Potatoes, eggs, cheese and ham round out this fantastic hillbilly breakfast bake. It definitely checks all your breakfast boxes. If you like easy, if you like delicious and you also want a complete meal at breakfast time, this is the recipe for you!
Contents
Cheesy Tater Tot Breakfast Bake
Our recipe for a hillbilly breakfast bake is the best, easy breakfast around-everyone loves a good breakfast casserole! They are typically quite easy to throw together and the recipe can contain almost any ingredients that you want.
That being said, you still want to make sure that your breakfast bake has healthy, wholesome ingredients. This recipe has it all. It has protein, it has healthy fats, it has dairy and it still only takes about 5 minutes to whip up. Could it get any better?!
The Secret Ingredients
Many breakfast casseroles contain the same ingredients as found in this recipe-
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Potatoes
- Ham
However, what they don’t all have is a perfect secret ingredient. Rather than just use a plain potato in this recipe, we opted for tater tots (hence the name “hillbilly”…tater tots are a hillbilly favorite!). Using tater tots makes the recipe so much easier and adds an incredibly soft flavor.
When you use regular potatoes, you have to take the time to peel and chop them. Often recipes ask for the potatoes to be boiled prior to baking or the baking time is significantly longer.
Using frozen tater tots means you can just dump the bag in the dish and skip all the extra potato prep. Tater tots are also very tender already and the crispy exterior gives you an amazing added taste that you couldn’t get with potatoes.
Extra Eggs
Many people love to start their day with a big plate of eggs and I have to agree. I love eggs in the morning!
Eggs are one of the healthiest, most complete foods out there containing:
- Protein
- Omega 3’s
- Vitamins such as A, B5, B12 and D
- Healthy Fats
- Minerals such as phosphorous, selenium and calcium
And these are just a few of the nutritional benefits of eggs! This recipe for our Hillbilly Breakfast Bake contains 12 eggs meaning you will surely get your fill of this healthy ingredient, helping you start your day on the right foot.
Making a Hillbilly Breakfast
Putting this recipe together couldn’t be any easier. The ingredients are all layered into a casserole dish. Then, the whisked eggs are poured in and the casserole is baked. It does take a little bit of time to cook completely. So you want to be sure you get it in the oven nice and early.
To ensure the casserole is ready for you as soon as possible, it is a good idea to start by preheating the oven. Then, layer the ingredients in the pan and get it started first thing in the morning.
Get dressed, brush your hair and make your bed. By the time all of those AM tasks are done, your delicious casserole will be ready to eat!
Make-Ahead Hillbilly Breakfast Casserole
Our recipe for Hillbilly Breakfast Bake is a wonderful make-ahead meal that you can easily prepare the night before, setting yourself up for an easy breakfast. There are actually two ways to do this.
First, you can make the recipes completely as directed. Cover the casserole and place it in the fridge. In the morning, put the entire casserole in the microwave, cover and all, to reheat.
You can also heat up individual portions if the entire pan will not fit in your microwave. You should always use a microwave cover like one of these here so your sliced portion doesn’t get dried out when you reheat it.
Your other option is to put all the ingredients into the casserole dish as directed. Cover the dish and place in the fridge. In the morning, preheat your oven and bake the casserole as directed. It will be oven fresh in just a matter of minutes!
Perfect Changes and Additions
Just like all great recipes, there are a few ways to make this dish your own, customizing it to be ideal for you and your family. My favorite thing to switch up is the meat. Ham is wonderful in this recipe but you can also try replacing it with:
- Crumbled or chopped, cooked bacon
- Crumbled, cooked sausage – sweet or spicy
- Chopped tofu
- A few cups of baby spinach
- Left over, cooked shredded pork
I also like to add a few veggies such as tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and chopped kale. Shredded chicken makes the dish a delicious dinner and using different kinds of cheese can make your breakfast unique everyday.
Use this hillbilly breakfast recipe to make an amazing meal that is crowd friendly, hearty, tasty and simple. Let us know if you make any awesome changes and be sure to share in the comments below. Send your friends this recipe too as they are sure to love it as well! Happy cooking!
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Check out more of our delicious casserole recipes below:
- Mouthwatering Hillbilly Hamburger Casserole
- Tasty Taco Tater Tot Casserole
- Simple Chicken & Rice Casserole
Hillbilly Breakfast
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This delicious and filling breakfast bake is the perfect make ahead meal for easy breakfasts all week!
Ingredients
- 1 32 oz. bag frozen tater tots
- 3 cups chopped ham (fully cooked – turkey sausage works great too!)
- 1 dozen eggs
- 8oz bag of shredded cheese (any flavor)
Instructions
- Spread tater tots in the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish
- Layer meat evenly across the top of the tater tots
- Cover the meat and potatoes with a thin layer of shredded cheese (about half of the bag)
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl then spread evenly over the dish
- Top it off with remainder of the shredded cheese (and a little salt and pepper to season)
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes (or until fully cooked)
Notes
- If you don’t have tater tots on hand, frozen, pre fried french fries work well too. You can even use sweet potato fries for a whole new flavor.
- Any of your favorite shredded cheeses will work great. Mexican cheese, cheddar cheese, feta cheese and even blue cheese will be perfect.
