Biscuit pieces, sausage, cheese, eggs, and a gravy pour that bubbles up in the oven — it goes in looking like a mess and comes out the holy grail of breakfast casseroles.
Three things that make the bubble up work
The gravy pour is the whole trick, and these are the three places it goes right or wrong.
- Cut each biscuit into 8: Small pieces let the egg and gravy soak every layer as it bakes.
- Foil on for 50 minutes: Covered is how the biscuits cook through without the top burning.
- Broil at the end, and stay close: Three to five minutes uncovered gets the browned top, and it turns fast.
Recently one of my breakfast recipes went viral – like crazy viral. And it was awesome because it tells me that breakfast casseroles are still relevant.
And, if there’s anyone that loves breakfast for dinner, it’s my family. So, off to making a newer, better version, I went!
And, it’s amazing!
Everyone in my family LOVES this new sausage, egg, biscuit, and cheese breakfast casserole recipe.
Yes, even better than the breakfast sausage casserole that recently went mega viral on Facebook. Anyhow, I digress.
Introducing our family’s new favorite breakfast bake recipe – for you to make for your family!
Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Casserole
I mentioned how my sausage breakfast casserole went bonkers on Facebook. Well, so did our other favorite breakfast casserole with hashbrowns and bacon.
As I was reading through some of the comments on the sausage breakfast casserole on Facebook one reader commented ” it’s even better with canned biscuits ” …. Hmmmm, I thought.
I bet she’s right!
So, off I go to the kitchen to make an even more perfect sausage breakfast casserole – this time though … it will be a breakfast casserole with canned biscuits.
Mind.Blown.
Our new favorite.
Hands down.
No question.
This is the holy grail of breakfast casseroles.
And, I am calling it bubble up breakfast casserole because, it does just that – it looks like a sad, pathetic mess when it goes in the oven, and thennnnnnn – it comes out a spectacular, voluminous mess of sausage, biscuits, cheese and eggs.
This biscuit and egg casserole is the easiest thing in the world, it can be served alone or alongside whatever your perfect brunch menu dreams are made of and it will fit in perfectly. Plus, it’s beautiful, so there’s that, too.
To boot, this can also be coined a make ahead breakfast casserole with biscuits, too because you can layer the biscuits, sausage, eggs and gravy mixture the night before and let it sit until the next morning if you need to. I haven’t tried this yet, but if you do, please leave a comment as to how long it took to cook in the oven the morning of – it would need extra time since the pan and sausage would be cold instead of room temperature and hot.
My favorite time of the year to make breakfast casseroles is the winter, but to be honest, I make them a lot in the fall, too. And, I will often make breakfast casseroles for dinner, too.
Served up with a pound of bacon and some fruit, it makes the perfect meal. My family also thinks it’s the most fun dinner ever, so that’s fun too.
The cast of ingredients in this biscuit egg casserole:
- 16 oz. can jumbo buttermilk biscuits
- 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage, cooked & crumbled
- 2 cups shredded Colby & Monterrey jack cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 packet gravy mix
- 2 cups of water
Directions for making the best breakfast casserole ever:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Spray a 9×13 3 Quart dish well with cooking spray
- Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces
- Lay the biscuits out in the bottom of the glass baking dish
- Sprinkle cooked sausage over biscuits
- Sprinkle cheese over biscuits and sausage
- Combine eggs and milk, beat well (I remove all of the slimy chalazae out of the eggs – personal preference)
- Pour egg mixture over casserole
- Combine gravy packet and water well
- Pour over entire casserole
- Cover casserole entirely with foil
- Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes
- Remove foil and broil to get the browned look for three to five minutes
- ** Be sure to stay close to the oven o make sure it doesn’t get burnt
- Let the casserole sit for five minutes or so
- Serve and enjoy!
What are chalazae?
It’s the slimy(ish) part of an uncooked egg that keeps the yolk balanced in the middle. They’re not bad for you, but I just don’t like to use them, and they’re super easy to take out when you poke it with a fork.
It all comes out together for each egg. So, in this recipe’s case there would be 6 chalazae.
Other awesome breakfast recipes you may want to give a shot:
- Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
- Bacon & Hashbrowns Breakfast Casserole
- Sausage Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
Jumbo buttermilk biscuits
One sixteen ounce can of jumbo biscuits, each cut into eight pieces. The jumbo size gives you big, fluffy pieces that puff up through the eggs instead of dissolving.
Breakfast sausage
A pound, cooked and crumbled. Jimmy Dean regular is what I use. Hot sausage works if your family likes it, and the gravy calms it down.
Colby jack cheese
Two cups shredded, spread over the sausage before the eggs go on. It melts down into the layers and then bubbles up golden under the broiler.
Eggs and milk
Six large eggs and a half cup of milk, whisked until no streaks are left. This is a smaller amount of egg than most casseroles, because the gravy brings the rest of the liquid.
Gravy mix and water
One packet of country or sausage gravy mix whisked into two cups of water. This is the pour that makes it a bubble up. Peppered gravy mix is good too.
