Casseroles really are the definition of comfort food.
Who doesn’t love a good breakfast casserole? They bring back great memories of waking up on Sunday mornings to wonderful smells drifting from the kitchen.
Breakfast casseroles are an amalgamation of your favorite breakfast ingredients like eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, veggies and more. They all come together to make something wholesome, hearty, delicious and capable of filling up a crowd. Don’t forget to include beans in that category!
Beans are a wonderful addition to breakfast, especially when used in Mexican-style recipes like this Mexican breakfast casserole from our food blogger Kate!
This breakfast bean casserole stacks up eggs, sausage (or chorizo), cheese, peppers, herbs and Randall Beans pinto beans in between layers of tortillas.
This recipe calls for pinto beans, which works best with the south-of-the-border flavors. However, just about any variety of our Randall Beans, like great northern white beans, black beans or kidney beans.
All in all, you can whip this bean casserole together in just about an hour, making it a great dish for Saturday or Sunday brunches with friends and family.
To save some time, you can also prepare part of the recipe (steps 1 through 5) ahead of time and keep it in the fridge overnight. That way, all you have to do is pop it in the oven in the morning.
Ingredients
- 2 14-oz. cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, divided
- 6 large eggs
- 1/4 cup half and half
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 lb. uncooked breakfast sausage (sweet Italian sausage or chorizo may be substituted)
- 1 oz. taco seasoning (3 Tbsp.)
- 1 small bell pepper, diced
- 1 1/4 cups of Randall Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
- 6-10 soft taco tortillas (flour or corn)
- 3 cups shredded cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or pepper jack (or a combination of these)
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Juice of 1/2 lime (1 Tbsp.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 3 quart (9 x 11 inches, or similar size) casserole pan with non-stick spray. Add one half of a can of diced tomatoes to the bottom of the casserole pan, reserving one and a half cans for later.
- In a large bowl, combine the 6 eggs and half and half. Add salt and pepper, to taste (1/4 teaspoon each is a good start). Mix well. Set aside.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage and crumble it up with a spatula. Stir fry the sausage over high heat for 2-3 minutes until it is browned. Add the taco seasoning and chopped bell pepper and stir well. Add the remaining diced tomatoes (one and a half cans) and stir well. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Assemble the casserole: Layer 2 tortillas in the casserole pan on top of the tomatoes. It is OK if the tortillas overlap. Layer 1 cups of shredded cheese over the tortillas. Spread 1/2 of the sausage-tomato mixture over the cheese. Spread 1/2 of the Randall Pinto Beans over the sausage-tomato mixture. Layer 2 more tortillas on top of the Randall Pinto Beans. Spread 1 cup of shredded cheese over the tortillas. Repeat with a layer of the rest of the tomato-sausage mixture and the rest of the Randall Pinto Beans. Top with two tortillas.
- Carefully pour the egg mixture over the tortillas, taking time to let the egg mixture seep into the casserole over the edges of the tortillas. Top with the remaining 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until the top of the casserole is set and is no longer jiggly. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and scallions. Serve with a drizzle of crema (see below).
- To prepare the crema: In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and lime juice. If needed, add water until you have a runny consistency that you can drizzle. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Casseroles are simple crowd-pleasing recipes, perfect for learning chefs or times when it is dad’s turn to cook.
