This fluffy Egg Casserole is perfect for busy mornings or serving a crowd. Add your favorite meats, vegetables, or cheeses and choose from a large or small recipe.
With Easter and Mother’s Day on the horizon I thought it would be a great time to share a few new tips for this super easy Egg Casserole recipe. You only need three basic ingredients and the option to add any “mix-ins” that you choose. This is the perfect way to make eggs for a crowd.
Note: If you’d prefer a smaller portion, you can easily cut this recipe in half. I do this often for my family of four (more on that below).
More BREAKFAST RECIPES we love: Easy Banana Bread, Carrot Muffins, Almond Croissants, Baked Oatmeal, Pancake Casserole.
How to make Egg Casserole
This casserole is made with only 3 ingredients: eggs, ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, and butter.
- Eggs: I use 14 large eggs for the big version of this casserole and 8 large eggs for the smaller version.
- Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese: This what helps make this casserole moist and fluffy. You won’t actually taste the ricotta or cottage cheese, but it really helps to impart and fluffy and tender texture.
- Butter: I always cook my eggs in melted butter, so this recipe is no different. Melted butter gets mixed into the eggs and plenty of softened butter greases the baking dish. This adds an underlying buttery flavor that can’t be beat!
- Mix-ins: Prefer your eggs with something in them? Add your favorite mix-ins before baking. Vegetables, meat, cheese, and herbs are all delicious!
What mix-ins to use
Add your favorite meat, vegetables or cheese to the eggs before baking.
- MEAT: Bacon, sausage, or ham. All meat should already be cooked before adding it to the eggs.
- VEGETABLES: Diced bell peppers, potatoes, onion, spinach, kale, green chiles, mushrooms etc. Vegetables are best if they have been pre-cooked. If you are using something with high water content (like spinach or mushrooms), pre-cook and pat dry with a paper towel so that the eggs are not runny.
- CHEESE: Cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, pepperjack, parmesan, goat cheese, or feta are all delicious. You can even use a combination of cheeses. I like to mix some cheese directly into the eggs, and top the eggs with additional grated cheese a minute or two before pulling them out of the oven.
How to make a smaller recipe:
This recipe makes a 9×13 casserole dish of eggs, which serves about 12 people. If you’d like a smaller version you can use the following measurements and bake in a well greased 8×8 baking pan. Cook time should be similar, start checking it around 20 minutes.
- 8 large eggs
- ½ cup ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
- ½ tablespoon melted butter
- ½ cup meat and/or veggies
- ⅓ cup cheese
Make-Ahead Tips
This is a great make-ahead recipe for busy mornings. I often make this at the start of the week and we reheat individual portions for breakfast as needed. Reheating these eggs will not result in that rubbery texture you get from reheating regular scrambled eggs. Even after microwaving they are still moist and fluffy!
Note: If serving company I prefer to bake this recipe fresh, because the eggs are extra thick and puffy straight from the oven which makes for a nicer presentation.
What makes these eggs fluffy?
Two things make this Egg Casserole fluffy:
- The ricotta cheese or cottage cheese.
- Whisking the eggs with the ricotta/cottage cheese really well to incorporate some air into the mixture.
When the eggs are baking they will puff up quite a bit. If you like them puffy and thick, serve them immediately, piping hot from the oven. As they cool they will sink down a bit, but they will still maintain a light, fluffy texture when reheated.
NEVER MISS A RECIPE! SUBSCRIBE to our free EMAIL LIST – LIKE us on FACEBOOK – Follow on INSTAGRAM
Recipe
Egg Casserole
Ingredients
- 14 large eggs
- 1 cup ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 cup mix-ins, optional, see note
- ⅔ cup grated cheddar, optional
- softened butter, for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Generously grease a 9x13 baking dish with softened butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, ricotta/cottage cheese, melted butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk until well combined. The more you whisk the fluffier the eggs will be. Some curds of cottage cheese might still remain, but that's fine.
- Pour the eggs into the greased casserole dish. Sprinkle your mix-ins around evenly. Note: if adding cheese, I prefer to add some into the eggs and the rest to the top of the eggs near the end of cook time.
