Christmas morning is the perfect time to enjoy an indulgent, relaxing breakfast or brunch -- without any hassle in the kitchen. This easy recipe for Overnight Ham, Egg and Cheese Monkey Bread takes only a few minutes to prep and can be baked right away or chilled until the morning. The savory breakfast casserole is special enough to celebrate the holidays or serve to guests.
Does your family sit down to a special brunch on Christmas morning? It's definitely a tradition in our house, and I spend a lot of time planning the perfect menu! In addition to muffins, pastries, and fruit, I always like to include a savory breakfast casserole as well. My only requirement? Everything has to be ready the night before!
In a house full of little boys, there's NO CHANCE that I'll have any spare moments on Christmas morning to stand in the kitchen making a fancy meal.
Fortunately, this savory monkey bread meets all of my criteria. The family thinks it's delicious, it's easy {heck, it uses refrigerated biscuit dough!}, and I can make it ahead of time.
These three factors also mean that it's a perfect weeknight dinner! No need to wait until the holidays -- you can serve this any night of the week when you're too busy to spend more than a few minutes in the kitchen (isn't that every night? Hah.).
HOW TO MAKE HAM, EGG AND CHEESE MONKEY BREAD BREAKFAST CASSEROLE:
This ham, egg and cheese breakfast casserole only requires about 10 minutes of prep, thanks to help from some shortcut ingredients. To start, you'll need eggs, milk, and refrigerated biscuit dough.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.
Chop the biscuit dough into quarters,
and then toss the dough in your egg mixture.
Next up: the grated cheese, diced ham, and green onions. I use an 8 ounce package of pre-diced ham for a shortcut, but this recipe is also a great way to use up leftovers from your holiday ham!
Stir the cheese, ham and onions into the egg mixture. That's it!
At this point, you can cover the bowl and keep it in the refrigerator overnight OR you can bake it right away.
If you choose to refrigerate the mixture overnight, just make sure that you give it all a good stir in the morning before transferring it to your baking dish.
After about 30 minutes in a 350 degree F oven, you'll be greeted by the most beautiful puffy, golden brown breakfast casserole. I honestly can't think of a better way to start the day!
COOK'S TIPS AND RECIPE VARIATIONS:
- I like it with ham, but you can substitute with your favorite cooked meat such as sausage or bacon!
- Mix up the cheeses! I used sharp cheddar, but you can pick your favorite grated cheese instead. American, Swiss, or Gouda would all be great.
- You need a total of about 20 ounces of refrigerated biscuit dough. If you can't find two of the small (10.2 ounce) cans, then just use one full can and part of an additional can to total 20 ounces of dough.
- If your biscuits start to get too brown on top while the egg finishes baking, simply cover loosely with foil.
- I used a small, deep 2-quart dish, so my casserole took a bit longer to cook through. You want to bake it until it's no longer jiggly and the eggs are set. My deep casserole dish took about 30-33 minutes to set. If you're using a shallow 2-quart dish, your casserole may be done in as little as 25 minutes.
- You do NOT have to prepare the monkey bread the night before! If the prep-ahead option is most convenient, great. Otherwise, bake it right away! Either method works.
- If you choose to prep the mixture in advance, make sure that you give the mixture a good stir in the morning before transferring it to your baking dish.
What to serve withHam, Egg and Cheese Savory Monkey Bread:
There are so many other easy recipes to add to your holiday brunch! Here are a few options that pair nicely with the savory breakfast casserole:
- 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Gingerbread
- 5-Minute Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
- Overnight Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
- Mom's Cranberry Bread
- Dump-and-Bake French Toast Casserole
{Overnight} Ham, Egg and Cheese Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 small (10.2-oz. cans) refrigerated biscuit dough (You need about 20 ounces of refrigerated dough total, so if you can't find the small cans, just use one full can and part of an additional can to add up to about 20 ounces)
- 1 ½ cups diced, cooked ham (about 8 ounces)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup finely chopped green onions plus extra for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- In large bowl, beat eggs and milk with whisk until smooth.
- Separate biscuit dough; cut each biscuit into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in ham, cheese and onions. Spoon mixture into sprayed dish; arrange biscuit pieces in single layer. At this point you can either cover it and place it in the refrigerator to sit overnight before baking, OR you can go ahead and bake it right away. Whatever is most convenient for you!
- If preparing in advance, cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture for up to 12 hours. Alternatively, you can bake the mixture right away.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Give the biscuit mixture one more good stir to make sure that all of the ingredients are evenly combined. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Bake, uncovered, at 350° F for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and eggs are cooked through. You will know that it's done when it's no longer jiggly in the center. If the biscuits start to brown too much on top, just cover loosely with foil until the inside finishes cooking.
Notes
- I like it with ham, but you can substitute with your favorite cooked meat such as sausage or bacon!
- Mix up the cheeses! I used sharp cheddar, but you can pick your favorite grated cheese instead. American, Swiss, or Gouda would all be great.
- You need a total of about 20 ounces of refrigerated biscuit dough. If you can't find two of the small (10.2 ounce) cans, then just use one full can and part of an additional can to total 20 ounces of dough.
- If your biscuits start to get too brown on top while the egg finishes baking, simply cover loosely with foil.
- I used a small, deep 2-quart dish, so my casserole took a bit longer to cook through. You want to bake it until it's no longer jiggly and the eggs are set. My deep casserole dish took about 30-33 minutes to set. If you're using a shallow 2-quart dish, your casserole may be done in as little as 25 minutes.
- You do NOT have to prepare the monkey bread the night before! If the prep-ahead option is most convenient, great. Otherwise, bake it right away! Either method works.
- If you choose to prep the mixture in advance, make sure that you give the mixture a good stir in the morning before transferring it to your baking dish.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December, 2014. It was updated in November, 2018.
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