This Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is the perfect combination of shredded hashbrown potatoes, eggs, ham, bacon, cheddar and ricotta cheese baked together to serve up a hearty easy breakfast casserole to any hungry crowd. The perfect make ahead breakfast casserole, this is a crowd pleaser every time!
It’s always fun to have a secret. This Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole has a BIG one!!
What am I talking about??? How can an easy breakfast casserole recipe have a secret?
I am talking about… the secret ingredient to the BEST breakfast casserole you will ever make!
Before I forget, serve this up alongside Blueberry Orange Muffins, Apple Fritter Monkey Bread and Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls for the perfect brunch!
cheesy hashbrown breakfast casserole
You can hit up your favorite search engine on that thing we call the World Wide Web and you will find approximately a billion hashbrown breakfast casserole recipes.
Over and over again you will read to add eggs and meat and cheese and then bake it and then there’s your breakfast casserole.
They are all perfectly good breakfast recipes, some with meat, some without, some with cheese, some without (I don’t understand that), some with veggies … well, you get the idea.
And dare I say, we have all been at work on Potluck Day when someone brings in a perfectly good breakfast casserole and we are satisfied… but oddly left lacking.
In all the billions of easy breakfast casserole recipes, is there one recipe that just stands out about the rest?
Ohhhhhh YES!
secret to the best hashbrown casserole
The secret ingredient of the BEST hashbrown breakfast casserole is … ricotta cheese.
You read right. Ricotta cheese gives this easy ham and cheese casserole new life.
And if you look through those other billion Cheesy Breakfast Casserole recipes, I bet you don’t find it mentioned too often.
Believe me, once you try this hashbrown breakfast recipe, you will never go back to plain breakfast casserole again. I promise!
This is truly the best loaded breakfast casserole I have ever made.
And before anyone shakes their head at this, you cannot taste the ricotta but it definitely makes the casserole creamy but not in a gross egggy way.
As a girl who is not a huge fan of ricotta and even less of a fan of eggs, believe me.. you will LOVE this!!
There are so many different ways to make this easy breakfast recipe!
Add the ingredients you like best because any way you make it, it will come out perfect and you will be the hero of pre-noon food.
This is where I also point it this super easy breakfast recipe can be made ahead of time to save you the time from being away from your guests or it can be thrown together the morning of.
Heck, you can even make this easy breakfast casserole recipe, freeze it and have it on hand for whenever you need it.
why this breakfast is the bomb
- Made with everyday items, this hashbrown casserole is easy to assemble and made to your tastes.
- Super easy to make, this breakfast recipe is simple to make regardless of your expertise in the kitchen.
- Add ricotta cheese to your hashbrown casserole creates a creaminess you can’t get with anything else. This is better than all the rest!
- Perfect easy breakfast recipe to feed a crowd and ideal for holiday mornings.
- The ideal make ahead breakfast casserole!
- 100% the BEST breakfast casserole ever!!
- Loaded with all of your favorite breakfast ingredients!! Ham, bacon and tons of cheesy goodness!!
To make this Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole, you will need:
- Refrigerated shredded hashbrowns or breakfast potatoes
- Butter
- Eggs
- Ricotta cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Onion
- Cooked ham
- Cooked bacon
- Green onions
- Seasonings
how to make easy breakfast casserole
Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees. Add your hash browns or breakfast potatoes into a buttered 9×13 casserole dish and spread into an even layer.
Pour melted butter evenly over your potatoes and bake for 30-40 minutes or until your potatoes have started to crisp.
Remove from oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees and in a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, ricotta and spices.
Stir in shredded cheese, onion, bacon and ham (reserve some of the bacon, ham and cheese for later).
Pour your egg mixture over your hash browns / breakfast potatoes and bake for 55-60 minutes.
About 20 minutes before your breakfast casserole is done cooking, sprinkle with reserved shredded cheese, breakfast meat and green onions.
When done, remove from oven and serve immediately.
pro tips for perfect cheesy hashbrown casserole
- Make life easier by using pre-cooked meats and ready to cook hash browns or breakfast potatoes. I buy the chunks of cooked / sliced ham, crumbled cooked bacon from the salad dressing aisle of my grocery store. I also use Simply Potato breakfast potatoes and shredded hashbrowns. You can make homemade hash browns but sometimes I am happy to let the supermarket do the work for me.
- Save some of your breakfast meat to the side! When your breakfast casserole is about 20 minutes away from being cooked, sprinkle on some shredded cheese, the reserved meat and some green onions. Your ham and cheese breakfast casserole will be extra pretty to serve up to your loved ones and we all know pretty is important 🙂
- This easy breakfast casserole can be changed up more ways then I can count. Add in whatever breakfast meat you like from bacon to sausage to turkey sausage to ham. Heck!! .. add all three if you want to serve up an extra hearty breakfast.
