A hearty vegetarian breakfast casserole that’s perfect for brunch! This Potato, Spinach and Cheese Egg Casserole is also an easy make ahead breakfast. How to recipe video below!
I love to eat eggs for breakfast, but I don’t always have time to prepare them on busy mornings. Lately I’ve been loving make ahead egg breakfasts, like breakfast casserole, breakfast burritos, and this Potato, Spinach and Cheese Egg Casserole.
Make this casserole on Sunday, pop it in your refrigerator, and then warm slices as needed over the next few days. With a slice of whole wheat toast or breakfast potatoes on the side, this egg casserole is a delicious and filling breakfast.
This recipe makes a large casserole, so you get a few meals out of your efforts. It’s also perfect to serve for Easter or Mother’s Day brunch, since it can feed a crowd!
My favorite part of this casserole is the cheese – I used pepper jack and loved the spice that it added! The first time that I made this, I had sent the hubby to the grocery store and he came home with sliced pepper jack rather than a block of cheese. Once I got past my “Oh no!” moment, I made do and cut the slices up into pieces, adding them to the casserole that way. It turned out fabulous. The bigger pieces of cheese added so much spicy, cheesy flavor to the finished dish.
The second time I made this egg casserole, I tried it with grated pepper jack. You couldn’t taste the cheese as much in the second casserole, so I’ll make this with chopped slices of cheese from now on. I will add that if you’re serving this to kids who aren’t big on spice, you might try a milder cheese like cheddar or mozzarella.
This casserole is easy to customize with what you add to it. I used onion, bell pepper, spinach, and potato. Veggies like mushrooms and asparagus should be chopped and cooked in the skillet along with the onion and bell pepper. Bacon is delicious too. If you try it, let me know what mix-ins you used and how you liked it!
Potato, Spinach and Cheese Egg Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, or olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1 large russet potato
- 5 ounces pepper jack cheese, 1 ¼ cups shredded (see note)
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, see note
- ¾ cup milk
- 12 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (2-3 minutes). Transfer the onion and peppers to the baking dish.
- Add the spinach to the skillet and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until it wilts slightly. Transfer spinach to the baking dish.
- Peel the potato. Chop the potato into ½-inch pieces, or shred using a box grater. Add potato to the baking dish with the other vegetables. Add the grated cheese and stir to mix.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt and milk until smooth. Add the eggs, salt and pepper to the bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour the egg mixture into the baking dish and stir gently to evenly distribute the vegetables and cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-20 more minutes, until eggs are set. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- The casserole has a little spice to it from the pepper jack cheese. If you (or your kids) don’t like spice, cheddar, mozzarella or regular Monterey jack cheese can be used instead.
- You may substitute sour cream for the Greek yogurt, or omit it completely. The casserole will be delicious either way.
I am the same as you, I love eggs, but I usually don’t have the time (or want to take the time) to make eggs. Casseroles are perfect for that! I love the potatoes and spinach in here, Kristine! Such a great make-ahead breakfast or even dinner. Looks SO good!
Thank you, Gayle! I would definitely eat this for dinner too!
I eat eggs almost every single day, and I especially love it when they’re made ahead in egg cups or casseroles so I don’t have to lift a finger in the morning! This is just perfect and the pepper jack cheese sounds delicious — I love a hint of spice. Great video too!
I need to make egg cups more often! Thanks for your kind words, Marcie!
Love the idea of this, Kristine … looks a bit like a quiche and sounds absolutely delicious!
I love eggs, such an easy way to get some filling protein (especially at breakfast time to keep you full through the morning) but they can get a bit repetitive on a regular basis. This looks like a great filling breakfast and even better that it can be made in advance!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much, Daniel! I agree, eggs are a great way to get a good serving of protein in at breakfast!
I made this and it is delicious! I pre-cut it into individual servings and take to work for breakfast for the week!
I’m so glad you liked it! I love to use this recipe for make ahead breakfasts too!
Love that there’s potato in this so it has some carbs! Just popped it in the oven. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.
So, I just want to be clear before I take on this recipe…..you don’t need to cook the potato ahead of time? Or did I miss that?
That’s correct. The potato will cook as the casserole bakes. Enjoy!
Can I make this with leftover potatoes (cooked)? If so would that shorten the cook time? Thanks!
I haven’t tried this with cooked potatoes, but I think that would work fine. Keep the cook time the same because the cook time is dependent on fully cooking the eggs. Enjoy!
I make this all the time! I really thinly slice the potato in a mandolin and layer on the bottom. They have a bit more texture to them than when I’ve grated where they sort of “melt” into the dish. I always add more spinach as it cooks down so much. This freezes fantastically. I keep a few slices in the fridge for the week and then individually freeze others so I can take out a slice and have! (Put in fridge the evening before and heat normally the morning of). I’ll continue to adapt this one. It’s a winner! Thanks so much.
can I refrigerate the uncooked casserole nd cook it the next morning?
Yes, you can. Enjoy!
Delicious and filling! I followed as closely as possible but had to make a few adjustments based on what I had.
Added 1/3 c sour cream &1/3 cottage cheese instead of yogurt
Only had colby jack but def want to try w pepperjack YUM!
Shredded my potato and added some cherry tomatoes. Great texture with the shredded potato and love I don’t need to have an entire bag of hash browns in my small freezer!
I made this recipe and it tasted delicious ! I followed everything on the recipe …The only thing I had to do different is add more time like 15-20 min , raise the temp to 375 and cover it back up with foil as the potatoes were undercooked.
Yes! My variation: a layer of frozen tater tots on the bottom of the dish, everything but the cheese mixed together poured on next, then the cheese sprinkled over the top. This was even better the next day. I will make 1 just to cut into sections for breakfast meal prep.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! It’s great for meal prep. 🙂