This Easy Cheesy Breakfast Casserole Is a Total Crowd-Pleaser

This breakfast casserole is the ultimate crowd pleaser. Sweet, warm apples pair perfectly with salty, spiced breakfast sausage and sharp cheddar cheese. It’s quick to throw together, and who doesn’t want their breakfast on a bed of hash browns? 

This casserole is my favorite no-stress way to feed guests because it encompasses all the best parts of a sweet and savory breakfast. It comes together in minutes, and you can make it ahead of time and freeze it in pieces. Whether you’re hosting a holiday brunch, meal prepping, or just looking to make breakfast a little more exciting, you simply can’t go wrong with this recipe.

Key Ingredients

The cinnamon and apples give this casserole a delicious wintery feel. As far as apples go, I prefer to use Gala apples in this recipe. They have the perfect level of sweetness, and they retain their shape and crispness through the baking process. 

I also prefer sharp cheddar cheese in this recipe. The tang of a sharp cheddar brings the potatoes, apples, and sausage together. I’m not too picky about the sausage. I tend to go with traditional breakfast sausage links. I’ve also made this with Jimmy Dean bulk breakfast sausage and it turned out just as delicious! 

For the potatoes, I use frozen Ore-Ida shredded hash browns. I find the shreds are the perfect size to act as a base for this casserole, but any brand of shredded hash browns should work.

Substitutions and Variations

There are many ways to make this recipe your own. Add some vegetables that complement apples—like sweet potato or onions—to the filling. Or switch the type of apple to whichever is your favorite, like Granny Smith. 

You could add more meat to the filling as well, like chopped ham or bacon. You can also use different shapes of potatoes: frozen diced potatoes, hash brown patties, and even tater tots would work.