Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole
My gluten free breakfast casserole is perfect for weekend mornings or holiday brunch because you can prepare this the night before and bake in the morning! We enjoy this for the holidays, and you can make this gluten-free egg casserole anytime!
My family really enjoys when I make this gluten-free holiday breakfast casserole every year for Easter and Christmas brunch. Hearty, creamy, cheesy goodness, all in a delicious gluten-free breakfast bake that is made the night before.
My kids count on this being on the table for every holiday brunch!
Since I am NOT a morning person, my family gets cereal, oatmeal, or muffins the other 363 days a year. The night before Easter and the night before Christmas, I take a bit of time and throw together this gluten-free overnight breakfast casserole, cover, and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
Then I write out the baking instructions (time, temp, and reminder to uncover) and set that out for my early-rising husband. He happily gets up, pulls the raw casserole out of the refrigerator, and places in the hot oven at the right time so we can enjoy our brunch before church.
What gluten-free bread should you use?
You make this breakfast casserole with bread cubes. You can really cube up just about any gluten-free bread to use in this. Some people like to keep their bread loaf ends for a few months, then cube for this.
I like to bake a loaf of gluten-free bread a day or two before making this. Once cool, I just slice in thick 1″ slices and cube up what I need for this recipe and we use the rest for sandwiches.
To make it easy, I use my bread machine and just use one of my favorite gluten-free bread mixes: gfJules gluten-free bread mix (buy direct or from Amazon) or King Arthur’s gluten-free bread mix.
You’ll use a little over half of the loaf for this recipe. You could also make Nicole’s gluten-free bread recipe from scratch.
Ingredient notes
- Ham: I usually use leftover ham that I have frozen from a previous dinner. I almost always buy the spiral sliced Kirkland brand ham at Costco. You can also buy ham steaks to cube up for this recipe. Sometimes I buy a small Hempler’s Nitrate/Nitrite Free, gluten-free ham from my local store and it is perfect for this too. Just read ingredients carefully to ensure it’s gluten free.
- Bacon or sausage: In place of some or all of the ham, try gluten free bacon or sausage for an equally delicious gluten-free egg bake. There are many clearly labeled gluten-free meats available. Ham is pre-cooked, but if you’re using bacon or raw sausage, dice or slice it and cook it in a pan until it’s no longer pink, then let it cool before adding it to the other ingredients. Eggs bake in the oven much more quickly than meat, so you must pre-cook the meat first so it’s safe to consume in the casserole after baking.
- Ground mustard: This dry mustard on the spice aisle at your store or you can buy on Amazon here. It only uses a bit, but does lend some flavor that I think is important – and this is from someone that doesn’t like liquid mustard on anything!
How to Make this Recipe
- First spray your 9×13 casserole baking dish with cooking spray. I use this Pyrex, because it has the lid to cover it in the fridge. (Just remember not to bake with the plastic cover still on!)
- Then you simply add the bread cubes and ham, and sprinkle with cheese.
- In a large bowl, you’ll whisk together eggs, milk, and some seasonings. Then you’ll pour the egg mixture over the bread/ham mixture.
- Pour melted butter over all!
- Place plastic lid or plastic wrap over the top and place in refrigerator overnight!
Here’s a look at the breakfast casserole before you bake it:
In the morning, pull the baking pan from refrigerator to rest on counter while you preheat oven. Allowing the casserole to warm to room temperature will help it bake evenly and all the way to the center before the edges burn.
Then, pop it in the oven and bake for one hour.
Here’s a look at it just out of the oven. You can see how the top pieces get crunchy – almost like croutons. People often fight over those crunchy pieces!
Can you make this dairy-free?
I have not made this dairy-free. But if you need it to be so, use a dairy-free milk and dairy-free shredded cheese. Pour a melted dairy-free alternative over it. I would not recommend coconut oil, as it will harden up in the refrigerator overnight and I just think it’ll negatively affect the results.
Please do report back if you make this dairy-free!
Serving Suggestions
For our special holiday brunch, I always serve this with homemade Orange Julius as well as some fresh fruit.
I also always bake something sweet to serve with this.
Sometimes I make my gluten-free berry coffee cake – usually if I’ve found a deal on berries!
Many times, I’ve made my gluten-free pull-apart cinnamon rolls as everyone in my family loves them.
For our most recent gluten-free Christmas breakfast, I made gluten-free cinnamon roll muffins (pictured below!).
I hope you’ll try this overnight gluten-free ham and egg casserole for your next holiday or special brunch!
Let me know what you pair it with too. I’ll keep working at bringing you more casserole recipes too!
