Individual breakfast casseroles with eggs, bread, veggies and cheese are made in ramekins and can be customized to suit everyone’s tastes. They're great for a crowd!
Hi friends! Have you recovered from Cinco de Mayo? Did you blow it out and drink all the margaritas and eat all the yummy food?
We were in for the night but I did make a festive dinner and of course sipped on some fun drinks. The rest of the weekend was low-key, with a kids birthday party and a neighborhood BBQ thrown in for a little fun.
But let’s get right down to it today.
AKA, tell me about the FOOD already lady!
The first time I made these individual breakfast casseroles was for my Mom for Mother’s Day a few years ago. I served them with my whole wheat blueberry waffles (with a hint of orange), chicken sausages and a fruit salad.
Her verdict that morning?
“This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had.”
And they love to eat out for brunch, so that’s really saying something!
I made them again at Christmas, that year or the next, and served them with my healthy sausage balls and our family favorite cranberry apple salad.
A delicious Christmas morning indeed! ❤️
So yes, I have played with these individual breakfast casseroles a lot over the years!
I love that they are so versatile and customizable so that I can make them work for everyone in our family!
✔️ I could make them for M when she was younger and had a milk allergy. I would just use her soy milk and her non-dairy cheese.
✔️ I can make them for my Mom who has an egg allergy. I substitute Egg Beaters for her ramekin.
✔️ I can make them for my Dad, who is picky about vegetables, and just include his favorites.
✔️ I can make them for my mother-in-law, who doesn’t eat gluten, and use her gluten-free bread or leave it out altogether.
See what I mean? This is perfect for serving a group and making sure everyone gets just what they want!
(Though if you want one big casserole, this hash brown breakfast casserole is so yummy. And my classic sausage and egg casserole is a long-time family favorite.)
OK, let's get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up on how to make individual breakfast casseroles. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Recipe Notes:
- Customize: The individual part of these casseroles is the key! You can add or leave out any of the solids. Gluten-free or low-carb? Skip the bread! The casseroles will be smaller but will still cook through.
- Vegetables: You can also use your favorite veggies here in place of or in addition to the tomatoes and spinach. If you want to use zucchini, peppers or something else that’s a bit harder, you can sauté them in a pan quickly or steam them for a few minutes to soften them before placing them in the ramekins.
- Cheese: I wrote the recipe for mozzarella cheese below but we’ve also used goat cheese here. And cheddar or any other shredded cheese could certainly work too.
- Bread: I normally use whole wheat bread (since that’s what we usually have on hand) but I’ve made it before with a harder French bread before and that worked great too.
- Eggs: You can substitute egg beaters for the egg mixture (all or part of it), if you prefer. (I’ve done this for my Mom’s ramekin because she has an egg allergy.)
- Ramekins: Oh, and I use 4” ramekins like these. The full recipe makes 6 large ramekins - these are big servings! You can adjust to how many you need or try a smaller size and keep an eye on the baking time.
I hope you give this a try and I hope you love these mini breakfast casseroles as much as I do!
And I’d love to hear if you do make them - tag me on Instagram or leave me a comment below and let me know what variations you tried.
And to all the mamas, I hope you have a fantastic Mother’s Day!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Individual Breakfast Casseroles
Ingredients
For the ramekins:
- Cooking spray
- 3 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 ½ cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1 to 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
For the egg mixture:
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup milk, 2%, skim or your favorite
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Spray 6 ramekins (4” diameter size) with cooking spray. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Place torn pieces of bread in bottom of each ramekin and then top with desired toppings: tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella cheese are suggested here but you can absolutely substitute!
- Next, make the egg mixture. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with milk, mustard, salt and pepper, until well combined.
- Use a measuring cup or ladle to divide egg mixture evenly among the 6 ramekins. You’ll need about ¾ cup of the egg mixture for each ramekin.
- Place the baking sheet with the ramekins in the oven and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until set. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. (You can serve in the ramekins or use a knife to loosen the egg casseroles from each ramekin and serve on a plate.)
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
We stayed in for Cinco de Mayo, too, I'm too old to keep up with those youngsters at bars. LOL. Glad y'all had a nice time at home! Breakfast is my favorite meal, and Mother's day is definitely all about that brunch! These would be perfect for celebrating mom... or myself. 😉 I love individual dishes like this, because I'm terrible at sharing delicious food! These look scrumptious, girlfriend! Cheers!!
Kathryn
Haha, I'm terrible at sharing, too!
Lucy
I would love to hear my mom says: “This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had". I love the story that how you made your family happy with your meals. It's so meaningful! It's simple, easy, fast to cook and yummy.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Kathryn
Aww, thanks Lucy! Nothing like sharing a great meal with loved ones!