Step by Step, With the Details
Cook and drain the sausage
Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium high and cook until no pink is left. Drain it on paper towels. Grease left behind ends up in the eggs.
Cut the biscuits
Separate the biscuits and cut each into eight pieces with kitchen scissors. Scissors are faster than a knife and the dough does not stick to them.
Layer biscuits, sausage, cheese
Spread the biscuit pieces in a sprayed nine by thirteen in one even layer. Sausage over the biscuits, cheese over the sausage, both spread edge to edge.
Pour the eggs, then the gravy
Pour the egg mixture evenly over everything. Then whisk the gravy packet into the water until smooth and pour that over the top too, covering as much as you can.
Fifty minutes covered
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 350 on the center rack for fifty minutes. The foil traps steam, which is what cooks the biscuit pieces through.
Broil for the top
Take the foil off carefully, switch the oven to low broil, and give it three to five minutes until the top is golden and bubbling. Check every minute.
Rest and cut
Five minutes on the counter before you cut it. The eggs and gravy finish setting and the squares come out clean.
How to Tell When It Is Done
The biscuit pieces are puffed and no longer doughy when you press one, and there are no pools of liquid gravy on the surface when you tilt the pan.
If the middle still looks wet after fifty minutes, put the foil back on and give it ten more. Ovens vary, and a cold dish from the fridge needs longer.
Swaps That Work
Bacon or ham
A pound of cooked, crumbled bacon or two cups of diced ham in place of the sausage. Ham needs no cooking first.
Different cheese
Sharp cheddar, pepper jack, or a Mexican blend all work. Colby jack is the mildest and the one kids like best.
Add hashbrowns
A cup of thawed shredded hashbrowns scattered over the sausage turns it into a full breakfast in one pan. Add five minutes to the covered bake.
Regular biscuits
Two cans of regular size biscuits replace one can of jumbo. Cut each into four pieces instead of eight.
Making It Ahead
Layer the biscuits, sausage, and cheese in the pan the night before and cover it. In the morning, whisk the eggs and gravy, pour them on, and bake.
Do not pour the egg and gravy on the night before. The biscuit dough soaks it up overnight and bakes dense instead of bubbling up.
Feeding a Brunch Crowd
One pan cuts into eight big squares or twelve smaller ones. For more, make two pans and bake them side by side on the center rack.
Set it out next to fruit and caramel rolls and you have a brunch table that took thirty minutes of work.
Leftovers and Reheating
Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for three to four days. A square in the microwave for about a minute is the fastest breakfast in the house.
For a crisp top again, warm squares in a 325 oven for fifteen minutes. Baked squares also freeze well, wrapped individually, for up to two months.
Questions I Get About This Casserole
Can I make the gravy from scratch?
Yes. Two cups of thin homemade sausage gravy poured over the top works the same way. Keep it thinner than you would serve it, since it thickens in the oven.
Why is the middle doughy?
The biscuit pieces were too big, or the foil came off early. Cut each biscuit into eight and keep the foil on for the full fifty minutes.
Do I have to broil it?
No. It is fully cooked after the covered bake. The broil is only for color and a bubbly top, and it is worth the three minutes.
Can I bake it in a smaller pan?
Halve everything for an eight by eight pan and bake covered for forty minutes. The broil time stays the same.
More Breakfast Casseroles I Make on Repeat
- Overnight Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Bacon Breakfast Casserole
- Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Bake
- Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
- Breakfast Quiche
Bubble Up Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 oz. can jumbo buttermilk biscuits
- 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage cooked & crumbled
- 2 cups shredded colby & monterrey jack cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 packet gravy mix
- 2 cups of water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 three quart baking dish thoroughly with cooking spray making sure to cover the sides as well as the bottom.
- Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks.
- Drain the excess grease from the cooked sausage and set aside.
- Open the can of biscuits and separate each biscuit.
- Cut each biscuit into 8 equal pieces using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife.
- Spread all the biscuit pieces in an even layer across the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the cooked crumbled sausage evenly over the biscuit pieces making sure every area gets coverage.
- Sprinkle the shredded Colby Jack cheese evenly over the sausage layer.
- Crack the 6 eggs into a medium bowl.
- Add the milk to the eggs.
- Beat the egg and milk mixture well until fully combined and no streaks of egg white remain.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the entire casserole.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the gravy packet and 2 cups of water until fully combined with no lumps.
- Pour the gravy mixture evenly over the entire casserole covering as much surface area as possible.
- Cover the baking dish completely and tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place on the center rack of the preheated oven.
- Bake covered for 50 minutes until the biscuits have puffed up and the egg mixture is set throughout.
- Remove the foil carefully using oven mitts as steam will escape.
- Switch the oven to broil on low.
- Return the uncovered casserole to the oven and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
- Stay close to the oven during broiling and check every minute so the top does not burn.
- Remove from the oven and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Slice into squares and serve hot directly from the baking dish.