Wake up to a comforting baked egg dish that’s ready in just over 30 minutes.
It’s raining this morning, and I’m thinking about how good it would be to have something baked for my breakfast. September is a transitional month in Missouri; the weather can change on a dime. But my thoughts and mood have made the turn toward autumn. If you’re with me, you’re going to love this Breakfast Casserole with Biscuits and Bacon.
There are hundreds of egg and biscuit casserole recipes out there; this dish is based off one found in an old Pillsbury cookbook, and it uses frozen Grands! buttermilk biscuits plus whole kernel corn. But I made a few tweaks and found a way to work around the frozen biscuits, but more on that later. What I like about this dish (in addition to its versatility) is you can put it together while the morning coffee is brewing, pop it in the oven and by the time you’ve cleaned up and had that first cup, it’s finished baking. Time to call your gang to the table and serve it up.
For this recipe, you’ll need:
4 frozen Pillsbury Grands! buttermilk biscuits
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 can whole kernel corn
4 slices of bacon
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper
The casserole is baked at 350 degrees F in an two-quart (glass/ceramic preferred) baking dish (like an 11-by-7-inch) for 30 to 35 minutes.
Pillsbury Grands biscuits are thawed for 10 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces. Arrange them evenly in the prepared pan.
Fry the bacon until crisp, drain and crumble. Mix the eggs and milk together and stir in bacon, corn, seasonings and cheese. This is poured over the biscuits (be sure all pieces are covered in mixture).
After baking, let the casserole stand about five minutes before serving. This casserole will feed four people.
The biscuit tops are golden while the bottoms are deliciously stodgy — the best of both worlds. While you can shop for these exact ingredients prior to making the dish, nowadays, I think cooks have to think on their feet because some items might be harder to find and a trip to the grocery today is more complicated. Here’s how the versatility of this dish can be valuable. You can use up what you have in the pantry and refrigerator. With the exception of the eggs and milk, everything else can be interchangeable.
I don’t have frozen biscuits. Although Pillsbury frozen biscuits are a good value and deliver on flavor, they may be harder to find now than the canned variety. You could use any frozen buttermilk biscuit or even a smaller can of refrigerated type. (Most breakfast biscuit recipes, I found, use the refrigerated dough.)
I had neither, however, when making this the first time. So, I whipped up a batch of Bisquick biscuits and baked them for six minutes. I placed the partially cooked biscuits into the pan with the egg mixture and popped all of it in the oven. Not as convenient as the frozen biscuits, but in a pinch, it worked.
I don’t have a can of corn. You can use 1½ cups of frozen or fresh corn. I used a can of fire-roasted corn. You could also swap out the corn for a can of green chilis and/or red peppers from a jar. Maybe there’s a partially eaten jar of black olives in your refrigerator; toss them in!
I don’t have bacon. Ham, sausage, meatless scrambles, Spam — even leftover taco meat — could work as a protein replacement. Leave the meat out completely if you wish.
There’s no shredded cheese in my fridge, but I have bits of other cheeses. Totally not a problem; the cheese you shred or grate at home melts better anyway because there’s no added ingredients to enhance shelf life. Use whatever you have, whether it’s sliced or bits from different bricks, you just need about 4 ounces of cheese.
So you see, this recipe is super friendly with your pantry and fridge because almost anything will work with the eggs and milk. Another tip I learned when making this; instead of whisking the eggs and milk together by hand, use a blender to create more air to help it puff when baking.
Weekends just lend themselves to a breakfast we can linger over, and a breakfast casserole is so easy to put together. You could serve this breakfast bake with fruit salad or — better yet for autumn — a small bowl of stewed apples. Because it’s topped with biscuits, you can skip the toast. Add cup of tea or coffee and there’s the perfect way to start your Saturday or Sunday.
Growing up, Mom often made a breakfast casserole around the holidays; I usually bake one for our Christmas brunch for my daughter and me. This biscuit-topped breakfast casserole would be a lovely way to welcome your student home for a weekend, or pack it up to take to Sunday’s tailgate event.
If you’re cooking for two, leftovers can be refrigerated for a day or two, but I’d recommend transferring to a small baking pan, covering it with aluminum foil and reheating in an oven at around 350 degrees F.
I hope you'll give this casserole a try; drop a comment and tell us what ingredients you used to make this dish unique to your kitchen!