Amish Breakfast Casserole is a hearty make-ahead bake of crisp bacon and sweet onion, shredded hash browns, eggs and three cheeses: cheddar, Swiss and the cottage cheese that sets it apart. It goes together in about 15 minutes, bakes in one 13×9-inch dish and serves 12.
How to make it: Cook the bacon and onion until the bacon is crisp, drain them, and stir them into the eggs, thawed hash browns and cheeses. Spread the mixture in a greased dish and bake it uncovered at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F. Let it stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Why You’ll Love It
- Seven ingredients: bacon, onion, eggs, hash browns and three cheeses. No spice jar needed.
- Quick to put together: about 15 minutes of prep, then the oven does the work.
- Ready the night before: it can wait in the fridge, assembled, until morning.
- Feeds a crowd: one 13×9-inch dish makes 12 servings for a holiday breakfast or a weekend brunch.
Ingredient Notes
Bacon: One pound, diced. Thick-cut bacon holds up best in the skillet; thin slices cook too fast and can burn.
Sweet onion: One medium onion, chopped. A Vidalia, Walla Walla or Maui onion balances the salty bacon, and a white onion gives a sharper bite.
Hash browns: Frozen shredded hash browns, thawed. Frozen diced hash browns, potatoes O’Brien or fresh refrigerated shredded potatoes work too.
Cottage cheese: Use 4% cottage cheese; small curd works well.
Cheddar and Swiss: Buy blocks and shred them yourself. They melt more easily without the stabilizers and anti-caking fillers in bagged shredded cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sliced bacon, diced
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (4%)
- 1 1/4 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
How to Make Amish Breakfast Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 13×9-inch baking dish.
2. Cook the bacon and onion. In a large skillet, cook the bacon and onion over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Drain off the grease.
3. Mix the filling. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, hash browns, cheddar, cottage cheese and Swiss cheese. Stir in the bacon and onion.
4. Fill the dish. Spread the mixture evenly in the greased baking dish.
5. Bake. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the center reaches 165°F.
6. Rest. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes before cutting so it can firm up.
What Is an Amish Breakfast Casserole?
It is a baked breakfast casserole with a starchy base of shredded hash browns, which is what separates it from an egg-only frittata. Bacon cooked with sweet onion goes in with the eggs and three cheeses, and everything bakes together in one dish. It also goes by cheesy Amish breakfast casserole.
Cottage cheese is the key. It is what sets an Amish breakfast casserole apart from many other breakfast bakes. It melts into the casserole along with the cheddar and Swiss and makes the eggs a little creamier without making them heavy. Its slightly tangy flavor sits next to the sweet Swiss and the sharp cheddar.
No salt needed. The recipe adds no salt, pepper or other seasoning. The bacon, cottage cheese and shredded cheeses bring plenty, so make it as written once before you reach for the salt shaker.
How to tell it’s done. A knife pushed into the center should come out clean, and the middle should no longer jiggle. For a sure answer, use a food thermometer: the center should read 165°F. Then give it the full 10-minute rest. It firms up, slices neatly instead of falling apart, and doesn’t release liquid onto the plate.
Tips for Success
How do I keep it from turning soggy?
Lift the bacon and onion out of the skillet with a slotted spoon and leave the grease behind. Thaw the hash browns completely, in the refrigerator overnight, and blot them with paper towels if they look wet. Sauté any vegetables you add before they go in, and don’t skip the rest after baking.
What if the top browns too fast?
Lay a loose piece of foil over the dish and let it finish baking underneath. Check the center with the thermometer before you take it out.
Variations
- Sausage or ham: Replace half or all of the bacon with crumbled plain, breakfast or Italian sausage, or use diced ham. Cook any raw meat first; sausage is done at 160°F.
- Pepper jack: Swap the Swiss for shredded pepper jack for a little heat. For no heat, use more sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack.
- Herbs and vegetables: Stir 1 teaspoon of fresh or 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme or parsley into the eggs. Add a can of drained green chiles, 1/2 to 1 cup of sautéed chopped bell pepper, or chopped broccoli, asparagus, spinach or mushrooms, sautéed first.
Storage & Reheating
Keep the assembled casserole in the refrigerator until it goes into the oven. USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months.
To freeze it unbaked: build it in a freezer-safe dish or foil pan, wrap it in plastic wrap and then two layers of foil, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, never on the counter, then bake it as in step 5.
To reheat: cover the leftovers and warm single slices in the microwave or the dish in a 350°F oven; a thawed casserole takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Either way, heat it until it reaches 165°F. Frozen leftovers can be reheated without thawing, but they take about 1 1/2 times as long. Don’t reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Set out fresh fruit or a fruit salad to balance the richness. For something sweet, add Amish apple fritter bread or an easy cinnamon roll coffee cake, and for a second Amish dish, slow cooker Amish blueberry oatmeal. Feeding a bigger crowd? Bake another hash brown dish next to it: the bacon, egg and hash brown casserole with sour cream and a crunchy topping, a sausage, egg and cream cheese hash brown breakfast casserole or a breakfast casserole with tater tots and sausage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Amish breakfast casserole?
A hash brown, bacon and egg casserole made with cottage cheese, cheddar and Swiss and baked in one 13×9-inch dish. The cottage cheese is its signature ingredient.
Can I make Amish breakfast casserole the night before?
Yes. Assemble it up to one day ahead, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake. Bake it uncovered as in step 5, and go by the thermometer: the center should reach 165°F.
Do I have to cook the bacon first?
Yes. Cook the bacon, or any other meat you use, before it goes into the casserole. Raw meat won’t cook properly in the casserole and can leave you with undercooked meat or a soggy dish.
Can I use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns?
Yes. Shred them with the grater attachment of a food processor, then cook them into crispy hash browns before they go in, so their moisture doesn’t make the casserole soggy.
Final Notes
Thaw and blot the hash browns, drain the bacon well, and trust the thermometer over the clock. If you have a question or make this, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Amish Breakfast Casserole
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Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon sliced, diced
- 1 medium sweet onion chopped
- 6 large eggs lightly beaten
- 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes thawed
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese 4%
- 1 1/4 cups Swiss cheese shredded
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon and onion over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Drain off the grease.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, hash browns, cheddar, cottage cheese and Swiss cheese. Stir in the bacon and onion.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the greased baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the center reaches 165°F.
- Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes before cutting so it can firm up.
