I have always loved this time of year. No, I’m not talking about fall and all the changing colors I’m talking about football season. Not only do we finally get to see our favorite teams play, but its also a great excuse to get people together and make great food. And this year is no different as we’ve already made all the classics such as buffalo wings, pulled pork, and fritters. However, last weekend we had to make some minor adjustments to our game day menu as our favorite team played an early morning game. Why? Well, let me just say that nobody wants to scarf down wings or fritters at 10 in the morning. But you know what people will eat? A southwest breakfast casserole!
If I’m being honest this is quite possibly the best breakfast dish not only for game day but for just about any morning get-together. For starters, all of the work is front-loaded. All of the sauteeing and the forming of the southwest breakfast casserole takes place the night before. Then you just let it sit in your fridge overnight and place it in the oven to bake the following morning. It’s a very stress-free affair.
The second reason why you will love this southwest breakfast casserole is the simple fact that it feeds a lot of people. How many you ask? Well even if everyone is starving you should be able to fill up 12 bellies, possibly even more! And if for some reason you don’t finish it all then no worries as breakfast casseroles make great leftovers.
The last reason why you will love this southwest breakfast casserole is that it tastes great. Not only is it filled with cheese and sauteed onions & peppers, but it also gets a lot of kick thanks to the inclusion of chorizo. It’s almost like its spices infuse with every bite of this dish! So if all of this is sounding good to you then let’s get on to the recipe.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- What cheese to use? Well, that’s entirely up to you and what type of cheese you like, however, I would recommend something like Monterey jack, or a Mexican blend.
- Try swapping out ½ cup of the milk with cream for a richer dish.
- If you aren’t a fan of chorizo then you can swap it out with just basic breakfast sausage, however, you will lose all of the good spicy flavors.
- I like to serve this southwest breakfast casserole with a dollop of our homemade table salsa.
Southwest Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 to 1½ hour
Servings: 12
Ingredients
9oz. Pack of chorizo sausage
1 Medium onion, diced
1 Red bell pepper, diced
1-2 Jalapeno, deseeded and minced
3 Cups of frozen hashbrowns
1 Cup of shaved Mexican blend cheese
12 Eggs
2 Cups of milk
1 Teaspoon of salt
Garnish:
Cilantro, minced
Table salsa
Instructions
- Cook the chorizo, onion, and bell pepper: Get out a large skillet and place it on your stove over high heat. Once the pan is hot toss in the chorizo and cook it until it begins to brown.
Make sure to break up the chorizo as it is cooking as we don’t want any large chunks. Once the chorizo is cooked take it out of the pan and transfer it to a large bowl. Place the pan back on the heat, toss in the onion and pepper and saute for 5 minutes.
Once the onion and bell pepper are cooked take them out of the pan and transfer them to the same bowl you have the chorizo in. let these ingredients cool off completely before moving on to the next step.
- Make the casserole filling: Once the chorizo, onion, and bell pepper have cooled off toss in the jalapeno, hashbrowns, and cheese. Then use a spoon to mix all of those ingredients together.
- Make the egg mixture: Get out another large bowl and crack all 12 eggs into it. Then whisk the eggs together. Finally, add in the milk and salt mixing everything together.
- Make the casserole: Get out a 9 x 13 baking dish and grease it with some spray oil. Then toss in the casserole filling making sure that it is distributed evenly in the baking dish.
Then pour in the egg mixture and use a spoon to poke the casserole so that the egg mixture seeps into every nook and cranny. 
- Let the casserole rest overnight in your fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the casserole: Once the oven is hot toss in the casserole and let it bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Check on the casserole after 45 minutes and if the top of the casserole is getting too browned up then cover the baking dish with some aluminum foil. You will know that it is completely cooked through when you stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
- Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before slicing up into pieces. Garnish each piece with some minced cilantro and a dollop of salsa.
Southwest Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 oz. Pack of chorizo sausage
- 1 Medium onion diced
- 1 Red bell pepper diced
- 1-2 Jalapeno deseeded and minced
- 3 Cups of frozen hashbrowns
- 1 Cup of shaved Mexican blend cheese
- 12 Eggs
- 2 Cups of milk
- 1 Teaspoon of salt
Garnish:
- Cilantro minced
- Table salsa
Instructions
- Cook the chorizo, onion and bell pepper: Get out a large skillet and place it on your stove over high heat. Once the pan is hot toss in the chorizo and cook it until it begins to brown. Make sure to break up the chorizo as it is cooking as we don’t want any large chunks. Once the chorizo is cooked take it out of the pan and transfer it to a large bowl. Place the pan back on the heat, toss in the onion and pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Once the onion and bell pepper are cooked take them out of the pan and transfer them to the same bowl you have the chorizo in. let these ingredients cool off completely before moving on to the next step.
- Make the casserole filling: Once the chorizo, onion, and bell pepper have cooled off toss in the jalapeno, hashbrowns, and cheese. Then use a spoon to mix all of those ingredients together.
- Make the egg mixture: Get out another large bowl and crack all 12 eggs into it. Then whisk the eggs together. Finally, add in the milk and salt mixing everything together.
- Make the casserole: Get out a 9 x 13 baking dish and grease it with some spray oil. Then toss in the casserole filling making sure that it is distributed evenly in the baking dish. Then pour in the egg mixture and use a spoon to poke the casserole so that the egg mixture seeps into every nook and cranny.
- Let the casserole rest overnight in your fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the casserole: Once the oven is hot toss in the casserole and let it bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Check on the casserole after 45 minutes and if the top of the casserole is getting too browned up then cover the baking dish with some aluminum foil. You will know that it is completely cooked through when you stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
- Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before slicing up into pieces. Garnish each piece with some minced cilantro and a dollop of salsa.
Inspiration from other blogs
From Real Housemoms
From Julia’s Album
