This bacon and green chili breakfast casserole is my go-to dish when I need to feed a large crowd in the morning. Featuring sourdough bread with the aforementioned bacon and green chilies. Left to soak overnight in an egg and dairy mixture. And baked with shredded cheese until everything is nice and hot!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Can you assemble this in the morning?: Yes you can if you have the time but I highly recommend you assemble it the night before. Not only because it makes baking the dish in the morning super easy. But it also allows the flavors of the dish more time to mingle together.
- Make sure to use dry/stale bread: One of the keys to making this recipe is that you use dry/stale bread. I’m not saying that it needs to be so stale that it’s as hard as a brick. But it should be dry/stale enough that the bread is no longer springy. Why is this important? Well, it’s because we’re going to let the bread sit in a liquid (egg and milk) overnight. And while stale bread will soak this up and become soft. Fresh bread on the other hand tends to turn to mush which ruins the structural integrity and texture of the casserole.
- Not a fan of sourdough?: Don’t worry as you can sub it out with pretty much any other type of bread you enjoy. It doesn’t matter if it’s white bread, rye bread, or whole wheat. The only type of bread that I don’t recommend is multigrain/seeded bread as they tend to break down too much.
- You can also use other more common “breakfast” bread like biscuits, croissants, or bagels. Just make sure that whatever you use is dry/stale and you should be good!
- Bacon alternatives: You don’t like bacon? Ah, who am I kidding everyone loves bacon! But if you do want to you can sub out the bacon for an equal amount of breakfast sausage (cooked & crumbled), or breakfast ham.
- Other cheeses: Feel free to swap out the cheddar cheese with any other type of shredded cheese that you like. Some of my favorite options are a Mexican blend, Swiss, Gruyere, Gouda, or any combination of these.
- Adding additional veggies: You can easily add more vegetables to this dish if you like. Some great options include diced onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Or you can even add in some leafy greens like spinach or kale. Just make sure to sautee them in a pan until soft, and add them in the same layer as the bacon and green chilies.
- Leftovers: Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in your fridge for up to 5 days. And reheat them in a microwave for 1 minute or until hot.
- Toppings: Some of my favorite toppings for this dish include hot sauce, green onions, avocado, chives, and cilantro. Or you can go all out and make some salsa like our Table Salsa and fresh Pico de Gallo.
- Serving suggestions: This dish is typically enough of a meal all by itself. But when you’re serving a larger crowd I like to pair it with fresh fruit like berries, pineapple, or canteloupe.
Other Breakfast Casseroles You Might Enjoy
Bacon & Green Chili Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Ingredients
10oz. of sourdough bread, or roughly 10 to 12 slices
1 Lb of bacon
2 4oz. cans of diced green chilies, drained of their juices
12 Eggs
2 Cups of milk
½ Teaspoon of salt & pepper
½ Teaspoon of onion powder
½ Teaspoon of cayenne powder (optional)
2 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
The day/night before
- Dice and dry out the bread: Cut your bread into roughly 1 to 2 inch sized chunks, and arrange them evenly on a baking sheet. If you’re using fairly fresh bread you’ll need to let it sit for a couple of hours to dry out. However, if you are using old bread that is already stale then you don’t need to dry it out for more than 1 hour.
- Cook bacon until crispy and then roughly chop it into pieces.
- Combine the egg, milk, and spices: Crack each egg into a medium sized mixing bowl. Then add the milk, salt, pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Whisk these ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
- Assemble the casserole: Grease a 9×13 casserole dish with either butter or a spray oil like PAM. Next, arrange the dried pieces of bread evenly along the bottom of the dish.
Follow this up by spreading the chopped bacon and diced green chilies over top.
Then sprinkle on the 2 cups of shredded cheese.
And finally, pour the egg and dairy mixture over everything and give the dish a little shake so that it pours down into every nook and cranny.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place it in your fridge overnight.
The morning of
- Preheat your oven to 325℉/162℃
- Bake the casserole: Take the casserole out of your fridge and remove the aluminum foil/plastic wrap. Then place it in your heated oven and let it bake for 35 to 45 minutes. You will know that the casserole is finished baking when the top and edges are golden brown/crispy. And when a toothpick is inserted in the center of the casserole and comes out clean.
- Take the breakfast casserole out of your oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Slice it up and enjoy!
Bacon & Green Chili Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 10 oz. of sourdough bread or roughly 10 to 12 slices
- 1 Lb of bacon
- 2 4 oz. cans of diced green chilies drained of their juices
- 12 Eggs
- 2 Cups of milk
- ½ Teaspoon of salt & pepper
- ½ Teaspoon of onion powder
- ½ Teaspoon of cayenne powder optional
- 2 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
The day/night before
- Dice and dry out the bread: Cut your bread into roughly 1 to 2 inch sized chunks, and arrange them evenly on a baking sheet. If you’re using fairly fresh bread you’ll need to let it sit for a couple of hours to dry out. However, if you are using old bread that is already stale then you don’t need to dry it out for more than 1 hour.
- Cook bacon until crispy and then roughly chop it into pieces.
- Combine the egg, milk, and spices: Crack each egg into a medium sized mixing bowl. Then add the milk, salt, pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Whisk these ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
- Assemble the casserole: Grease a 9×13 casserole dish with either butter or a spray oil like PAM. Next, arrange the dried pieces of bread evenly along the bottom of the dish. Follow this up by spreading the chopped bacon and diced green chilies over top. Then sprinkle on the 2 cups of shredded cheese. And finally, pour the egg and dairy mixture over everything and give the dish a little shake so that it pours down into every nook and cranny.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place it in your fridge overnight.
The morning of
- Preheat your oven to 325℉/162℃
- Bake the casserole: Take the casserole out of your fridge and remove the aluminum foil/plastic wrap. Then place it in your heated oven and let it bake for 35 to 45 minutes. You will know that the casserole is finished baking when the top and edges are golden brown/crispy. And when a toothpick is inserted in the center of the casserole and comes out clean.
- Take the breakfast casserole out of your oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Slice it up and enjoy!
