Christmas Morning Slow Cooker Breakfast
Serve a Christmas Morning Slow Cooker Breakfast, an easy slow cooker breakfast casserole made with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and cheese.
Wake up early on Christmas morning and start the slow cooker for this Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole, loaded with hash browns, bacon, peppers, eggs and cheese. It’s completely delicious, and you can add your favorite toppings! With the holidays upon us and schedules getting busier by the minute, I’m sure you’re looking to have one less thing to worry about.
Christmas Morning Slow Cooker Breakfast
We love to make this the night before, and then hit “start” early in the morning. The breakfast casserole will be done mid-morning, ready for a delicious Christmas breakfast. We love to serve this alongside apple cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit salad, and our amazing banana bread. It’s the ultimate Christmas breakfast, but of course, you can make this casserole any time of year.
Why I love this recipe
- You can prepare it the night before.
- Turn the crock pot on HI early in the morning, to have it cooked and ready by 9 am.
- Serve with various toppings, which the family loves!
Gather these ingredients
- Frozen hash browns (or you can make your own, but use Yukon Gold potatoes, not Russet)
- Bacon: you can also use sausage or leave the meat out if you want to make the recipe Vegetarian
- Cheese: Monterey or jack/colby cheese
- Red bell pepper + red onion
- Eggs + milk
- Green chilis
- Salt and pepper
Breakfast is easy for out-of-town guests with this Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole! Check out the variations of meats and veggies that you can add, too!
How do you make a slow cooker breakfast?
- In a large frying pan, fry the bacon pieces on medium heat (set the whole pieces aside). Remove to a bowl and absorb the bacon grease with paper towels.
- Fry the whole pieces; set aside.
- Spray a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of slow cooker. Top with half of the bacon, cheese, pepper and onions. Repeat layering.
- Beat eggs, milk, and green chilis in a large bowl, with a wire whisk, until well blended. Salt and pepper.
- Pour evenly over potato-bacon mixture. Top with whole pieces of bacon.
- Cook on HIGH 3-4 hours, or until eggs are set. You can also cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Why use a slow cooker?
Using a slow cooker is a fast way to get breakfast on the table. It also allows you to prepare the night before, and just turn on the small appliance, and walk away. Especially for the holidays, your time can be spent in other ways, while breakfast is cooking.
My mom always used a crock pot (she had a very small one, and they make them much larger now), and I always loved the smell in the house, when something was simmering away. The slow cooker brings back great memories for me.
Tips and substitutions:
If you want to cook this overnight, you can turn it on late at night on LOW and it will be done bright and early. TIP: Do not over cook, as it will be dry.
We love to turn it on HIGH early in the morning, and only cook for about 3 hours. It’s tender, juicy, cheesy, and ready for all of the toppings at about 9 am!
- COOKING: Not all slow cookers cook at exactly the same temperature. You may need to adjust the cook time to avoid overcooking.
- HASH BROWNS: Use frozen hash browns or you can make your own. Only use Yukon Gold potatoes (do not use Russet potatoes) if you make your own.
- ADDITIONS: Add other meats like diced ham, chopped pre-cooked sausage, or other veggies like mushrooms or spinach. Make it Tex Mex and add a Mexican or Tex Mex spice. This recipe is the best when topped with LOTS of fresh toppings such as sour cream, tomatoes, salsa, avocado, green onion, or chives.
- LEFTOVERS: Scoop out a serving and pop it in the microwave.
- IS IT FREEZABLE? No! Eggs do not freeze well.
- CHRISTMAS: For Christmas, set out chopped red and green pepper, or Christmas colored veggies, like green onions, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, sour cream, salsa, olives, and more.
What to Serve with Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
- Serve it with lots of fresh toppings like avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onions, sour cream, salsa, or hot sauce.
- If you’re trying to stretch it a little bit for a crowd, you can also serve it with fresh fruit or a simple fruit salad, like this one.
- Toast, bagels, muffins, or English muffins would also make excellent sides and fill everyone up a little more.
- I love to serve it as a buffet with fruit, maybe biscotti or scones, and juice and coffee.
More breakfast ideas to try:
- Pesto Denver Omelette
- Overnight Blueberry French Toast
- Overnight Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
- Banana Bread Brioche French Toast
- Holiday Quiche Breakfast Board
- Ham Breakfast Casserole (an overnight recipe that doesn’t use a slow cooker)
I love how this recipe is a crowd-pleaser, for sure, and is large enough to feed a crowd!
Get the Recipe:
Christmas Morning Slow Cooker Breakfast
Ingredients
- 1 lb. frozen hashbrowns
- 1 lb. bacon, cut in small pieces (keep out 4-5 whole pieces)
- 2 cups Monterey or jack/colby cheese
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 16 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 7 oz. can green chilies, drained
- Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
- Cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, chives, onions, salsa, guacamole
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, fry the bacon pieces on medium heat (set the whole pieces aside). Remove to a bowl and absorb the bacon grease with paper towels. Fry the whole pieces; set aside.
- Spray a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Layer ½ of the potatoes on the bottom of slow cooker. Top with half of the bacon, cheese, pepper and onions. Repeat layering.
- Beat eggs, milk, and green chilis in a large bowl, with a wire whisk, until well blended. Salt and pepper.
- Pour evenly over potato-bacon mixture. Top with whole pieces of bacon.
- Cook on low setting for 6-7 hours, or on high setting for 3-4 hours, or until eggs are set.
- Top with green onions; serve! Optional to serve with sour cream and fresh salsa.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I needed a recipe for breakfast for weekend guests that required minimal time. It only took me a minute to decide that your website was where I needed to look for a guaranteed great recipe. I halved the recipe to feed six and it was a hit. Even my husband who is not a fan of breakfast casseroles commented on how much he liked it. It’s a change of pace from the regular breakfast casserole so it was perfect for “brunch”. Thanks, Sandy. I’ll definitely make it again.
I would like to try this and leave the eggs whole, has this been tried by anyone? Or, maybe mix half of the eggs and then nestle whole eggs on top? Hit me up!
If you try it and you love it, we’ll add that option into the recipe! :)