peppers / Onions - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cook peppers and onions - Heat oil (portion for casserole) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onions and saute until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Assemble casserole - Spray an 8” x 8” / 20cm x 20cm square baker with nonstick cooking spray or brush with some oil. Layer in half the bread cubes, half the cheese and half the onions / peppers. Add another layer with remaining breadcrumbs, cheese and onions / peppers. Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, salt and black pepper. Pour liquid over casserole. Let stand for 20 minutes or refrigerate for up to 8 hours. (Can be done 8 hours ahead)
- Make fruit salad - Prep apples, oranges, kiwis and pomegranate as directed. Whisk together lemon juice, honey, oil (portion for fruit salad) and poppy seeds. Gently toss fruit in dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Make
- Heat oven to 350F / 177C.
- Remove casserole from refrigerator and press down on the top to fully submerge bread in egg mixture. Place casserole near the oven as it heats so it comes close to room temperature before baking.
- Bake casserole until eggs are set and the surface is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes (if you baked the casserole directly from the fridge, it will need an extra 5-7 minutes).
- Let casserole rest on top of the warm oven for 10 minutes before serving (it will be more firm and slice more easily if allowed to rest).
- If making mimosas, combine sparkling wine / champagne with orange juice in a large pitcher. Fill glasses with ice. Pour mimosas over ice. (If you have any pomegranate seeds left, add a few to each mimosa for a pop of color.)
- Serve casserole with fruit salad on the side. Enjoy with mimosas!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
28 reviews
Tasty and my 13 yr old was able to pull this together while I did Christmas stuff. We used the bagged cubed bread meant for stuffing as a shortcut.
0 HelpfulI made this for a big group Christmas breakfast. It was a fantastic brunch item and people raved about. This is my new favorite breakfast casserole. And yes, it took a lot longer to bake until done, so add at least 20 minutes, especially if you make for a crowd. Fruit salad is awesome.
0 HelpfulThis is the second time I have had this one and I love it! My sister made it for me once and she keeps it as a quick breakfast for a whole week. I put green peppers (personal preference) in mine this past week and it was great. I also recommend maple sausage for a little extra sweetness.
0 HelpfulThis was a hit. Everyone loved the casserole. We even had enough leftover for breakfast the next day. First time making a fruit salad like this and it turned out wonderful.
0 Helpful