Overnight Southwest Breakfast Casserole

A great way to feed a hungry crowd for breakfast, this Southwest Breakfast Casserole can be made ahead and put in the oven right before your guests arrive.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Simply Potatoes for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Making breakfast should be easy, right? I'd sure like to think so. Well, here is one way to help you out with making breakfast even easier - and it doesn't involve skipping breakfast, not making breakfast or pouring a bowl of cereal.

In fact, I've come up with an amazingly delicious breakfast dish that literally takes 5 minutes of prep time! That's all. And then, you can either set your Crock-Pot timer or you can put it in an oven-safe dish and be ready to get up with enough time in the morning to bake the casserole for about 30 minutes.

Yep. Personally, the Crock-Pot timer sounds a WHOLE lot better. Because, lets face it - sleeping in an extra 30 minutes is a no-brainer. At least when you stay up until 12:30 in the morning watching Netflix. That happens a lot in our house.

Zikug is all about whipping up simple meals, and this one takes the cake. It's a savory breakfast dish that would also be perfect to serve at a brunch or potluck.

It's mixed up with a compilation of breakfast ingredients, but is pulled together so quickly by using a bag of Simply Potatoes Hash Browns.

There are a few varieties of Simply Potatoes, but we used the Southwest Style Hash Browns to compliment this recipe. Since I had another bag of Simply Potatoes Hash Browns on hand, I decided to thrown them in a couple of the pictures so you can see what the product looks like. It's a great way to get a visual so you know what to look for at the store.

Simply Potatoes are found in the refrigerated section in the grocery store, normally right over in the dairy section. Now, I know that isn't where you would expect to find potatoes, but trust that these potatoes are so good, and will save you so much time in the kitchen!

Simply Potatoes is made by the folks over at the Crystal Farms Company. And, if you're at all familiar with Crystal Farms (which I'm sure you are), you know they make great-tasting, high-quality cheese, eggs, butter and English muffins.

Some key points that make Simply Potatoes the best packaged potato products I've tried:

1. Fresh, never frozen
2. Easy to prepare and have on hand - no peeling/shredding required
3. Made with real ingredients

And, like I said... they are located in the dairy section at your local grocery store, so they are easy to find whenever you have a recipe that calls for yummy potatoes or has browns.

Some of the best recipes I can think of using Simply Potatoes involve easy slow-cooker recipes. And we all know that easy slow-cooker meals make life so much easier. Especially on busy school nights full of homework battles or extra-curricular activities. And our house is no different that yours.

In fact, I came home last night at about 9 pm, straight from running an errand to Home Depot to purchase a new microwave because ours is on the fritz and a bunch of paint because our upstairs is WAY overdue for a fresh coat.

You know what I saw when I walked in? Ugh. I really hate to tell you--but it's the truth. Piles of (thankfully) clean laundry, waiting to be put away. Dirty dishes in the sink, because oh yeah--our dishwasher decided to break down to and parts are apparently on order. Which means our repair call is on hold--UGH!!! And, a kitchen island with more junk piled on it than I care to admit. *Sigh*

So, my point in all this is that we are all BUSY. I was seriously home long enough last night to clean up all of that mess--and only then because if I walked past it one more time I was going to probably quite literally pull my hair out and go crazy.

I get it. In between kids, work, TRYing to keep a house organized, and all the kids activities--where in the world is there time to do more than prepare an EASY meal? Which is why I am ALL about focusing on the ease of meal prep. 5 minute meal prep. That is all this recipe took. And it was fresh, tasty and just as good the second day.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

• Simply Potatoes Southwest Style Hash Browns. These refrigerated shredded potatoes come already seasoned with peppers and onions, so they do double duty as the base and the flavor of the casserole. Plain Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns work too; add ½ cup diced bell pepper, ¼ cup diced onion and a pinch of chili powder and cumin to bring back the Southwest flavor.
• Frozen hash browns. If you can't find Simply Potatoes, use 20 ounces (about 5 cups) of frozen shredded hash browns. Thaw them first, in the fridge overnight or in the microwave, and squeeze out the extra water in a clean kitchen towel so the casserole doesn't turn soggy. A bag of frozen diced Potatoes O'Brien, which already has onions and peppers mixed in, is the closest swap for the Southwest Style variety.
• Ham. Diced, fully cooked ham adds salty, smoky bites all the way through. It's also a great way to use up leftovers from an easy glazed holiday ham. Cooked breakfast sausage, crumbled bacon or diced cooked chicken can stand in for it.
• Eggs and milk. Four eggs whisked with a splash of milk bind the potatoes together without turning the dish into a quiche. Any milk works, including unsweetened almond milk, and half-and-half makes it a little richer.
• Pepper jack cheese. The little bits of jalapeno in pepper jack give the casserole a gentle kick. For a milder version, use shredded Monterey Jack, cheddar or a Mexican-style blend.

