Easter is only a week away and in the next few days, I am going to be sharing with you some of my family’s favorite Easter traditions. I thought I would start with Brunch. Our family’s Easter Brunch is something that everyone looks forward to. After celebrating mass on Easter Sunday each year, we gather together at either my house or my mother’s house. My four young children are always very eager to begin looking for hidden eggs filled with little toys or treats while the women of our family get busy cooking in the kitchen.
A lot of the prep work for the meal and even the table setting is done the day before. We like to take our time with this because it is a special occasion and well, it’s just fun! I believe the key to really enjoying Easter with your family is preparation. I know it is hard sometimes to get things done ahead of time, but it’s worth it on that day when you yourself can sit down, relax and really enjoy your family.
, baked goods and fresh fruits & vegetables; our family loves a hearty egg casserole. This Potato, Broccoli & Pepper Jack Egg Casserole is big hit every year! To help make this delicious casserole even easier, I always start by using Ore-Ida Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes. Ore-Ida Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes can be found in the freezer section right at your local Walmart.
These flavorful Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes are then mixed with eggs, broccoli, chopped ham (for Easter), red pepper, onion, garlic, sour cream, milk and Sharp Cheddar and spicy Pepper Jack cheeses for an amazing dish that will satisfy everyone in the family! My children really don’t care for ham by itself, so for Easter I like to just chop some good quality deli ham and add it to the casserole. They don’t seem to mind it a bit and they never complain about the veggies in this either! To make your Easter Brunch preparations even easier, this casserole can be made ahead of time. That’s right! Make this casserole the night before, cover it and place it in your refrigerator until you are ready for it on Easter! How great is that?! I don’t know about you, but the feeling of having a main dish like this already made and ready to go helps me sleep a lot easier the night before a big family gathering.
Here’s what you will need:
You start by softening your red pepper, onion and garlic in a little butter.
Set that aside, and then combine the Ore-Ida Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes with the cheese and chopped ham in an extra large mixing bowl.
In a large, lightly greased 11 x 15 (5 Qt.) baking dish 
Top the vegetable layer with the remaining potato mixture.
In the same mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream and salt and pepper. The pour the egg mixture evenly over the potatoes.
Sprinkle the casserole with parsley and top with the remaining cheese and bake for 40- 50 minutes ( a little longer if refrigerated overnight) at 350 degrees.
After this comes out of the oven, you will want to let it cool a bit before serving. If it’s covered with foil, it should stay warm for a while and I actually prefer this more at almost room temperature.
After my family enjoys our big Easter Brunch together, we usually get comfy in the living room and just relax. It a great time to just sit and reflect and not let the busy world in. Our children usually take a little break before they start running around again and sometimes we watch a movie together and eat some Easter candy or dessert. How do you spend Easter with your family? Do you make any special dishes? I would love for you to share your family’s #OreidaHashbrown recipes with me! You can even leave a link in the comment section if you would like. 🙂 Have a wonderful Easter!
Ingredients
- 1 (30 oz.) bag Ore-Ida Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes, thawed completely
- 1 (14 oz.) bag broccoli florets, thawed completely
- 1/2 lb. good quality deli ham, chopped small
- 1/2 large red pepper, chopped small
- 1/2 large onion, chopped small
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of shredded Pepper Jack cheese, divided
- 2 cups of shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 12 eggs
- 3/4 cup 2 % fat or higher milk
- 3/4 cups sour cream
- 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Saute the red pepper, onion and garlic in 2 Tbsp. butter until softened about 5 minutes.
- Set aside.
- In an extra large mixing bowl, combine the potatoes, ham and 1 1/2 cups of each of the cheeses.
- Evenly spread half of the potato mixture into a lightly greased 11 x 15 (5 qt.) baking dish.
- If you do not have a casserole dish that large, you may divide it into two separate dishes.
- Top the potato layer with the broccoli and then the red pepper mixture.
- Cover the vegetables with the remaining potato mixture.
- In the same mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream and salt and pepper.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the casserole.
- Sprinkle with dried parsley and top with the remaining cheese (1 cup total).
- Bake covered with foil loosely for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 30-35 minutes until the casserole is browned around the edges and the casserole does not appear to be runny.
- *Cooking time will vary depending on the size and shape casserole dish you use. I love to use a pretty round dish for special occasions, but it makes the casserole thicker- sometimes requiring at least 20 more minutes of cooking time, so use your judgement.
- Remove from the oven and let cool and set for 10 minutes before serving.
- May be served hot or at warm at about room temperature.
- Store any left over casserole in the refrigerator.
- Serves 10-12.
- *If you are making this ahead of time, prepare the casserole, cover and store in the refrigerator up to 24 hours. until you are ready to bake it. May require a few more minutes of baking time straight from the refrigerator.
- Enjoy!
*Linking up at Simply Gloria, Skip To My Lou, Feeding Big, Pint Sized Baker, Hun What’s For Dinner, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Inside BruCrew Life, Savvy Southern Style, Just A Girl and Her Blog, The NY Melrose Family, Mom’s Test Kitchen, Tatertots & Jello, Cooking With Curls, Sewlicious Home Decor, Living Well Spending Less, Yesterfood, Home Stories A to Z
Made this for a Women’s breakfast on a recent camping trip, so Yummy ! I use two smaller pans the 11-15 pan doesn’t fit the campers oven. Everyone loved it , Thank You for a great recipe , sure to become a family favorite !
I’m so glad you all enjoyed this recipe Patty! Thanks for taking the time to stop back & let me know. You made me day! 🙂
i don’t have the bagged hash browns what can I substitute it with. Can I grate potatoes.
