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Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake

This Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake is a delicious make-ahead brunch recipe. Perfect for weekends, special occasions and the holidays!

There’s just something so great about a meal you can make and serve out of one dish. This Ham and Cheese Breakfast bake is made with chunks of French bread, eggs, whole milk, sharp white cheddar cheese, green onion, green pepper, bacon and ham. So much deliciousness in one dish. I hope you love it.

a top down view of half of a baking dish filled with a ham and cheese breakfast bake. next to the dish is a blue and white napkin and gold utensils

Versatile and Easy.

A great thing about breakfast bakes like this, is how easy and versatile they are. In just minutes, with your favourite ingredients, you can have this casserole ready to go. Try different cheeses, add more vegetables if you like. Have a leftover baguette? Use that instead. Leftover ham from last night’s dinner, use that. As long as you stick with the bread/egg/milk ratio, you can play with additional ingredients and come up with delicious variations.

a white baking dish filled with a ham and cheese breakfast bake sits on brown woven hot pads. next to the dish is a blue and white napkin and gold utensils

Perfect for holidays!

Breakfast bakes are perfect for holidays, like Easter and Christmas morning! Whether you’re feeding a crowd or your family, they’re just so easy to assemble and make. And take a lot of stress off of busy mornings.

a view of half of a baking dish filled with a ham and cheese breakfast bake. next to the dish is a blue and white napkin and gold utensils

Let it rest.

This breakfast bake is the best, and most flavourful, when you let it rest overnight in the fridge, so for 8-10 hours. If you do want to make it sooner than that, I highly recommend you let it rest for at least 4 hours, so the bread has enough time to soak up the milk and eggs. If you rush it, you will end up with 2 layers…a layer of egg and a layer of dry bread, and that’s really not what we’re going for here.

a white baking dish filled with a ham and cheese breakfast bake sits on brown woven hot pads. next to the dish is a white plate with a scoop of the bake. the dish sits on a blue and white napkin next to gold utensils

What you’ll love about this recipe:

MAKE IT AHEAD – Make-ahead recipes are the best! Anything that can be prepared ahead of time, helps to eliminate stress on the day you’re hosting brunch.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS – All ingredients are easy to find.
EASY ASSEMBLY – This dish comes together in just minutes. It’s so simple.
FEEDS A BUNCH – This is a great recipe for holiday breakfasts and brunch gatherings. If you’re feeding a crowd, make 2! Your guests will love it.

a top down view of a white baking dish filled with a ham and cheese breakfast bake sits on brown woven hot pads. next to the dish is a white plate with a scoop of the bake. the dish sits on a blue and white napkin next to gold utensils

Tips & Tricks

Pan Size: Use a 9 x 13 pan.
Bread: A medium sized French bread loaf is perfect for this recipe. I like to use a day old loaf (or a few days old).
Cheese: Use a flavourful cheese like a sharp cheddar for this recipe. I like a sharp white cheddar, but you can also use a sharp orange cheddar.
Ham: You can use Canadian back bacon, deli ham or diced leftover ham in this dish.
Bacon: Use cooked and crumbled bacon. Tip: sometimes I will cook extra bacon and keep it in the fridge to use in recipes such as this.
Milk: I like to use whole white milk for this dish. But you can 2% (I wouldn’t recommend 1% or skim)
Peppers: Any bell peppers work well in this recipe (green, red, yellow, orange).
Make Ahead: Prepare this dish 8 hours ahead of time. So assemble it the evening before, for breakfast the next day. Cover it with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge.
How do you know when it is done baking? The casserole should appear set and won’t jiggle in the centre. The best test is when a thermometer inserted into the centre reads 160° F, the egg bake is done.
Serve with an assortment fresh fruit or this Easy Fruit Salad.
Leftovers: Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. You can heat them up in the microwave or oven (the oven will be more crunchy).
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing this dish, as egg dishes just do not freeze well…it will be too wet and soggy after baking.

I hope you love this easy breakfast casserole recipe as much as we do! It’s kid approved too!

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake

Print Recipe

This Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake is a delicious make-ahead brunch recipe. Perfect for weekends, special occasions and the holidays!

Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours
Yield: 12 servings 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: Baking

Instructions

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, dry mustard, salt and pepper, until smooth. Set aside.
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish with butter (or spray it with cooking spray).
Add the chunks of bread to the baking dish.
Sprinkle on the ham, bacon, onions and green pepper.
Then sprinkle on the cheese.
Pour the milk/egg mixture over the ingredients in the baking dish.
Cover with tin foil and let rest overnight in the fridge.
In the morning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and put the casserole in the oven while the oven preheats.
Bake, uncovered, for 45 – 50 minutes (until the casserole is not jiggly). NOTE: If you notice the casserole is getting too dark, cover it with tin foil and resume baking.
Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.