Helpful Tips

Use the right dish. A 9x13-inch baking dish gives you an even layer that bakes through in under an hour. A deep Pyrex 9x13 baking dish with a lid is handy here, since you can assemble, cover and refrigerate the casserole in the same dish. Just swap the plastic lid for foil before it goes in the oven.

Start cold, and give it time. A glass or ceramic dish straight from the fridge can crack if it goes into a hot oven, so put the covered dish in a cold oven and let them heat up together. Because everything starts cold, plan on about 35 minutes covered and another 15 to 20 minutes uncovered. The casserole is done when the center no longer looks wet and a knife slid into the middle comes out clean.

Let the Crock-Pot do the work. For the slow cooker method, assemble everything in the insert the night before, then set the timer so it starts cooking on LOW about 4 hours before you want breakfast. A programmable Crock-Pot will switch to warm on its own when it's done.

Dry your potatoes. Refrigerated hash browns are ready to go, but thawed frozen ones hold a surprising amount of water. Squeezing them dry is the difference between crisp-edged squares and a wet, spongy bottom layer.

Let it rest before cutting. Give the casserole 5 minutes out of the oven. The eggs finish setting as it stands, and the squares hold their shape when you serve them.

Variations

• Sausage and pepper. Swap the ham for browned breakfast sausage (try these homemade breakfast sausage patties, crumbled) and add a diced roasted red pepper.
• Green chile. Stir a 4-ounce can of diced green chiles into the egg mixture for more of that Southwest flavor.
• Black bean and corn. Leave out the ham and layer in 1 cup of rinsed black beans and ½ cup of corn for a vegetarian version.
• Extra cheesy. Use 2 cups of cheese, half pepper jack and half sharp cheddar, and save a handful to sprinkle on for the last 10 minutes of baking.
• Loaded veggie. Add sauteed onions, bell peppers, mushrooms or spinach. Cook them first and let them cool so they don't release water into the casserole.

Serving Ideas

This casserole is made for holiday mornings. Slide it into the oven before everyone gets up on Christmas morning, and it's ready by the time the presents are open. Top each square with salsa, sour cream, sliced green onions or a little chopped cilantro, and set out hot sauce for anyone who wants more heat. A bright mango salsa is especially good with the smoky ham and pepper jack.

For a full holiday brunch, pair it with something sweet, like Christmas tree cinnamon rolls or a slice of eggnog coffee cake, plus a bowl of fresh fruit. A pitcher of orange juice or a batch of warm mulled mimosas for the grown-ups rounds out the table.

Make-Ahead, Storing & Freezing

Make ahead: The whole point of this recipe is that it's done the night before. For the oven version, assemble the casserole in the baking dish, cover it tightly and refrigerate it for 8 to 12 hours. You can go up to 24 hours, though the potatoes soften a bit more the longer it sits. For the slow cooker version, assemble it in the Crock-Pot the night before and set the timer so it's ready when you wake up. For a big holiday weekend, you can also bake it a day early, then cover and reheat it at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Storing: Let leftovers cool, then cover the dish or move the squares to an airtight container. They keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat single squares in the microwave for 45 to 60 seconds, or warm a larger batch in a 350°F oven, covered with foil, for about 15 minutes.

Freezing: The baked casserole freezes well. Cool it completely, cut it into squares and wrap each one in plastic wrap, then store them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat until hot in the center. We don't recommend freezing it unbaked, because the raw potatoes and eggs turn watery and gray once thawed.

More Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes

If you love this Overnight Southwest Breakfast Casserole, be sure to check out these other tasty ideas:

• Overnight Chocolate Oatmeal
• Overnight French Toast Bake
• Cinnamon Sugar Cruffins
• Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole

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