I am frequently looking for a quick and filling dish to make for breakfast. Especially on the weekends, something like this fast Baked Egg Casserole Dish can be the perfect start to your day. It has very few ingredients and can almost be made on a whim.
It’s a play on a classic baked egg dish, except I added some crusty bread around the edges and layered the eggs over a simple tomato sauce, almost like a Shaksuka.
This baked egg casserole was the result!
The good thing about this dish is you can throw it together in just a few minutes, stick it in the oven, shower and get ready for the day, and then it’ll be ready when you are!
Making the Tomato Sauce
Really the only thing you have to make for this dish is the sauce and if you were in a pinch you could definitely use jarred sauce or your favorite tomato pasta sauce. I would probably choose Raos if you are using store-bought sauce.
If you want to make your own though, just add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat and then add your diced onion. Once it’s translucent, add your garlic and tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until it looks like a rustic sauce. There’s a bunch of variations you could make on this if you wanted but this is the simplest version.
You could add some crushed red pepper or some Parmesan cheese to kick up the flavor a bit if you were so inclined.
You could easily make this sauce in advance and store it in the fridge until you need it.
Assembling the Baked Egg Casserole
The first thing you’ll need is some good, crusty bread. I’ve used a few slices of no-knead bread in the past, but any rustic loaf will work. The bread is going to be partially covered in sauce and baked so if you use a flimsy white bread it’ll just fall apart.
If you have large slices like I did, you’ll need to chop them in half to fit them around the edges of your casserole dish. Just do whatever works though depending on your dish and your bread.
Then pour all your tomato sauce into the bottom of the dish. Crack six eggs on top and try to space them out evenly. Sprinkle the fresh thyme on top along with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. You could again add some grated cheese here if you wanted, but I wanted to keep this version simple.
Baking the Casserole
Bake the egg casserole at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until the whites are set on the eggs. My yolks were slightly runny after 30 minutes. If you wanted to have firm yolks, bake the dish for another 5-10 minutes. If you made the tomato sauce in advance and it is cold, you might need to add five minutes onto the cooking time as everything will be very chilled.
Want a different breakfast casserole? Try this Challah Casserole!
After it comes out of the oven, spoon up a slice of toast with each egg and some sauce.
It’s amazing what just a few simple ingredients can do. This was a fantastic brunch dish. I actually had three eggs it was so good.
If you’re ever looking for a quick and simple brunch meal, give Baked Egg Casserole with Bread a shot!
What to serve with this Baked Egg Recipe
This is kind of an all-in-one meal, but if you are looking to round out the table, you could serve it alongside some crispy bacon (like this candied sriracha bacon). Since this is a heavier dish, you could also serve it with something light like a fruit salad or fruit kabobs.
Substitutions and Ideas
This is a very simple dish and it works great as a simple dish, but if you wanted to add to it, there are many ways to change it up or make it more complex. Here are some ideas!
- Add some extra vegetables to the egg mixture like sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, or even red potatoes.
- Instead of crispy bread, line the baking dish with hash browns for a different twist!
- To make a smaller version of this casserole, add to eggs and about a cup of sauce to a cast iron skillet or large skillet.
- Serve the eggs with some ham, sausage, or other protein.
Making these baked eggs in advance
I actually don’t recommend making this dish in advance. It’s really hard to reheat the eggs and make them as good as straight out of the oven and the bread around the edges gets way to soggy if you stick it in the fridge.
That said, if you happen to have leftovers of this baked egg casserole, you can reheat it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and it’s a perfectly adequate breakfast!
Baked Egg Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, or more minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil + some for drizzling
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, you could use dried in a pinch or a different fresh herb like oregano
- 6 large eggs
- Crusty bread
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- For sauce, add a few Tablespoons of oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Then add garlic and tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cook this down for a few minutes. It’s a pretty rustic sauce. No need for it to be completely smooth. Feel free to add some crushed red pepper and/or Parmesan as well.
- Slice a few slices of very hearty, rustic bread and line the edges of a casserole dish with the bread slices.
- Pour your tomato sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish.
- Crack six eggs on top of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle on fresh thyme and a good pinch of salt and pepper. You could add some Parmesan cheese also if you wanted.
- Bake this at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. If you want the yolks firm, cook for another 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately and make sure each serving gets some bread, sauce and egg.
Khatam
That looks aaammmaaaazing!
How do you store your bread? I've baked a few no knead breads now and they're GREAT the first hour, then I've tried storing them a few different ways and they always come out either too moist the next day or hard. I've been thinking about purchasing a bread box, but I can't imagine that it would work any better. I have no idea.
Nick
It's obviously best to eat it right away, but honestly I store mine in the fridge. I make sure that it's completely cool (like let it sit out at room temp for a few hours). If you don't do this the condensation will make it soggy in the fridge. Then I just add my loaf to a big ziplock bag. It keeps for over a week in the fridge. Is it AS GOOD as fresh? No, but in my opinion it's still better than store bought stuff.
I usually slice off a few slices and toast it before making a sandwich or something and then it's as good as new! Also you can use it to make great garlic bread straight from the fridge.
So yea… basically I either serve it the day of or let it cool and store it in the fridge!
Hope that helps! Thanks for the comment ;)
vanillasugar
you know i've wanted to do baked eggs w/ tomato sauce for a while, but have a fussy eater in the house. so after seeing this, i'm going to go ahead and make it just for me.
i saw that you are moving, in a while to denver. it's really nice out there. you'll have access to lots of great produce and the best part? no more of that horrid DC humidity–we hated the summers when we lived in old town.
i made morning glory whoopie pies, you should see them, they were great.
Nick
Oh my god I hate the humidity! :)
And because Dawn is too shy to share a link…. check out her whoopie pies… amazing!
Morning Glory Whoopie Pies
Anita
No humidity here… and when there is slight humidity everyone feels it :)
Raizy
Nice!
It's like no-fuss version of shakshouka.
Chris
Excellent brunch-fast. I like all in one dishes like this, Nick.
Lydia (The Perfect P
This would be a glorious presentation for a weekend brunch. I'd definitely top it with cheese, because, well, I would top anything with cheese!
Angela@spinachtiger
Now I would never have thought of tomatoes with backed eggs. Love it and I love Muir Glen.
Heather
Made this for dinner last night and it went over very well for something that took all of 8 minutes to put together. Nice!
Kimberly Baxter
I made this recipe last week as the recommendation of a friend who saw the recipe on your site. It was absolutely delicious – didn’t change a thing!
Karl Lembke
Eggs don’t appear in the ingredient list.
KW
Pretty sure this is already a thing called ‘Eggs in Pugatory’: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019109-eggs-in-purgatory