Breakfast casserole recipes combine traditional breakfast foods such as eggs, milk, bread, and cheese into a one dish meal which is usually baked. . Some recipes will include meat such as bacon, sausage or ham, and some may include vegetables as well.

Usually the breakfast casserole recipe is made up much like an egg strata, or a baked bread pudding, but it can also be made without bread, assembled much like a frittatas or a baked omelet.

A breakfast casserole has many other advantages as well. One advantage is that you know the ingredients, so you can not only be creative, but on the healthy side as well. Simple dishes require little work, and you can use frozen items that are already made, like frozen hash browns.

If you are on a special diet, you can use egg whites instead of whole eggs, reduced fat, milk and cheese, so you are eating a healthy dish, without it being bland and tasteless. You can make is as spicy as you want it, or not, and use substitutes for salt and other condiments.

A breakfast casserole recipe can sometimes be prepared the night before and put it in the oven the next morning so breakfast will be ready when everyone wakes up.

One thing you should be careful of when you make breakfast casseroles and refrigerate them prior to cooking is the use of certain glass cookware. Some types of glass cookware can crack or break if they are placed directly in a hot oven after being in the refrigerator over night. There are some glass dishes that can go from cold to hot with no problems. But if you are in doubt, you should use a metal pan instead.

Several breakfast casserole recipes include cubed bread. This is a great way to use slightly stale bread. When you use bread in the recipe, the ingredients are often assembled the night before baking. This gives the bread time to soak up the egg mixture or liquid producing a thick and creamy result.

Ham and sausage are the most popular meats for breakfast casseroles, but you don’t have to only use traditional breakfast meats. You could use chicken apple sausage, spicy beef sausage or any type you choose. These are briefly cooked the night before and layered on top or below the bread, if you use bread. Be sure to drain and pat cooked meat fully to take off extra grease from cooking.

As with any other foods, use the foods that you like and combine them together to make a simple breakfast casserole.