Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

This was out Easter morning brunch this year. I was going to make my Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Biscuits but I didn't want to take the time to roll out and stuff all the biscuits. So, I made this casserole instead. It's pretty genius actually. I was inspired by Clinton Kelly's Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit Casserole that I saw on The Chew. He makes biscuits from scratch and then makes breakfast sandwiches almost like a bread pudding and then bakes it off in the oven. I (wanting to feed the kids quickly, and emulate the flavors in my Breakfast Biscuits) used uncooked ready-made biscuit dough. The result was the magnificence you see above. It was just like a breakfast biscuit, or sandwich but baked. The eggs came out super fluffy and the biscuits didn't get completely soggy (like I imagine they would if you make it from already cooked biscuits, like a bread pudding.) Everyone really enjoyed this breakfast casserole and I see it making appearances in the rotation again soon. So yummy!

I started with 1 pound (16 link) of sausage. You could also use 1 lb of bacon, or any other breakfast meat (Canadian bacon might be nice) if that is more to your liking.

While the sausage was cooking, I split my Grands biscuits, just like I do when I make my Breakfast Biscuit Muffins.

I lay down 8 halves into the bottom of a greased 9x13 dish. Give them equal space all around because the eggs are going to cook where-ever the biscuits are not. You want to have the same amount of eggs for each serving.

Next, top the biscuit halves with 2 sausages each.

Then comes the cheese. I just grated what I had left of my block. I think it's about 2 cups, but honestly, could there ever be too much cheese?

Top each pair of sausages with a pile of cheese. (You'll use 1/2 of the cheese that was grated.)

Top the little sandwiches with the other biscuit halves and you're almost done!

In a pourable mixing bowl, whisk together 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of milk, 1/2 cup chives and salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture over the sandwiches evenly.

Let it sit while you preheat the oven to 350F.

When the oven is hot, cover the casserole with tin foil (being careful not to touch the cheese on top) and bake for about 45 minutes (until the biscuits are almost done).

I then take the foil off and bake for another 10 minutes to get the tops nice and brown.

Just cut and serve! It can be enjoyed hot out of the oven or at room temperature.

Isn't it a beautiful site? See how the biscuits kept their flaky integrity, because we put them in raw instead of cooked?

One more shot, because it's just so darn pretty. :)

You can see how well it portions out. Just cut and serve everyone a biscuit sandwich. It all stays together beautifully and tastes even better than it looks.

Here's the recipe:

Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

1 pound breakfast sausage (16 links) or other breakfast meat you like, cooked
1 can refrigerator biscuits
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
salt (to taste)
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup chives, chopped (If you like the onion flavor you can increase this to 1 cup)
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Split the biscuits in half and place 8 halves into the bottom of a greased 13x9 baking dish. Place two cooked sausage links on top of each biscuit half. Top with cheese (1 cup for all the biscuits). Place the remaining 8 biscuit halves on top of the cheese (creating biscuit sandwiches). In a pourable mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, chives salt a pepper. Pour evenly over the biscuit sandwiches. Preheat the oven to 350F (let the casserole sit out while the oven preheats). Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the eggs and biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.