Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole
December 8, 2015 
I'm finally putting this recipe up on the blog. This delicious breakfast casserole is something I've been making on Christmas morning for years and years. I do it because my mother-in-law gave me the original recipe and I make it for my husband. So it's become a tradition and I serve it every Christmas morning. We give a big neighborhood Christmas Eve open house every year, so when I am preparing dishes for that on the 24th, I go ahead and make this dish and stick it in the fridge. Then, on Christmas morning, I get up and pop it in the oven while we open gifts and it takes about an hour to heat up. It's perfect timing! Serve it with a bowl of fresh fruit and you're all set.
I resisted putting it up on the blog because it contains a certain ingredient that I was reluctant to include and I didn't want anyone turning up their noses at it. But here it is, in all its glory and deliciousness:
Yes. It has cream of mushroom soup! But hey, it's faster than whipping up a bechamel sauce and we are all so busy at the holidays so go forth with confidence and do not feel the least bit guilty for using it.
This casserole is super easy, quick, gluten-free and really, really good. It has a ton of scrambled eggs, some shaved ham, the dreaded soup, a splash of dry sherry and lots of cheesy goodness on top. And the best part is you can make it the day before! What's not to like?
Enjoy!
Elaine
Breakfast Casserole
for a printable recipe, click here
serves 12 normal people or 8-10 really hungry people
For my family, for just the four of us (the fifth nameless person won't eat eggs), I always halve the recipe and bake it in an 8x8 glass dish. If you do this, it will serve 6 people.
The beauty of this dish is that you can make it the day before and refrigerate it.
dry sherry is inexpensive to buy at the grocery store. I always have it around,
because I use a splash in my steak marinade recipe.
Ingredients:
2 dozen eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup butter (1 stick)
2 pounds shaved ham, shredded
1 8-ounce can chopped mushrooms (I usually just leave this out)
½ cup dry sherry
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ pound sharp grated cheddar cheese
Prepare a 13x9 casserole dish by spraying with some nonstick cooking spray (or you can brush with some melted butter). Preheat oven to 250° F if you are going to bake it right away.
Beat eggs and add the milk. Whisk.
Melt the butter in a very large skillet and add the egg mixture. Lightly season the eggs with salt and pepper if you want (remember that the ham and soup will add some saltiness to the dish). Softly scramble the eggs and place them in the prepared casserole dish. Note: if you are not going to bake this dish the same day, let the eggs cool in the casserole for a little while before adding the remaining ingredients.
Place the ham in a layer on top of the eggs and then the mushrooms (if using).
Blend the sherry with the soup and spread over all.
Spread the cheese on top in an even layer. Cover with foil (I like to use the nonstick Reynolds foil so the cheese doesn't stick to it. If you don't have it, spray a little nonstick cooking spray on a regular sheet of foil).
At this point, if you are not cooking this dish right away, place it in the fridge.
Place in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, removing the foil the last 10 minutes or so.
If you have made this dish the day before, remove the casserole from the oven and let it come to room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes and bake as usual. If you pop it right from fridge to oven, add another 10 minutes of cooking time.
Reader Comments (10)
I'm totally making this for company! I love that it's gluten free.
I don't care that it has mushroom soup! I need fast and easy for the holidays. Thanks for the recipe!
My family won't eat it if I use the Cream of Mushroom soup so I would do a bechamel. How much would I need? Have you ever made it with bechamel?
Not gluten free. The soup has wheat flour in it
From The Italian Dish:
Rita: Well, let's see - if you can't sneak the soup in there without your family knowing it, you will have to make a bechamel! This is how I would do it: I would use the béchamel recipe from this post:
http://italiandish.squarespace.com/imported-20090913150324/2010/7/23/pesto-lasagna.html?SSScrollPosition=250
but I would cut the milk amount by about 1/2 cup. That will also make a thicker sauce. If it's too thick, you can add a little more milk. I would also saute some chopped mushrooms and add those to the sauce.
Hope this helps!
I made this yesterday and served it today for Christmas morning breakfast. It was a huge hit. I sauteed fresh mushroom caps until golden in butter with a little sherry and substituted that for the bottled mushrooms. Also used homemade condensed soup from this site: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2013/10/how-to-cream-of-mushroom-soup.html. (I used the stems from the mushrooms to make the condensed soup.)
This casserole is definitely going to become a new family tradition for us. Thanks so much for another great recipe and wishing you a wonderful holiday!
Hi - Can you suggest a vegetarian substitute for the ham? Would you just leave it out?
What an amazing meal idea! I'll have to try this. Just so many different variations of it you could make. I may end up putting Hollandaise sauce all over it. Ha!
Great recipe!
Ashley
I think you mean 350 degrees not 250, guess it was a typo. Sounds like a good breakfast for a busy Christmas morning. Will give it a try.
From The Italian Dish:
Kathy: Actually, it really is 250! You just want to gently reheat the eggs.