- Bake until the eggs are puffed and set, approximately 25-35 minutes. Beginning checking at 25 minutes*, then every few minutes until the center is no longer jiggly. A minute or two before you pull it from the oven, top with additional grated cheese. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave.
Notes
- MEAT: Bacon, sausage, or ham. All meat should already be cooked before adding it to the eggs.
- VEGETABLES: Diced bell peppers, potatoes, onion, spinach, kale, green chiles, mushrooms etc. Vegetables are best if they have been pre-cooked. If you are using something with high water content (like spinach or mushrooms), pre-cook and pat dry with a paper towel so that the eggs are not runny.
- CHEESE: Cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, pepperjack, parmesan, goat cheese, or feta are all delicious. You can even use a combination of cheeses. I like to mix some cheese directly into the eggs, and top the eggs with additional grated cheese a minute or two before pulling them out of the oven.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Ann
LOVE the fact that there are only 3 ingredients !! ( with the options to add!☺️)
I halved the recipe today but am anxious to make it again tomorrow with more eggs. I am, however, making it ahead to make it easy for a family the following morning. Haven’t decided whether to bake it ahead and let them heat it up?
Thx for sharing! So easy!!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Ann! I’m glad you enjoyed this. I have made it in advance many times, and we reheat individual portions in the microwave. Thanks for stopping by!
Suzy
Hi, I have a guest arriving very early in two days. Is it okay to mix this the night before, keeping it in the fridge overnight, so that all I must do in the morning is bake it? This dish sounds perfect for an early breakfast. Thank you.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Suzy. You can mix up the eggs, cottage cheese and melted butter in advance, but I recommend refrigerating it in a large bowl so that it can be vigorously whisked right before pouring it into the casserole dish to bake (this makes it fluffy). So, mix it up and refrigerate, then the day of: whisk well, pour into baking dish, add mix-ins and bake. Enjoy!
Suzy
Thanks so much! That’s what I’ll do.
Suzy
Viana B.
How many days will the keep in the refrigerator?
Celebrating Sweets
We usually eat it within 4 days.
Viana Chambers
I added feta cheese, spinach, bell peppers, tomato, kalamata olives, onions, and fresh parsley. It was AMAZING, thank you!
Celebrating Sweets
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Enjoy! -Allison
maryann joye
Wow so EASY and I added cooked ham, diced green chilies, and cheese.
And yes Allison I did add more cheese at the end. Thank you =)
Celebrating Sweets
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Enjoy!
Sharon
Do you know if I could substitute yogurt for the cottage cheese. I don´t eat cow dairy, only goat dairy and it´s easy to find goat yogurt. Thank you.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Sharon. I’m not sure, I’ve only made this recipe as written. If you give it a try, I suggest reducing the amount of yogurt to 2/3 or 3/4 cup, just in case the flavor is strong. Best of luck playing around with it.
Becki
Make some soft goat cheese from goats milk if you can…same way you’d make cottage cheese really. It’s fairly easy.
Elaine
Can I freeze this casserole?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Elaine. I have never tried freezing it before. If you need a smaller portion there are instructions for halving the recipe in the recipe card notes. Enjoy!
Michele
I’ve been making egg casseroles forever but never thought to use cottage cheese. I’m trying this for dinner tonight!
Celebrating Sweets
Great! Enjoy!
Connie
Have you doubled this before? If so, what are the cooling instructions? This sounds delish! Thanks for sharing.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Connie. I have not doubled it. My only concern with doubling it would be finding the appropriate pan size. You don’t want the egg mixture to be too thick or the edges of the casserole will be overdone before the middle is set/cooked through. I can’t think of a standard pan size that would be close to double a 9×13. I would recommend just making TWO 9×13 pans. Enjoy!
Leilani
Added fresh parsley to the eggs and whisked vigorously. Mixed in crumbled sausage and cheese. Came out perfect – fluffy and dense – right out of the oven. Thanks for sharing.
Celebrating Sweets
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