If you make this and enjoy it too, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.
Gluten-free Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups (9 ounces) cubed gluten-free white bread, 1-inch cubes (See Recipe Notes)
- 2 cups (300 g) cubed pre-cooked ham, 1/2-inch cubes, bacon or breakfast sausage
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 5 large eggs
- 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) milk
- 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9×13 glass Pyrex baking dish.
- Mix cubed white bread and cubed ham in baking dish.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs, then mix in the milk, dry mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Pour over ham and bread mixture.
- Pour melted butter over all.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning:
- Remove casserole from refrigerator and uncover. Let sit at room temperature while oven preheats to 325°.
- Once oven is preheated, place uncovered casserole in oven and bake at 325° for an hour. Remove from oven. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
I like to make my own loaf of bread for this recipe using gfJules bread mix or King Arthur’s gluten-free bread mix a loaf a day or two before I make the casserole. They both slice and cube very nicely. One standard package of gluten free packaged bread like Canyon Bakehouse gluten free white bread weighs about 15 ounces, which is more than enough bread for this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!Pin this gluten-free breakfast recipe to your Gluten-free Breakfast Pinterest Board:
If you’ve tried this Christmas breakfast casserole or Easter Breakfast casserole and you love this recipe too, would you please give it a star rating above? I would so appreciate it!
If I put this overnight in my refrigerator would it be okay to cook it tomorrow late afternoon? Or is that too long to wait.
We’ve never tried that, Traci, but since this has gluten free bread in it, if you’re not using a dense bread, it may fall apart if it soaks for that long!
Do I dry out the bread ahead of time for the Gluten free overnight breakfast casserole?
Was really excited to try this. Made it for Easter brunch today and the bread was soggy 😔 followed the directions. Was disappointed 😢
Do you toast the bread cubes before making the dish?
No I don’t! I usually cube them up and just sit out to dry out a bit if the bread is moist.
I made this today for Easter brunch (prepped last night) and everyone loved it! We all thought the flavors were awesome and it would have worked well with bacon or sausage instead of the ham we used. Everyone said, “Less bread, more eggs”, so I will try that next time! You could probably add veggies too, broccoli, spinach? Very good and easy receipe!
I’ve been making this for Christmas for 6 years now! We have made it with ham, bacon, and sausage. It’s always a huge hit! Thanks for sharing!
I made this for my family for Valentine’s Day morning. I used Udi’s GF White Sandwich bread (6 slices). I also used sliced ham from Applegate because the cubed ham at my grocery store had chemicals in it. Made it the night before and baked in the morning. The flavors were outstanding and we finished it later in the afternoon. What a great breakfast! We will make it again soon.
Why do you use bread in the dish? I’ve never come across an frittata.
Hi! I am definitely making this! You mentioned making your own gf bread. What bread machine do you use for gf bread! Thanks in advance!
Any suggestions about adding hash browns to this? I do love potatoes…. Thanks!
Can this be made dairy free also?
I’ve made it with Almond milk (make sure not to use a vanilla flavored one ;-)) and it’s great!
Can I make ahead and freeze?
Maryann, I haven’t tried that and don’t think I’d recommend it. It might work! If you’d like to experiment, be sure to do it first before you do it for company! Let me know too!
I love breakfast casseroles and probably won’t wait for Christmas to make this. Looks delicious. 🙂
This sounds yummy! Thinking we may be having this for breakfast this Xmas 🙂 I’ve never made homemade bread so if I make the king Arthur bread what type of pan do you bake it in?
Darcie,
I don’t think I knew that you guys were eating gluten-free over there! You just use a normal loaf pan – like you’d make a loaf of banana bread in. I’ve got an extra one if you’d like to borrow it! That KA bread mix is super easy, but you could also use store-bought gluten-free bread probably.
I cannot wait to try out this recipe, as it looks amazing.
Would you post your recipe for orange julius though? Please?
Sharon, I keep forgetting to snap a photo so I can post that. I’ll add it to my [long] to-do list though! 🙂
Sharon,
I finally posted my Orange Julius copycat recipe just now! I’ve linked to it above! Thanks for your patience! ~Michelle
This is such a good idea!!! Thanks 🙂
I am SO with you on not being a morning person, Michelle. Easter is one of the days that I like to do a make-ahead hot breakfast. I look forward to trying your breakfast casserole! I happen to have the KAF gf bread ingredients in my pantry.
Kirsten,
Glad to know I’m not the only Mom that isn’t a morning person! That’s so great that you have the KAF gf bread ingredients. Hope you can try this soon! Thanks for your comment.