- This breakfast recipe is titled Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole but those hash browns can be swapped out for breakfast potatoes if you prefer. I have used both hash browns and potatoes (like in the video below) and I find that is completely a personal decision. I also like to mix things up and fry up my potatoes or hash browns in a skillet on the stove-top before adding them to the casserole dish so that they are a bit crunchier but my hubby likes them baked in the oven as instructed but just throwing that out there for you to consider 🙂
make ahead breakfast casserole
To make this cheesy breakfast casserole the night before, simply bake your hash browns / potatoes as instructed and then remove from the oven and let cool.
Layer on your shredded cheese, bacon and ham, cover in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
The next morning, combine the eggs, ricotta, onions and spices and pour over the ingredients in your pan. Bake as instructed but add on an extra 10-15 minutes.
how to freeze hashbrown casserole
If you would like to FREEZE this cheesy breakfast casserole for later use, bake as instructed in a disposable foil pan and cool completely before freezing.
Wrap your breakfast casserole well in more foil and freeze.
Defrost in the fridge the night before you need will be serving and then cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 or until warmed through.
more easy breakfast recipes
- 2 Ingredient Bagels
- Meal Prep Breakfast Sandwiches
- Blueberry Pecan Baked Oatmeal
- Breakfast Enchiladas with Poblano Sauce
- Overnight Challah French Toast Casserole
- Purple Potato Breakfast Skillet
Enjoy ♥ Heather
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Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked hash browns .. one bag of Simply Potatoes hash browns works perfect or 1-1/2 bags of the breakfast potatoes
- 1 stick butter .. melted
- 9 large eggs
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese .. divided (reserve 1 cup for topping)
- 1/2 large onion .. diced
- 2 cups pre-cooked ham chunks .. divided (reserve 1/2 cup for topping)
- 3 ounces pre-cooked bacon crumbles or 6 slices cooked bacon
- 2 green onions .. diced
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt or Cajun seasoning .. optional
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees. Add your hash browns or breakfast potatoes into a buttered 9x13 casserole dish and spread into an even layer.
- Pour melted butter evenly over your potatoes and bake for 30-40 minutes or until your potatoes have started to crisp. Remove from oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees and in a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, ricotta and spices. Stir in shredded cheese, onion, bacon and ham (reserve some of the bacon, ham and cheese for later).
- Pour your egg mixture over your hash browns / breakfast potatoes and bake for 55-60 minutes.
- About 20 minutes before your breakfast casserole is done cooking, sprinkle with reserved shredded cheese, breakfast meat and green onions. When done, remove from oven and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Make life easier by using pre-cooked meats and ready to cook hash browns or breakfast potatoes. I buy the chunks of cooked / sliced ham, crumbled cooked bacon from the salad dressing aisle of my grocery store and the Simply Potato breakfast potatoes and shredded hashbrowns. You can make homemade hash browns but sometimes I am happy to let the supermarket do the work for me.
- Skip the pre-shredded bags of cheese from the grocery store. They produce an oily type of cheese and no one likes to serve up a greasy breakfast. Take the extra 5 minutes to shred block cheese yourself.
- Save some of your breakfast meat to the side and when your breakfast casserole is about 20 minutes away from being cooked, sprinkle on some shredded cheese, the reserved meat and some green onions. Your ham and cheese breakfast casserole will be extra pretty to serve up to your loved ones and we all know pretty is important 🙂
- This easy breakfast casserole can be changed up more ways then I can count. Add in whatever breakfast meat you like from bacon to sausage to turkey sausage to ham.. heck .. add all three if you want to serve up an extra hearty breakfast.
- Cheese is also able to be changed out if cheddar cheese isn't your jam... add in Monterey Jack, Havarti or even Swiss cheese if you want a bit of variety.
- This breakfast recipe is titled Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole but those hash browns can be swapped out for breakfast potatoes if you prefer. I have used both hash browns and potatoes (like in the video below) and I find that is completely a personal decision. I also like to mix things up and fry up my potatoes or hash browns in a skillet on the stove-top before adding them to the casserole dish so that they are a bit crunchier but my hubby likes them baked in the oven as instructed but just throwing that out there for you to consider 🙂
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in April of 2018 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in May of 2020.
can you make this ahead, like bake the crust and put in fridge and then in the morning add rest and cook?
Yes.. I have done that before. Simply make your crust the day before and refrigerate it.. heat it up in your preheated oven for about 10 minutes while you are making the filling. Enjoy!
Okay, so I LOVE ricotta, but never thought to use it in a breakfast casserole! You little genius, you! This looks so amazing.
Hahaha .. I am adding Genius to my official title now .. 🙂
I am not a fan of ricotta either. But I am going to try this recipe!! Thanks that you make it so fun to read your receipes!!
Thank you Denise.. I hope you like it!!