Hi there! Freshly shredded or grated potatoes should work just fine! 🙂
I
Can this be prepared two days in advance and refrigerated?
Hi Sean! I think you would probably be fine doing that. Maybe just extend the cooking time a bit. I have made this several times, and I have noticed that just using just slightly different shaped casserole dishes may require you to extend the cooking time a bit because of thickness. Also make sure you veggies and potatoes are completely thawed. I hope this helps & I hope you enjoy it:)
Hi shannon-
Thanks for getting back to me. I will let you know how it turns out.
can I use spinach instead of broccoli?
Hi Josephine! I think that would work out fine. If it’s frozen, just make sure you squeeze it dry. Let me know how it turns out! I may have to try that 🙂
I made this to my family’s liking. No garlic (yuck!!), no parsley (didn’t have it on hand). I added jalapeños (we love them), used spinach and broccoli, spicy sausage instead of ham, 10 eggs instead of 12, cooked it in a 9×14 dish… it was amazing!! My point is that you can add/delete or do whatever you want and it will still turn out perfectly. We ate it for dinner one night and had breakfast for 4 days. Delicious!!!
Hi Gretchen! I’m so glad you liked this! It is a very flexible recipe & that’s why we love it so much. I’m definitely going to try adding jalapeños to mine next time too! Yum! Thanks so much for stopping by- have a great week! 🙂
I used a 10 oz package of thawed and squeezed dried chopped spinach instead of broccoli and cooked the casserole in a 11X9 pan. it needed to cook longer but it is cooling now and looks good!
Yum! I’ll have to try it with spinach sometime too Elise! 🙂
My family loves this! I make it in two smaller casserole dishes. One for us and one to share or put away. I replace the ham with nitrate free bacon (easier to find than nitrate free ham)…yum!
That’s a great idea Tami! Maybe I’ll try that next time too. I’m so happy you liked the recipe:)
Has anyone tried making this in the crock pot? If so, what is the suggested cooking time?
I plan on making this for Sunday brunch. It looks fantastic for a large group!
Cheers,
Catherine
Could I put this together and refrigerate overnight, then bake the next morning?
Hi Sue! I think that would work out just fine! You might have to extend the cooking time just a bit because it was in the refrigerator. I hope you enjoy this! 🙂
Holy cow! This was absolutely fabulous! It makes a huge amount-perfect for holiday brunches. Everyone had seconds. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. I am looking forward to trying more of your creations 🙂
Thanks so much Leighanne! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂
This looks incredible! If I took out the ham, would I be compromising the flavor? I’d love to make this on Thanksgiving, but I don’t eat meat. Thank you for your help, Shannon!
Hi Leighanne! I think this would be just fine without the ham. Actually I think a lot of the flavor comes from that yummy Pepper Jack cheese and it’s just delicious with the vegetables! I hope you and your family enjoy this! 🙂
The casserole would be perfect and pretty for a bridal brunch! thanks so much for the recipe!
Pinning to our Party Board!
Thank you so much for sharing your creativity at our Show-Licious Craft & Recipe Party! Join us again on Saturday to show off your latest projects!
~ Ashley
Ashley @ 3 Little Greenwoods recently posted…$15 Framed Poster Print
Thanks so much Ashley! This is my favorite breakfast casserole and the different colors from the different vegetables makes it pretty. Perfect for a brunch. Enjoy!
I can’t even with this dish. It looks SO delicious! HOLY cow! I love that Ore-Ida Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes make prep that much easier. Now bring me some? Please? #client
Summer Davis recently posted…Reinventing the Wheel Without Knocking it off its Axle – #NakedMoms on Motherhood
Thank you so much Summer! 🙂
This sounds incredibly delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin Wednesday!
Karly recently posted…Bubble Up Enchilada Bake
Thanks Karly! 🙂
This looks so yummy! I’ll definitely be trying it soon:)
Ginnie recently posted…Hello, Friday! Link Roundup + Behind-the-Scenes with People StyleWatch & Mary Kay
Thanks Ginnie! I hope you like it! 🙂
This recipe looks sooooo delicious. I think we’ll divide into smaller pans to freeze for the future. We like to have a nice breakfast before running errands on Saturday mornings. This would be great!
Theresa Ball recently posted…Yardstick Love
Thanks Theresa! That sounds like a great idea:) I hope you like it! We love a good Saturday morning breakfast too!
Shannon, your pictures really look great! I love the step by step pics. Absolutely gorgeous AND very simple by using the already shredded frozen potatoes! Happy you brought these over to the Show Stopper this week! Pinned!
Gloria @ Simply Gloria recently posted…Crispy Cheddar Baked Fries
Thank you Gloria! That’s such a compliment coming from such a great food photographer like you. I always feel like I want to eat everything you have on your site because of your beautiful pictures and descriptions. If only I could smell the food through the computer screen! 🙂
This would be awesome for Easter brunch. Pinned for use next week. Thanks.
I’d love it if you linked this to What’d You Do This Weekend.
Linda
Thanks Linda! I hope you like it:) Thanks so much for pinning!
Sounds yummy. 🙂
Joanna recently posted…Pineapple Surprise Mini Muffins
Thank you Joanna:)
Wow. This looks so yummy!!! I am pinning this to try!!! found at showstopper sat. have a great weekend.
Rachel Kathyg @ onlinesisterhood recently posted…Jam-filled Breakfast Crepes
Thanks so much Rachel!
Another delicious recipe! I definitely could eat some of this egg casserole right now…maybe cap it off with some of your carrot cake! MMMMMMmmmmm! Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings,
Nici
Nici recently posted…Mexican Fruit Salad
Thanks Nici! That’s exactly how I think too:) lol… a good breakfast casserole followed by a nice dessert!