Cheesy Ham and Egg Breakfast Casserole with Biscuits
This crowd-pleasing Cheesy Egg Breakfast Casserole with Biscuits is my new favorite! Use store bought or homemade biscuits to make a moist and delicious brunch for your guests. Try it with ham, bacon, or sausage. Top it all off with Hollandaise Sauce for an incredible holiday breakfast!
3cupscheeseshredded (I used cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Garnishes
chopped parsley
chopped green onions
1recipe of Blender Hollandaise Sauceto serve with
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a deep 9x13 inch casserole dish with nonstick spray or rub with oil or butter.
Begin by making the biscuit dough. (See note for how to use store bought biscuits!) In a medium bowl, add 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder. Whisk together.
Add 1/2 cup of cold butter. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture. If you don't have a pastry cutter you can use a butter knife. Keep cutting the butter until the mixture has mostly come together, with some butter pieces up to the size of a pea. See photos.
Add 3/4 cup cold buttermilk. Use a spatula to stir the liquid into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough has formed. Flour your hands and knead the dough in the bowl 3-5 times until the mixture has formed a ball. See photos.
Turn the dough out onto a flour surface. (I love to use my pastry cloth.) Roll the dough out to about a 10x12 inch rectangle. Sprinkle with flour as necessary. It doesn't need to be perfect.
Fold the short ends of the dough in by thirds, like you're folding a business letter. See photos. Flip the dough over so that the seam side is down, and pat it flat with your hands, or roll the rolling pin over it a couple times to seal the dough together. (We are doing this folding to get flaky layers in our biscuits.)
Use a serrated knife, scissors, or a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 1 inch strips. Cut each strip into 3 squares. See photos. Each square of dough should be about 1x1 or 1x2 inches. It doesn't have to be perfect!
Meanwhile, prepare the egg mixture. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together 9 eggs, 1 and 2/3 cup cream, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder. (The seasonings can be adjusted to your taste)
To assemble: sprinkle half of the ham over the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Spread all of the biscuit squares over the top of the ham. Spread the remaining ham over the top of the biscuits.
Top with 3 cups of shredded cheese. You can use pretty much any kind of cheese you like, I'm partial to cheddar. I did 2 cups of cheddar and 1 cup of Monterey Jack. You could also try a Mexican blend, shredded mozzarella, or pepper jack if you want to make it spicy.
Pour the egg mixture over the top of the casserole, making sure everything gets wet.
(At this point you can cover tightly and refrigerate overnight!)
Bake at 350 for about 38-40 minutes. The casserole is done when the top is golden and the center of the pan doesn't wobble much or look liquidy when you shake the pan.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately! Garnish with chopped parsley, chopped green onions, and/or Blender Hollandaise Sauce, if desired. The hollandaise sauce is optional, I think it's delicious served with or without!
Notes
*You can either use leftover ham that you have from serving ham at a holiday meal, or you can buy a 1.25 pound ham steak at the store. The ham should be smoked and therefore already cooked. You can replace this with any kind of cooked breakfast meat that you like: bacon, sausage, etc. **You can skip making homemade biscuits and use a 16 ounce can of Pillsbury biscuits! I tried it both ways. There are 8 biscuits in a can, and while you can use the whole can, I like the ratio of egg-to-biscuit better when I only used 7 biscuits. Totally up to you! You will need to cut each biscuit into quarters. Layer in the pan as directed in the recipe! It's a huge time saver! I don't love the flavor quite as much but hey sometimes you just gotta get er done. If you use all 8 biscuits from a can, place your casserole dish on a baking sheet just in case you have any bubbling over. (A deep pan is best.) ***Cream is sold by the milk, usually in pint or quart cartons. It is not coffee creamer. Depending on the fat levels, it may be labeled "heavy cream" or "whipping cream." It doesn't matter what kind you get for this recipe. I get questions about what I mean by "cream" all the time! I'm always so surprised! Overnight Refrigerator Instructions: Once you have assembled the entire casserole and have poured the egg mixture over the top (through step 11), cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. The next morning get the casserole out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, 10-15 minutes. Bake as directed, allowing for an extra 5-10 minutes to get fully baked. Make Ahead Freezer Instructions: Bake the casserole as directed and cool. Cover tightly, making sure it's totally sealed. Freeze for up to 2 months. When you are ready to bake, you can either let it thaw in the fridge for 1-2 days and then bake as directed, or you can bake it straight from frozen: cover the casserole with foil and bake at 300 for about 45-60 minutes. You are just rewarming the casserole, so as soon as it is heated through you can serve it. Alternatively, you can section the baked casserole in individual portions in tupperwares or ziplocks, freeze, and microwave on a plate to reheat.