I have made this recipe for the last few years for my family to enjoy as breakfast Christmas morning. The first year that I made it, it was completely on a whim and it went over like hotcakes!
To make this recipe you will need a 9X13 baking dish. The ingredients are added in a “lasagna layering” style. This recipe should be started the day before (Christmas Eve) to help save time on Christmas morning. Alternatively, you can start the process early Christmas morning and have it fresh. Both ways will work fine and taste great!
My Christmas morning casserole recipe
- 1 bag of frozen hash browns or tater tots
- 6-8 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons of milk to whisk with eggs
- 2 cups of milk to make white gravy
- 6 tablespoons of butter to make white gravy roux
- 6 tablespoons of flour to make white gravy roux
- Salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste
Garlic biscuits ingredients (top of casserole)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup milk
- ⅓ cup butter (melted, for dough)
- 2 tablespoons butter (optional, melted for topping biscuits)
- Garlic powder to taste (optional, to mix with butter topping if desired)
Instructions
- On Christmas Eve, begin the casserole by prepping the baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Evenly lay out the hash browns or tater tots on the baking pan as the first layer of the casserole
- Bake according to the bag instructions, until golden brown and crispy
- While the hash browns or tater tots are baking, start making the white gravy roux.
- Begin by melting the butter in a saucepan
- Once butter is fully melted and begins to bubble slightly, add the flour slowly, whisking while adding
- Allow butter and flour to fully be incorporated and begin to bubble before slowly whisking in the milk
- Continue to whisk and add spices until white gravy is formed and reaches the desired thickness. (Too thick? Add more milk. Too thin? Add more flour)
- Taste as you go! Gravy should be flavorful, and should not have a milk or flour taste.
- An optional addition to the white gravy is cooked ground breakfast sausage
- While the hash browns or tater tots are baking and you have the gravy established, begin whisking the eggs and milk together and scramble the mixture in a frying pan
- Remove eggs from heat when they are nearly done (do not completely cook them)
- Set gravy and eggs aside
- Next, mix the biscuit ingredients together until a dough ball forms.
- Set dough aside until all other ingredients are finished pre-cooking (hash browns or tater tots, gravy, eggs, etc)
- Finally, when the hash browns and tater tots are cooked to desired crispiness, remove them from the oven
- Top them with scrambled eggs, evenly
- Cover the eggs with the gravy, evenly
- Scoop even-sized biscuits and plop them evenly across the top of the whole casserole.
- If you are making this the night before, you will now cover the casserole with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. If you are making it Christmas morning then you can proceed to the next step without covering and refrigerating
- Top casserole with cheese if you like (I use cheddar)
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until completely cooked through and biscuits are done (about 30-45 minutes).
- Serve hot with coffee, tea, or hot cocoa!
As I previously stated, I make this every year for my family and occasionally I will surprise them with it on occasions other than Christmas morning. However, with all of the various ingredients that go into making it, and the clean up that is required afterward, I certainly would not recommend this recipe for frequent making. I hope you make it for your family this Christmas morning and that it brings them the same full tummy happiness that it brings mine!
