Bacon Breakfast Casserole

Bacon Breakfast Casserole is the perfect dish for people who love bacon, eggs, cheese, and toast. 

Overnight breakfast casserole features bacon and combines easy ingredients into a hearty meal that is finished off perfectly with fresh fruit!

Easy Breakfast Casserole with Bacon

Cheesy, bacony goodness is the best way to start the day! All of the classic breakfast ingredients like bacon, bread, eggs, cheese and milk are combined to make many bites of delicious goodness.

Our family enjoys casseroles that can be mixed up ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until ready to bake. This makes the casserole perfect for brunch anytime, or special occasions like Christmas or Easter breakfast.

This cheesy casserole is very similar to my Easy Egg & Sausage Casserole, Ham, Egg & Cheese Casserole and Everything Bagel & Sausage Casserole, but it is made better with lots of bacon!

Joel Kaelin’s mom gave him the best breakfast casserole recipe with bacon on a handwritten card when he went away to college.  She and Joel have each made it with each of the choices of meat, bacon, sausage or ham. 

Joel’s favorite version is with bacon.  He cuts up the bacon into smaller pieces before frying it so the bacon is ready to go straight into the casserole.  I fried up strips and then cut the cooked strips into inch pieces. As long as you don’t burn the bacon I don’t think it matters how you cook it!

When we make a big brunch we love serving this recipe with Oatmeal Waffles.

Popular Overnight Breakfast Casserole

Bacon Breakfast Casserole is mixed up and refrigerated overnight before baking and enjoying  This casserole is one of Joel’s favorite recipes. Potlucks, family meals, brunch, Christmas breakfast and breakfast on the weekends are the times that Joel typically eats this casserole.  He shared that this bacon casserole is perfect for special meals and family time.

Growing up in a rural community as part of a small tight-knit church Joel said this casserole was always on the menu at church breakfast gatherings.  

Since the bread sits in eggs and milk overnight it is best to use slightly stale bread as it will maintain more structure when baked.  Fresh bread can become mushy in overnight casseroles.

This post was created by a partnership with the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bacon Farmer Joel

Joel Kaelin of DeWitt, Nebraska has a passion for working with pigs that developed as a young adult participating in 4-H and FFA.  He has been a farm manager or Lead Officer at the Fairbury nucleus pig farm for DNA Genetics for three and a half years.

Joel grew up on a hog, cattle and crop farm, showed hogs at the county fair.  He really enjoyed the livestock judging contest at the fair. He won at age 8 which might’ve been luck, but he enjoyed judging the hogs the best.  Joel participated in livestock judging in college while earning a degree in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Since working to select better animals is a favorite pastime of Joel’s it’s no surprise that’s what he’s made a career out of.

Married for ten years, Joel and his wife have 7-year-old twins, a boy, and a girl and they are expecting again in October.  When Joel isn’t working with pigs he enjoys college football, yard work, mowing, and being outdoors.

Making Better Bacon

DNA Genetics provides high-quality mother pigs for other farms across the United States.  Nucleus means the center or most important part of a system. So, Joel manages and works to keep the pigs healthy and growing at the nucleus farm which is the center of a bigger system of farms.  One unique part of this farm is that they only have pigs go out of the farm, they never bring new pigs on the farm to help keep a high health status.

As Joel shared about his job he quickly pointed out that he enjoys working with pigs and the eight other employees at the farm.  Workers at this farm are high-quality people that are detail oriented and have a self-improvement trait.

Another thing that makes this farm unique is all of the testing and data analysis they do.  All of the pigs have ear tags with a barcode that is scanned into an excel file so important details can be tracked every day.  Pigs that go on to be mothers at other farms are selected based on the traits that are emphasized and desirable and work with geneticists.  

Landrace are the breed of pigs at this farm because they are known for their milking ability which makes them great mothers.  The day before the piglets are weaned each individual pig is weighed to determine how much the mother contributed to the piglet’s growth.

Joel shares that there are a lot more layers to stuff than people realize.  It takes a lot of people and processes to make everything happen. Within his company is a sales team, human resources, accounting, a commercial side where pigs are raised for meat, DNA genetics team and more.  It takes a lot of good people to make it all work!

How Long is Breakfast Casserole Good in the Fridge?

This breakfast casserole should be mixed up and the slices of bread allowed to soak up the eggs in the refrigerator overnight or up to 18 hours.  Once baked the egg casserole can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.

Can you Freeze Breakfast Casseroles?

Cool cooked casserole completely, cut into serving sized pieces, wrap each piece in a paper towel and place in freezer bag.  Remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Freeze up to 2 to 3 months. Tastes best when placing in the refrigerator to defrost overnight.  I use a microwave to reheat the casserole while wrapped in the paper towel.

Freezing serving sized pieces makes a great breakfast and is an excellent way to meal plan!

Should Casseroles Be Covered When Baking?

This breakfast casserole should not be covered when baking.  Covering a casserole helps hold in moisture and can prevent excessive browning.  This casserole has plenty of moisture and exposure to the heat will help the eggs bake more evenly.

How to Make a Breakfast Casserole With Bacon

1. Layer dried bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan
2. Sprinkle cheese and bacon in layers over bread
3. Whisk eggs, milk, dry mustard and salt together and pour over casserole
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight
5. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes at 350º F

Tips for Making an Overnight Breakfast Casserole

• Use dried bread when making an overnight casserole – fresh bread will be soggy
• If looking to decrease carbs fewer slices of bread can be used
• If looking to feed a crowd an extra slice or two of bread can be added
• Cook bacon and cut into one-inch strips or bite-sized pieces
• I prefer thick sliced bacon because more bacon is usually better
• Extra bacon can absolutely be used.
• Garnishing with chives or green onions is optional
• Keep the casserole covered in the refrigerator, but uncover when baking

Other Delicious Brunch Ideas

• 34 Best Brunch Recipes
• Brioche French Toast Casserole
• Egg, Sausage & Brioche Breakfast Casserole
• Sausage Hashbrown Casserole
• Spinach & Bacon Quiche

Click HERE to sign-up for our weekly newsletter to get more easy and delicious recipes!

Printable Recipe for Bacon Breakfast Casserole