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.
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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!
Jill
This sounds amazing! I have not made this yet; however, I think it would be perfect for a baby shower I am planning in a few days. Roughly 50 people will be attending. I was hoping to quadruple this recipe and use a large foil pan. What is your thought? Thank you so much!
Allison
Hi, Jill. I have only made this recipe as written. I’m not sure what size pans you’ll need or what the bake time will be to serve 50. You might want to make the small version of the recipe (in the notes section) just to have an idea of what it looks like before, during, and after baking.
Jill
Great! Thank you so much!
Jeff
Can bread be added to this on the bottom, as is often done?
Allison
That should be fine, you’ll just have to play around with it.
Jennifer
Can you mix everything up the night before and bake the next morning?
Allison
I like to whisk the mixture right before baking to ensure it’s fluffy. You could store it in a covered bowl overnight then in the morning whisk, add the mix-ins, place in the baking dish, and bake.
Karyl Chase
So light and fluffy and easy to adapt to different tastes by changing up the add ins. A keeper for sure
Allison
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Ayla
Absolutely my all time fave go to recipe. It keeps great in the fridge too. Thank you!!!!
Allison
I’m so glad! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Cindy Osborn
Do you have to use the ricotta or cottage cheese to get the eggs to rise up?
Allison
Yes, they help make the texture more fluffy than regular scrambled eggs.
Michele
Love it, thank you
Allison
You’re welcome!
Linda
I’ve been making this weekly. Great to bring to work and I love the extra protein from the cottage cheese. Thank you!
Allison
You’re welcome!
Heather
For the smaller recipe, what are you doing about the seasonings? Are you halting those also?
Allison
Yes. Or adjust to suit your taste.
Barbara
I made this with the half recipe but I am having trouble with the middle not cooking as fast as the sides. I am afraid to leave it in longer and have the sides overcooked. Any suggestions?
Allison
Hhhhmmm…perhaps your baking dish is too small? The center will go from loose to set pretty quickly, so just keep watching it. It will also continue to set a bit after removing it from the oven.