The first year that we lived in our house I claimed Christmas morning as our holiday to host. I was so excited to finally have a dining room to host family in and Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. The following Christmas was our first year with our oldest son, so the tradition was easy to justify once we had kids. Selfishly, I always want to be home on Christmas morning and I never want to get out of my pajamas or have to drive anywhere (mimosas, anyone?!). My parents and sisters live a few minutes away so it works out to have them over for presents and brunch. That first year my husband (who is a champion at making breakfast) cooked made-to-order omelettes and a beautiful spread of meats and fruit and potatoes. As the brunch tradition has progressed, we now have three kids which means our focus on Christmas morning is less on made-to-order omelettes and has shifted into keeping the magic alive in our house. Although there is still a focus on mimosas.
There are hundreds of overnight casseroles and shortcuts to staying sane when you are feeding a crowd on Christmas morning, but this overnight breakfast casserole is the best because it requires minimal cooking. Another reason I love it so much is because my dad makes a ham on Christmas Eve and there is always a ton of leftovers. I chop up the leftover ham and use it in this casserole which makes him happy. If you don’t like ham you can also use a pound of cooked bacon.
Another thing I started doing once we had kids was setting the table on Christmas Eve before I go to bed. Christmas brunch is the one meal a year that I use my china, so I set the whole table and lay out all of my serving dishes in the kitchen the night before. This preparation, combined with the overnight casserole, guarantees that we are not running around preparing for guests on Christmas morning. Instead we can sit on the couch and drink countless cups of coffee while we watch our kids trash the room in joy and wrapping paper. 🙂
My Christmas brunch menu usually consists of some variation of this:
- Breakfast casserole
- Fresh fruit/berries
- Bacon (baked in the oven- easy!)
- Cinnamon rolls or monkey bread
- Assorted pastries or bagels
Cue the nap at 1:00pm.
Here is the recipe for the overnight casserole- it is so simple and impossible to mess up!
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 24 oz. frozen hash browns
- 16 oz. cubed ham or 1 lb. bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped
- 8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 12Â large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2Â teaspoon pepper
Directions
Mix frozen potatoes, chopped ham or bacon and shredded cheddar into a large bowl. Stir to combine. Transfer the mixture into a 9 x 13 glass baking casserole.
Add the eggs, milk, salt and pepper to the bowl and whisk together.
Pour the egg mixtures over the hash brown mixture in the casserole. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bake on 350 degrees for one hour.
This recipe can also be prepared and cooked in the morning- it doesn’t have to sit overnight! You can also add any other omelette toppings like peppers and onions if you want.
