Egg bake recipe loaded with hash browns, butternut squash, and cheese, most of which can be made ahead of time and simply baked off for breakfast.
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Entertaining 101 Tip: It's good to have a dish like this in your hip pocket for weekend guests. It's a perfect breakfast, brunch or even lunch dish in the fall.
In spring, I like to switch it up a bit and make this Asparagus Egg Bake. In summer, it's time for this Chile Rellenos Casserole with Eggs.
Last month, friends stayed with us on Lake Tahoe for the weekend. They were in town for a wedding with Mia, their adorable one-year-old daughter, and the weather forecast was for boatloads of gorgeous sunshine. The first morning was super casual with yogurt, fruit, eggs, English muffins and a variety of jams on hand for folks to help themselves to whenever they got up and were hungry.
I'm not a huge breakfast girl, never have been. Even smoothies qualify as heavier fare for me. But I wanted to make something special for Sunday morning - so long as it was easy and casual. I considered a vegetarian quiche Lorraine and a black-eyed peas and eggs dish. But I ultimately decided on an egg bake.
And this one did the trick, except I actually used zucchini instead of butternut since it was early September. I cooked up the vegetables and hash browns the night before and layered them in a baking pan. Next, I whisked together the eggs, milk and cheeses. Everything went into the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, while everyone was rolling out of bed and shrugging into robes, I just turned on the oven, poured the egg mixture over the vegetables, and baked it off. My biggest job that morning was making coffee.
Cooking Notes:
This is an extremely flexible egg bake. Butternut squash can be switched out for asparagus, zucchini, summer squash, or even kale.
Wimpy Tip:
If you want to add some meat, I recommend chorizo. I made mine half and half that weekend, with chorizo stirred into the sautéed vegetables on one half of the dish, leaving the other half vegetarian.
More Egg Dishes
If you like frittatas, check out this easy broccoli tomato frittata with cheddar cheese. I make mine in a frittata pan, but you can use a skillet and finish it in the oven too.
Asparagus and eggs are natural partners in dishes, and I combine them in quiche and frittatas. And every spring, I make this asparagus egg bake made with orzo, spinach and feta for brunches and dinners.
Or check out my Breakfast and Brunch page for more vegetarian breakfast ideas!
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Egg Bake with Butternut Squash, Hash Browns, and Cheese
Equipment
- Chef's knife
- Whisk
Ingredients
Vegetable Sautè
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup finely diced yellow onion
- ½ cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 1 ⅓ cups finely diced butternut squash
- ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 large garlic clove minced
Hash Browns
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cups frozen shredded Ore-Ida hash brown potatoes
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Eggs
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup 2% milk
- ⅔ cup shredded Mexican cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚ F.
Vegetable Sautè
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, butternut squash, Cajun seasoning, and salt. Cook until the vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes) and stir in the garlic. Sauté for an additional minute until fragrant. Place in the bottom of a 8" X 8" baking dish.
Hash Browns
- Heat the olive oil in the same sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add the hash browns, salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Spread the potatoes out in the pan and cook according to the directions on the package. Some of the hash browns should be lightly crispy around the edges of the pan before being flipped. Spread on top of the vegetables.
Eggs
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, cheese, salt ,and pepper. Pour over the vegetable and potato mixture.
- Bake in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes or until slightly brown on top. Cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Cool the baking pan for 5 minutes before serving with a large spoon.
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more brunch ideas? Take a look at my BRUNCH! board on Pinterest for ideas I've collected from all over the web!
cheri
Hi Susan, sounds like the perfect egg bake for entertaining, love that it is half and half. That's really how most of our meals seem to go around here anyway. Have a great week-end!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Exactly, Cheri! Hope you're settling in nicely back in your home in Arizona.
lizthechef
Yum - love a brunch dish that can be made ahead - and I want to try it with butternut squash...Wish I knew how you made that neat-o Pinterest brunch board - brilliant!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Liz! So, so easy to do the Pinterest board! Just go to a board you've created on Pinterest that you want to embed in your post. Click on the gear symbol in the upper right corner and select widget. It'll give you the text for it. Then go to your blog and select text instead of visual - it's the tab that allows you to fool around with the code - and past it where you want it to show up. Magic!!!
Rita
Love the versatility of this recipe, and the make ahead. Thanks!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Rita! I've made it a few times now, and it's my go-to weekend-guest egg dish now 🙂
Norma Chang
I too love the do ahead feature. Never thought of using butternut squash in an egg bake but I do like your idea very much. Butternut squash is one of my favorite winter squashes.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Norma! It's one of my favorite winter squashes too - and it goes well with this meal without weighing it down. And if someone wants to include the chorizo, butternut and chorizo are good friends 🙂
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
Susan, that would be a very satisfying breakfast to set you up for the whole day!
heather
I wonder if I would need to cook it longer if I chopped real potatoes into hash browns instead of using packaged frozen ones?
mjskit
Breakfast, brunch, Sunday Supper, or Meatless Monday - I'd eat this dish any time of the week, any time of the day. What a great dish!!!
Oui, Chef
This is absolutely brilliant! I am so making this for Thanksgiving weekend guests!
Terra
Great minds think a like! I love your recipe, and all the flavors together! Delicious, Hugs, Terra
Jenny (VintageSugarcube)
I've never thought to add butternut squash to an egg dish. Sounds fantastic!!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Jenny