Sausage, Bacon and Brie Breakfast Casserole

Updated 11.25.21.

As someone who loves to cook and (usually) blog about it, the holidays offer a good excuse for me to do both. I especially love trying new recipes. I’m a little bit out of my element back in Long Beach. I have yet to move into the condo I’m about to purchase, so I’m stuck in corporate housing for a few more days. I’m not complaining. It’s a nice place. I felt a bit like Annie walking in to Daddy Warbucks’ mansion when I first walked in the apartment. However, the kitchen appliances, devices and gadgets are a bit lacking. Here’s an example. In my temporary kitchen I have one (glass) cutting board. I hate glass cutting boards. Really what’s the point of them? I always feel like my food items are slipping and sliding right off. In my own kitchen I normally keep about 10 (non-glass) cutting boards and I often use all of them for major cooking ventures – like holidays.

At any rate, for Thanksgiving morn, I wanted something easy to put together. I oftentimes gravitate toward casserole type dishes for holidays and this Thanksgiving was no exception. I found a delicious-looking casserole recipe on www.branappetit.com. I adapted the recipe slightly.

While I wasn’t overly fond of the oregano flavor in the dish (I think there was so much flavor to begin with that you don’t even need it), I can see why this casserole would be a favorite over the years.

A few notes:

While you can substitute biscuits instead of crescent rolls, it gives the dish an entirely different feel. The ratio of bread to egg is just too large. If all you have is biscuits, I would recommend upping the quantity of the egg. I would use 8 or even 10 eggs.
Many times I will say you can use whatever cheese you feel like or might say use “white” cheese or a “soft yellow/orange.” For this recipe I suggest using a mild white cheese along with the Brie. I made this once using Jarslberg and Brie and all I could taste was the Jarlsberg. While I like Jarlsberg for nibbling it’s a very strong cheese and will over power this dish.

ingredients.

½ lb pork breakfast sausage, browned (I used sage flavor)
¼ lb bacon, cooked and chopped
1 package crescent rolls (or two small packages of biscuits in a pinch–not recommended)
8 oz sliced brie cheese
1 c. fontina/havarti cheeses, shredded (or any mild white cheese)
8 eggs
½ c. milk or cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
oregano, parsley or other herbs (optional)

directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Unroll the crescents and press them evenly, sealing the seams together, in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Scatter the cooked sausage and bacon over the crescent rolls. Top the sausage with shredded cheese.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and cheese as evenly as possible. Top with any spices you desire. I topped mine with oregano.
Bake the casserole at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until the edges are browned and the eggs are set. (Note: I baked mine in a slightly smaller dish and found that after 25 minutes the eggs were still runny. So I put the dish back into the oven at 350 degrees and baked it for 10 additional minutes.) Let the dish sit at least 10 minutes (I exercised restraint and let it sit for 15 and it was perfect) before cutting into slices and serving. I cut the dish into 8 equal-ish rectangular pieces.

Recipe rating: 