Karly
No more fighting for the bigger/middle/corner piece-- LOVE this idea! So darn cute, too! Perfect for a buffet style weekend brunch or quick breakfast for one!
Kathryn
Haha, so true Karly! And yes, I love stashing some extras to have for a busy morning's breakfast!
Luci's Morsels
I love the versatility of this recipe! And putting the casserole in ramekins is such a great way to individualize the meal. Looks tasty!
Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
Kathryn
Thanks Luci! It's so helpful when you've got a group with wide ranging dietary needs!
Mimi
These are really fun - i love the individual servings. And i never thought about it, but they can be customized for the pickier eaters!! I should make some of these for when my grand daughter visits - she would love them!
Kathryn
Thanks Mimi! Yes, they can be customized to all kinds of dietary restrictions and preferences!
Edwina
As soon as I saw the photo of these I knew I wanted to make them. Correction...I wanted to eat them! They look delicious. The idea of making individual ones for a group brunch is genius. I'm going to do it. Thanks so much for sharing.
Kathryn
Thanks so much Edwina! I hope you love them!
Linda
Can you put assembled egg ramekins in refrigerator overnight?
Thanks for the recipe, look forward to trying.
Kathryn
Hi Linda! I've never tried that so I can't say for sure. But I have made overnight egg casseroles that aren't so different from this so I think it could work. Would love to hear if you try it!
Laurie
I do this and it works fine!
Kathryn Doherty
Great, that's so good to know. Thanks for sharing Laurie!
Mr Chef
Useful information. Lucky me I found your website by chance, and I'm shocked why
this accident didn't came about earlier! I bookmarked it.
Deb B
I had found this recipe and others similar. When I first tried it, I used it just on a plain sheet and use the butter biscuits. Jumbo biscuits I should say. On a cookie sheet mat prepared a hole in the center of the biscuit, emptied the egg into that import cheese. Sprinkle cheese on top of that and put it in the oven And then as there it was done sprinkled cooked bacon on top. However, I’ve been practicing with ramekins and I think that we enjoyed the biscuits casserole when it was on the flat sheet because it seem to cook and give it a crisper edge. The only thing I see wrong that I have been doing is not scrambling the eggs that may be my key error thanks for posting. Happy Easter.
Linda
Could you use frozen or fresh hash browns in place of bread?
Kathryn Doherty
I haven't tried it that way and there might be some adjustments needed. I think the hash browns are more likely to give off liquid, whereas the bread absorbs, so it could change the texture and lead to a watery casserole. You might need to play with it, but would love to hear if you try it!
Sharon
Why do you use bread in the bottom. Can you leave it out ?
Kathryn Doherty
The bread is reminiscent of a traditional egg and sausage casserole, but yes, you can definitely just leave it out if needed. Hope that helps!
Miriam
I love this. I'm definitely making this to suit the individual preferences for my family. Thanks for sharing.
Kathryn Doherty
Happy to hear it! And I hope they all enjoy their personalized breakfast casseroles! 😊
Kathy
Could these be made with diced ham, chopped mushroom and a little onion? Also would the recipe work well in a large muffin tin? Would this recipe work well as a “make/bake ahead” for my husband to take on a fishing trip?
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, I think that combination sounds delicious! Using a muffin tin will change the quantity as well as the cook time, but you could follow this recipe and use your favorite mix-ins to make them that way: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/egg-muffins/
These are definitely great to make ahead - as are those egg muffins - and reheat when you are ready in the morning. If he's traveling, you could reheat them and maybe wrap them in aluminum foil to try to keep them warm for a bit. Hope that helps!
Sharon Barry
Can you leave out the bread. What does the bread do?? I am gluten free and I don’t want any bread in it. Does it change texture if leave it out
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, you can leave out the bread. The bread makes it more like a traditional breakfast casserole, which often has a layer of bread on the bottom, but you can skip it and these cook up fine. You might also want to check out these baked egg muffins for another gluten-free option: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/egg-muffins/
Diane
This recipe is awesome. I wanted something to make ahead and take to work for breakfast at my desk (without the same ingredients everyday for a week). Taste great, amazing variety and SO easy...'cuz I'm not chef!
Sandi Nelling
Kathryn I am making your recipe for the Individual Breakfast Casseroles for a Christmas brunch I am hosting and have a couple of questions. I was thinking of using a pie crust instead of cubed bread, would that work & do I need to change the cooking time ? Also would hash browns work in this recipe & should I brown them first?
Thanks for your help, I look forward to serving these at my brunch.
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Sandi, I haven't tested this recipe with a pie crust... it may need to pre-bake, may need a different bake time or temperature and the egg mixture may be too wet for it all to cook properly. Lots of variables that would need to be worked out. I also haven't used hash browns in place of the bread and I'm not sure if they would cook up well or end up soggy. Would love to hear if you test out any of those substitutions though!