Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

This vegetarian breakfast casserole has a crispy crust of hash browns under a delicious mixture of eggs, vegetarian sausage, cheese, and vegetables.

Ingredients

cooking spray
4 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces vegetarian sausage
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
4 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9 1/2-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
2 Press hash browns into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared dish. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3 Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and crisp all over, 35 to 45 minutes. Note that the top edges will brown very quickly and become very dark; you can cut that away it it becomes too dark.
4 When the hash browns are baking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook for 1 minute. Add sausage; cook and stir until crumbly and brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add bell pepper and mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain any excess liquid from the skillet.
5 Remove hash browns from the oven. Scoop veggie mixture on top.
6 Combine 4 eggs and 2 egg whites in a bowl with Cheddar cheese and hot sauce. Mix until eggs just come together without being frothy. Pour over veggie mixture and spread evenly.
7 Return to the oven and bake until eggs are just set, 10 to 12 minutes.
8 Remove from the oven and spread sliced tomato over top. Lightly season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Return to the oven for 1 minute.
9 Slide a spatula around the edges and slice into 8 pieces. Serve hot.