This Western-Style Breakfast Casserole is a hearty and impressive dish the entire family will love. Studded with peppers, ham, and cheese, and made light and fluffy with a secret gluten-free ingredient (and shortcut) it’s not just for breakfast. In fact, it’s perfect for meal preps, brinner, and brunch too.
Mix up your breakfast routine
Now you don’t have to choose between pancakes or omelet! We’ve combined the light, fluffy texture of pancakes with the heartiness of an omelet (but left out the fussiness of a quiche) to bring you this Western-Style Breakfast Casserole. It’s a delicious and unexpected way to mix up your morning routine, and one of our favorite hacks for making an easy breakfast casserole!
Make it easy, make it delicious
Using pancake mix is a great shortcut because it eliminates the need to measure several ingredients – just scoop, stir, and create your way to something delicious knowing that you are feeding your family well.
Ingredients for a Western-Style Breakfast Casserole
- Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancake Mix (such as King Arthur) – may sub 1 cup flour (use gluten-free all-purpose flour) + 2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Butter
- Eggs
- Cheddar cheese – Cheddar is nice but other shredded cheese like Swiss or Colby work, too. Pepper jack is a great swap if you want to add a little spice.
- Ham – Look for a thick-cut ‘ham steak’ or ask the deli counter to cut a thick slice of ham. Thinly-sliced deli ham would also work.
- Onion – We used yellow onion but feel free to use sweet, white, or red onion if that’s what you have on hand. Sliced green onions will also work.
- Sweet bell pepper – Any color will work
- Salt and Pepper
How to Make a Baked Egg Casserole
Breakfast casseroles are incredibly simple to make. The idea is that you add sautéed veggies to whisked eggs and pour the mixture into a crust (for a quiche) or a buttered baking dish (for an egg bake or casserole). Cubed, stale bread is also commonly added to give the casserole more substance. Of course, in this western omelet-inspired dish, we’re using pancake mix as an easy, gluten-free alternative to bread. The result is a fluffy casserole that your family will love.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375℉ and generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9×9-inch glass baking dish with butter and set aside. This will make it easy to remove every bit of delicious breakfast casserole from the dish (and easier cleanup!)
Step 2: Combine Gluten-Free Pancake Mix, milk, melted butter, and an egg in a bowl and whisk until smooth with only a few lumps remaining. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish using a spatula, if needed, to spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the dish then sprinkle the batter with cheese.
Step 3: Saute the onions and pepper in a little butter until they start to get tender.
Step 4: To the bowl that you used for the batter, add remaining eggs, milk, and melted butter. Whisk until well combined. Stir in the sautéed peppers, onions, and diced ham then pour this mixture over the batter and shredded cheese in the baking dish.
Step 5: Sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
How to store and reheat Western-Style Breakfast Casserole leftovers
Whether you’re making this for a weekend meal prep to have an easy reheat and eat option on hand for the week, or you simply have leftovers, you’ll want to allow the baked egg casserole to cool for about 30 minutes before transferring to a storage container with a lid. This breakfast casserole can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for longer storage.
This Western-Style Breakfast Casserole can be reheated in the microwave, in a pan or dish in the toaster oven (cover the dish or pan with foil after adding a splash of water to the dish or pan), or in a covered pan on the stovetop with a little water added to the pan to create some steam.
Western-Style Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup Gluten-free Pancake & Waffle Mix*
- 1 cup milk, divided
- 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp butter, divided (plus more for greasing the dish)
- 6 large eggs, divided
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (~3 ounces), divided
- 6 ounces diced ham
- ½ small yellow onion, diced small
- ½ medium bell pepper, any color, diced small
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9×9-inch glass baking dish with butter and set aside.
- Place a small skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add 1 tsp. butter and when the butter is melted, add the diced onion and bell pepper and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine pancake mix, ½ cup milk, 2 Tbsp. melted butter, and 1 egg. Whisk until smooth with only a few lumps remaining.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking dish using a spatula, if needed, to spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the dish.
- Sprinkle ¾ cup cheese over the batter.
- To the bowl you used for the batter, add 5 eggs, ½ cup milk, and 1 Tbsp. melted butter. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the peppers, onions, and diced ham then pour this mixture over the batter and shredded cheese in the baking dish.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup shredded cheese. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
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Notes
*for the pancake mix – may sub 1 cup flour (use gluten-free all-purpose flour if needed) + 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder + ½ teaspoon salt
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/6th recipe
- Calories: 375
- Fat: 23g
- (Sat Fat: 8g)
- Sodium: 875mg
- Carbohydrate: 18g
- (Fiber: 1g)
- Protein: 25g
Dietary
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Wow this is a new favorite for breakfast! I made a pan of this for breakfast meal prep for my husband and I and we are both loving it. I used Kodiak pancake mix and didn’t add the extra butter to the eggs but otherwise followed the recipe. I will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
Delicious. I used a cast iron skillet to brown the veggies. Then baked the casserole in that same skillet. Very pretty, guests loved it!
★★★★★
My absolute go to breakfast to take to breakfast get togethers. Insanely good.
★★★★★
Such a great go-to Laura! Thanks so much for the 5-star review!
Nice twist on an egg bake recipe. Will make again.
★★★★★
Thanks so much! We appreciate the feedback and 5-star review!