An egg breakfast casserole is the ultimate breakfast or brunch for entertaining because it feeds a crowd, is super satisfying, and you can prep it the night before. Last year we made this biscuit breakfast casserole with a side of fruit, bacon, and homemade cinnamon rolls, so this year let’s make something equally crowd-pleasing. Let’s all make everything bagel breakfast casserole! This recipe is inspired by the breakfast bake in Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook Cravings: Hungry for More. Hers uses a slightly different ratio of ingredients, frozen spinach, and delicious Gruyère cheese.
This Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole:
Uses leftover everything bagels as the base Has extra everything bagel seasoning Combines bacon, eggs, & extra cheese Includes peppers & tomatoes for a fresh element And is topped with cream cheese before baking
And best part of all: This isn’t soft and runny like some egg casseroles or the inside of eggs benedict—it has texture!
Video Tutorial: How to make Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole
Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole Ingredients
Everything Bagels: You can use homemade everything bagels, but store-bought is the easiest route. Cut 3 bagels into big bite-size pieces, then let them sit out overnight so they become a little stale. Day-old bagels have more texture and won’t become soggy and squishy in the egg mixture. If you’re in a time crunch, cut up fresh bagels and bake for 10 minutes so they firm up a bit. Everything Bagel Seasoning: You can purchase everything bagel seasoning from some stores, but it’s really easy to make it at home. Remember my everything bagel pull apart bread? We’re making the same stuff here. You need poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, dried garlic flakes, and coarse sea salt or flaky sea salt. If you don’t have these ingredients, don’t worry—there’s enough seasoning on the bagels themselves. Salt, Pepper, & Ground Mustard: 3 key flavors to spice up this breakfast. Eggs: Eggs are the base of this egg casserole dish. Milk: Milk thins out the eggs. For best taste and texture, I recommend whole milk. Cheese: What cheese do you like best with these flavors? Use it here! I used a mix of smoked gouda and mozzarella. I love this combination of cheese in my BBQ chicken pizza, too. White cheddar cheese would be excellent too! Cream Cheese: What’s a bagel without cream cheese? Cut a brick of cream cheese into chunks and arrange it all over the top of the casserole right before baking. It adds the BEST flavor.
And Some Extras
Cooked Bacon: Salty/savory bacon adds flavor to this dish. You can, of course, leave it meat-free or replace the bacon with cooked crumbled sausage. So it’s one less thing to do, you can cook and chop the bacon ahead of time. Tomatoes & Peppers: For a fresh element, add some peppers and tomatoes. Both work really well with the other ingredients in this dish. No need to pre-cook the peppers! Scallions: If desired, sprinkle the top of the baked casserole with chopped scallion.
Place the bagels, bacon, peppers, and tomatoes on the bottom: Pour the egg, milk, and cheese mixture on top: Top with everything bagel seasoning and cream cheese before baking: Like I mention above, I love that this dish has texture. The bagels become a little crisp on top, while the bottom is a mixture of softer bagels and a scrambled egg texture. We also have those fresh vegetables, crisp bacon, creamy cream cheese topping, and crunchy seasoning. Before they even mentioned the flavor, my friends (trusty taste testers!) commented on the satisfying texture. And, of course, the everything bagel flavor can’t be beat either. After 1 taste, you’re going to immediately wonder where this breakfast has been all your life. It has everything (literally) and the leftovers taste equally amazing!
More Breakfast Recipes for a Crowd
Homemade Monkey Bread Blueberry French Toast Casserole Quiche (a timeless favorite) Banana Muffins Sour Cream Coffee Cake Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls New York-style Crumb Cake Ham and Potato Casserole Easy Frittata Recipe (or a batch of Breakfast Egg Muffins!)