- The casserole dish really doesn’t need much grease but a quick spritz of baking spray or a thin layer of butter will help the casserole come out of the pan easily, making clean up faster too.
marlene boston says
How big a bag of tater tots and how many cups of ham ? Thanks
JoAn says
32oz bag of frozen tater tots and about 3 cups ham. Thank so much Marlene!
Kelly says
Hi Marlene, we used a 32 oz bag of tater tots and three cups of ham.
brenda says
If substituting sausage for the ham, do you precook it before adding to the casserole?
Simple Green Moms says
I definitely would cook it first
Laquita says
I haven’t tried it as yet, but sure does appetizing .
★★★★
Kari says
Can this be put together the night before and cook in slow cooker?
Simple Green Moms says
I don’t see why not! that would be delish!
Andrea says
I am going to make this for a church breakfast meeting. I am going to make substitutions – 1-32oz. bag of frozen hashbrowns. Before I bake it I am going to crush 1 and 1/2 cups of corn flakes and put over the mixture. And I am going to drizzle it with 4 T. melted butter then bake. Hope it is as good as it sounds!
gloria says
do you cover with foil b4 placing in oven.
thanks!
Simple Green Moms says
You can do it for faster baking. I would spray some cooking oil on the foil to avoid it sticking to the cheese.
Rebecca says
The picture looks like it was made in a 8×9 baking dish. How would you cut the recipe down to that size dish. There are only 4 of us so the 9X13 dish is a little to much for us??
Karla says
My whole family tried this and loved it!
★★★★
SimpleGreenMoms says
Awesome! glad to hear it thanks for the feedback!
Shirley says
Our family all gets together one a month for brunch. This looks so good and a easy to put together !! Thanks so much !
★★★★★
Eleanor Carrano says
Sorry, my hubby did NOT like this!! He said it tasted like too much potatoes (I used tator tots -maybe I need to season it more than just salt and pepper-salsa or scallions?! cut the ingredients to 2/3 as it is just my hubby and myself. It is a breakfast casserole so maybe syrup or jam?
★★
SimpleGreenMoms says
I don’t think syrup or jam would be the best combo with the tater tots, but you’re welcome to give it a try! Maybe if he doesn’t like potatoes a breakfast recipe that isn’t based around tater tots would be a better option? I just posted an Oatmeal Bake recipe that he may like.
Sandra says
Do you preheat the oven?
SimpleGreenMoms says
Yup..preheat to 400. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Val says
I think this turned out awemsome, i think next time I’ll add some bell pepper an onion….thanks
★★★★★
Fran says
Thank you for these recipes! I can’t wait to try them!
Kim says
I made this for dinner but I never stay on the reservation so I used pepper jack cheese added onion and some extra roasted garlic I had from dinner last night my dad loved it as did my picky granddaughter (ramen noodles only is her game) my son even went back for seconds I have to omit most salt as my dad is a kidney patient and is very limited on how much he can have but it was still yummy. Thanks Kim
★★★★★
SimpleGreenMoms says
I’m so glad you liked it!
Marihelen Gilley says
Do the tater tots cook well from frozen?
SimpleGreenMoms says
They still come out well when frozen. However, if you have the time, they will come out crisper if they’re not frozen.
Kathy says
Having this for dinner tonight
SimpleGreenMoms says
That’s great! Enjoy.
Elizabeth Collins says
Your no bake brownie bites recipe is one of my favorites and I can’t find it anymore. I just keep trying to guess the right measurements. Any chance you’ll repost it?
SimpleGreenMoms says
Hi Elizabeth,
I’m so happy to hear that. The recipe will be posted again soon. In the meantime, I’ll email it to you. Thank you!
Alicia Storms says
This looks AMAZING!!! I will definitely try this at home.
Thank you so much for sharing this refreshing recipe.
Keep sharing:)
★★★★
SimpleGreenMoms says
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed it.
Connie Duenez says
Ohhhhh Wow! This sounds Yummalicious ‼️
I was thinking about baking the Tater tots for a few minutes prior to adding them to the casserole to ensure they’re nice & crispy.. has anyone else done that? On a side note, I read a comment from another reader asking for your recipe for No bake Brownie Bites😋
Any chance you’d be willing to share that recipe Pleeeeze and Thank You 💖
SimpleGreenMoms says
Let us know how it turned out!! Here is the link to the No Bake Brownie Bites!
https://simplegreenmoms.com/bake-brownie-bites/
MrsJ says
I made this for brunch and everybody loved it! I followed your recipe and prepared it the night before so I could stick it in the oven the next morning. No leftovers. Thank you!
★★★★★
SimpleGreenMoms says
So glad to hear that!! Thank you.
Megan says
I have made this for several years for Christmas morning so we have something filling after indulging in holiday candy from our stockings. Every year I reference your recipe and add my little tweaks–It’s always a huge hit! I do sub sausage for ham and add green pepper and onion, and sometimes half pepper-jack cheese along with cheddar, or really whatever we have. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!
SimpleGreenMoms says
I’m so happy you and your family love this recipe! Wishing you all a wonderful New Year!