Italian-Style Breakfast Casserole (2024)

Published: Nov 16, 2021 by Kate · This post may contain affiliate links

This savory Italian-style breakfast casserole combines Italian sausage, soft cubes of bread, and Italian cheeses in an egg base. You can make this boldly flavored breakfast casserole in under 1 hour!

Note: this post was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2021 with new photos and improved instructions.

As you may know, I love a good casserole (as you can see from my recipes for creamy spinach artichoke chicken casserole, cheesy chili cornbread casserole, and pizza chicken casserole!). I’m also a big breakfast fan, so I thought it was definitely time to combine my two loves and make a breakfast casserole.

This savory Italian-style breakfast casserole combines Italian sausage, onion, soft bread cubes, and three types of Italian cheeses! I cannot say enough about how delicious this casserole is, you will just have to try it for yourself! And of course, it’s easy to make and ready in less than an hour.

(Just a brief disclaimer - this is not a traditional Italian dish by any means, just my own creation with Italian-inspired ingredients!)

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through the link, it won’t cost you more but I may earn a small commission. I only recommend products that I personally use and love!

Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Italian sausage: sweet or hot, take your pick. You will need bulk sausage, or if you can’t find that, buy links and remove the casings.
• Onion: yellow or sweet onion would work well. If you don't have those, feel free to use whatever onion you have on hand.
• Bread: this recipe works best with soft, pillowy white bread. You know, the kind that squishes easily when you give it a gentle squeeze. Here is an example of the type of bread I used. I don’t recommend using a dense and crusty loaf, it will give the casserole a dense, flat texture rather than light and airy.
• Mozzarella cheese: you need the low-moisture kind, not fresh mozzarella. I like using the full fat variety that I shred myself (when I’m not feeling too lazy).
• Sharp Provolone cheese: if you can't find sharp Provolone, you can substitute with shredded Parmesan.

Step by step photos

1. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

2. Next, prep the bread, cheeses and onion. Cut the bread into about ¾ inch (1.9 cm) cubes. Since the bread is so soft, make sure to use a sharp, serrated knife so as not to crush the bread too much. I recommend the 9 inch serrated bread knife from Wusthof (affiliate link).

You also need to shred the mozzarella if you didn’t buy pre-shredded, and chop the Provolone. Finally, chop the onion into small pieces.

3. Then, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, about 3 - 4 minutes or until just starting to brown. Add in the sausage, and using a wooden spoon, break the sausage up into smaller chunks.

Let it cook for about 4 - 5 minutes or until browned and there is no more pink. While you are stirring the sausage, keep breaking it up into smaller pieces with the spoon.

5. Now we are ready to mix up the casserole. First, add the ricotta to a large bowl, and break it up a bit with a whisk. The ricotta shouldn’t have any large lumps left.

6. Then crack in three eggs and whisk until combined. You are only adding three eggs at first because it’s easier to combine them with the cheese that way, rather than adding in all 12 at once.

7. Whisk in the rest of the cracked eggs once the first three eggs are fully incorporated.

8. Now dump in the rest of the ingredients: the bread cubes, Provolone, sausage and onion mixture, and black pepper. Also add in the shredded mozzarella, but reserve about 1 ½ cups for the top.

Mix everything together with the wooden spoon until the ingredients are evenly combined and the bread is fully moistened. You shouldn’t see any dry patches of bread.

9. Grease a 9 x 13 inch (33 x 23 cm) pan with oil or non-stick spray, and add in the casserole ingredients. Smooth the top out so the ingredients are evenly distributed in the pan. You don’t need to compact the casserole or mush it down to get a flat surface, just even things out a bit.

10. Then, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the casserole.

11. Bake the casserole in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes, or until the eggs are set and the top is nicely browned.

Tips and tricks

• If you have time, I recommend shredding the mozzarella cheese yourself rather than buying pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese has additives that keep it from sticking together; this also keeps it from melting as smoothly as freshly-shredded cheese. However, if you are pressed for time, go ahead and use pre-shredded mozzarella, it will still taste amazing!

• Unlike the mozzarella, this recipe calls for cutting the sharp Provolone into chunks, rather than shredding. If you prefer a more subtle flavor, you can shred the Provolone instead. But, I prefer the little bursts of pungent cheese flavor that you get with the chunks of Provolone.

• If you would like to save time on prep, you can cube the bread and chop/shred the cheeses while the onion and sausage is cooking (rather than prepping all the ingredients ahead of time). But please make sure to watch the pan, and don't forget to stir occasionally!

Recipe FAQs

Related recipes

If you’ve tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or review in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you!You can alsofollow meonFacebook,InstagramandPinterest. Andsign up for my weekly newsletterto get recipes delivered straight to you!

Print