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Author: Sally
Published: 11/13/2019Updated: 09/28/2021
This everything bagel breakfast casserole combines bagels, everything bagel seasoning, bacon, eggs, and cream cheese to make the ultimate satisfying breakfast. You can prepare it the night before so it’s ready for a fresh & warm breakfast the next morning!
An egg breakfast casserole is the ultimate breakfast or brunch for entertaining because it feeds a crowd, is super satisfying, and you can prep it the night before. Last year we made this biscuit breakfast casserole with a side of fruit, bacon, and homemade cinnamon rolls, so this year let’s make something equally crowd-pleasing.
Let’s all make everything bagel breakfast casserole! This recipe is inspired by the breakfast bake in Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook Cravings: Hungry for More. Hers uses a slightly different ratio of ingredients, frozen spinach, and delicious Gruyère cheese.
This Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole:
- Uses leftover everything bagels as the base
- Has extra everything bagel seasoning
- Combines bacon, eggs, & extra cheese
- Includes peppers & tomatoes for a fresh element
- And is topped with cream cheese before baking
And best part of all: This isn’t soft and runny like some egg casseroles or the inside of eggs benedict—it has texture!
Video Tutorial: How to make Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole
Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole Ingredients
- Everything Bagels: You can use homemade everything bagels, but store-bought is the easiest route. Cut 3 bagels into big bite-size pieces, then let them sit out overnight so they become a little stale. Day-old bagels have more texture and won’t become soggy and squishy in the egg mixture. If you’re in a time crunch, cut up fresh bagels and bake for 10 minutes so they firm up a bit.
- Everything Bagel Seasoning: You can purchase everything bagel seasoning from some stores, but it’s really easy to make it at home. Remember my everything bagel pull apart bread? We’re making the same stuff here. You need poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, dried garlic flakes, and coarse salt. If you don’t have these ingredients, don’t worry—there’s enough seasoning on the bagels themselves.
- Salt, Pepper, & Ground Mustard: 3 key flavors to spice up this breakfast.
- Eggs: Eggs are the base of this egg casserole dish.
- Milk: Milk thins out the eggs. For best taste and texture, I recommend whole milk.
- Cheese: What cheese do you like best with these flavors? Use it here! I used a mix of smoked gouda and mozzarella. White cheddar cheese would be excellent too!
- Cream Cheese: What’s a bagel without cream cheese? Cut a brick of cream cheese into chunks and arrange it all over the top of the casserole right before baking. It adds the BEST flavor.
And Some Extras
- Cooked Bacon: Salty/savory bacon adds flavor to this dish. You can, of course, leave it meat-free or replace the bacon with cooked crumbled sausage. So it’s one less thing to do, you can cook and chop the bacon ahead of time.
- Tomatoes & Peppers: For a fresh element, add some peppers and tomatoes. Both work really well with the other ingredients in this dish. No need to pre-cook the peppers!
- Scallions: If desired, sprinkle the top of the baked casserole with chopped scallion.
Place the bagels, bacon, peppers, and tomatoes on the bottom:
Pour the egg, milk, and cheese mixture on top:
Top with everything bagel seasoning and cream cheese before baking:
Like I mention above, I love that this dish has texture. The bagels become a little crisp on top, while the bottom is a mixture of softer bagels and a scrambled egg texture. We also have those fresh vegetables, crisp bacon, creamy cream cheese topping, and crunchy seasoning. Before they even mentioned the flavor, my friends (trusty taste testers!) commented on the satisfying texture.
And, of course, the everything bagel flavor can’t be beat either.
After 1 taste, you’re going to immediately wonder where this breakfast has been all your life. It has everything (literally) and the leftovers taste equally amazing!
More Breakfast Recipes for a Crowd
- Homemade Monkey Bread
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Quiche (a timeless favorite)
- Banana Muffins
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls
- New York-style Crumb Cake
- Ham and Potato Casserole
- Easy Frittata Recipe (or a batch of Breakfast Egg Muffins!)
Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole
★★★★★4.9 from 29 reviews
- Author: Sally
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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Description
You can assemble this breakfast casserole the night before or quickly throw it together in the morning. Feel free to substitute the extras like bacon for sausage and use your favorite cheese!
Ingredients
- 3 day-old everything bagels*, cut into bite-size pieces (about 6 cups)
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 3/4 cup (113g) quartered cherry tomatoes (or chopped regular tomato)
- 6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
- 9 large eggs
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheese*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounces (170g) full-fat brickcream cheese, cut into bite-size pieces
- optional for garnish: everything bagel seasoning and scallions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or similar size (about 3-quart) casserole dish.
- Layer the bagel pieces, chopped pepper, tomatoes, and bacon into the dish. Whisk the eggs, milk, cheese, ground mustard, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Pour evenly over bagel mixture.
- Top evenly with pieces of cream cheese and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning, if using.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is set and edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before topping with scallions (if using), slicing, and serving.
- Cover leftover casserole tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Assemble the casserole through step 3, then cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Remove from the refrigerator, preheat the oven, then continue with step 4. You can also freeze the assembled uncooked casserole. Cover the casserole with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, preheat the oven, then continue with step 4. You can also freeze the baked and cooled casserole.Cover the casserole with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or at room temperature and reheat to your liking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan (or any similar 3-quart baking dish) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk
- Bagels: So the bagels don’t become soggy, it’s best to use slightly stale bagels. Cut up the bagels the day before and let them sit out overnight. Or, if needed, use fresh bagels, cut them into the bite-size pieces needed for this recipe, and bake them on a baking sheet in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes. They’ll be slightly crisp and ready to use in this recipe. No need to wait for them to cool before layering into the baking dish.
- Cheese: Use your favorite cheese here. I used a combination of freshly shredded mozzarella and smoked gouda. White cheddar, regular cheddar, or even pepper jack cheese. If using a strong cheese like feta cheese, I recommend combining it with another so the flavor isn’t overpowering.
- Ground Mustard: A common ingredient in cheesy egg dishes, this spice adds a sharp kick and depth of flavor. I don’t recommend skipping it.
- Everything Bagel Seasoning: Use everything bagel seasoning as garnish on top of the dish. You can purchase it at some grocery stores or make it at home. If you don’t have any, don’t worry about it. Or if you only have poppy seeds, garlic flakes, and/or sesame seeds, just sprinkle the dish with one or all of those. To make it yourself, combine 1 Tablespoonpoppy seeds, 1 Tablespoonsesame seeds, 1and 1/2 teaspoonsdried minced onion, 1and 1/2 teaspoonsdried garlic flakes, and 1 teaspooncoarse salt.You will have plenty leftover and it tastes great on pizza, potatoes, avocado toast, scrambled eggs, and focaccia.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese used for cooking and baking are sold in 8-ounce bricks. You need 6 ounces (170g) for this recipe. If you don’t feel like having 2 ounces leftover, just cut up the whole brick for this dish. You won’t regret a little extra cream cheese!
Recipe inspired by the bagel breakfast bake in Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook Cravings: Hungry for More
Keywords: holiday breakfast, casserole, bagels
