Freezer Breakfast Squares

aka breakfast casserole

This easy-to-make breakfast casserole is always in my freezer in one variation or another. I like making it in a 9x13 brownie pan so that I can get those square edges and evenly cut nine slices, but you can make it in a few different-sized pans, which will affect the thickness and how it eats. You could also use this same base recipe to make egg bites in a muffin tin.

This is one of my favorite things to make for a meal train to bring to someone sick or a friend postpartum. They usually get lots of dinners, but it’s nice to stock their freezer with some quick breakfast options.

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs

• 2 cups cottage cheese

• 9 full-size frozen hash brown patties (or mini ones if that’s all you can find like me this last time)

• 8 oz shredded cheese of choice

Optional Mix-ins:

• chopped bacon

• green onions

• caramelized onions

• breakfast sausage

• cooked broccoli

• cooked and chopped spinach

• diced ham

• hot sauce

• anything else you like in savory breakfast

In a 9x13 baking dish, spread out an even layer of hash brown patties and toast in the oven at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and season with salt.

Crack 12 eggs and add two cups of cottage cheese in a blender or large measuring cup. Blend together until smooth (I use an immersion blender in a measuring cup, but you can just as easily use your full-size blender to mix this in). Season with salt and pepper.

Next, add your mix-ins. My go-to is chopped bacon (about six strips), green onions, caramelized onions, and shredded cheddar cheese. But this base of eggs and cottage cheese has endless possibilities. You can add whatever mix-ins you want. Just be careful when adding veggies. Make sure they are pre-cooked and any excess water is squeezed out before baking.

Mix together the blended egg and cottage cheese with your mix-ins (don’t blend the mix-ins; mix with a spoon or rubber spatula), and pour into the 9x13 pan, covering the hash brown patties.

Bake at 300ºF for 20-30 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center and don’t jiggle. Keep an eye on this; you don’t want it to overcook, but your casserole may take longer depending on your mix-ins, the type of pan you put it in, and your oven. My timing is for my convection toaster oven.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing. If you’re serving this as a whole casserole to guests, you don’t need to let it cool, but you want it to cool before wrapping and freezing.

I cut the casserole into 9 rectangles (this usually aligns with how the hashbrown patties fit in the pan, making it one whole hashbrown per slice) and then individually wrap each slice in parchment paper.

Then, place the wrapped breakfast squares in a freezer bag and freeze them. When ready to eat, just take out a slice and microwave it for 2-3 minutes (flipping halfway) still in the parchment paper wrap. Then unwrap it, and it’s ready to eat!