Overnight Croissant Breakfast Casserole Bake with Gravy
This Overnight Croissant Breakfast Casserole Bake with Gravy is the perfect way to start the day. It’s loaded with sausage, eggs, cheese, and croissants. Everyone loves this easy breakfast casserole!!
Whip up this Overnight Croissant Breakfast Casserole Bake with Gravy at night, then bake it the next morning for your family or company. Make the creamy gravy, and you will have a meal that everyone is sure to love!
This casserole is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is sure to be a hit at a potluck or family brunch. Consider this sausage and gravy casserole or even this cinnamon roll French toast bake which is a sweet breakfast casserole.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Make this ahead of time and refrigerate it. In the morning, toss it in the oven to bake.
- Loaded with all your favorite breakfast foods in one casserole dish.
- Great for a larger crowd or for your family.
- This sausage casserole reheats really well so great for busy mornings.
🛒Ingredients
The ingredients for this cocktail are incredibly simple and can be found in minutes at any grocery store. They’re all listed here, but the exact amounts are in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Olive oil – A little oil is needed to help saute the onions.
- Small onion – Reach for a yellow or white onion for this recipe. Finely chop.
- Breakfast sausage – I used mild sausage for this recipe.
- Croissants: Use butter croissants from the bakery section of the grocery store. (Do not use crescent rolls; they will not work for this recipe.)
- Shredded cheddar cheese – I used shredded cheddar for this recipe. You can grate yourself or buy pre-shredded.
- Eggs – The eggs are going to add a ton of filler to this dish.
- Heavy whipping cream – The heavy cream is going to add a lot of richness to the casserole.
- Milk – Whole milk is recommended, but you can use a lower percentage if you need to.
- Salt, Dry Mustard Powder, Black Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Powder: These are the spices you will use to flavor your gravy.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter. If you use salted omit the salt in the recipe.
- Flour – The flour will help thicken up the gravy as you mix it up.
🔪Overnight Croissant Breakfast Casserole Bake with Gravy
Step 1: Cook Onions and Sausage
Start by adding the oil and onions to a skillet. Cook on medium heat, sauteing the onions until translucent. Then, add the sausage to the pan and cook until browned.
Drain off any of the excess fat from the pan, and reserve it for making the gravy later.
Step 2: Mix Up Breakfast Filling
Add the cooked sausage and onions to a bowl, then add the torn croissants and cheese. Mix to combine.
Step 3: Add To Baking Dish and Add Eggs Mixture
Add the sausage mixture to a casserole pan. Then, in a bowl, add the eggs, spices, milk, and heavy cream. Mix well and pour evenly over the casserole.
Step 4: Bake and Make Gravy
Place the casserole in the oven and bake as directed. While the casserole bakes you will make the gravy.
For the gravy, add some of your fat from earlier to the pan. Heat on medium heat and cook with some butter. Then, slowly whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.
Slowly stir in the milk, whisking continuously. The gravy will thicken as it simmers.
Once the casserole is done, slice and serve the casserole with some gravy on top.
📝Variations
Here are a few ways you can change up this recipe if you would like.
- Meat— For this recipe, you can use bacon, chorizo, Canadian bacon, or ham. If you are a meat lover, cook up a variety of meat.
- Bread— You can use a brioche bread or other firmer bread to replace the croissants.
- Jalapeno or Bell Pepper—This is a great option to add a little spice. You can add some jalapenos for spice or even bell peppers for more flavor.
- Spices—You can use any type of spice to flavor your casserole. Creole seasoning would add a nice punch of flavor, or you can use your favorite spices.
- Hot Sauce—If you like hot sauce, you can add a few splashes of your favorite to the mixture.
🥄 Equipment
- Casserole Pan
- Mixing Bowl
- Saucepan
- Skillet
- Whisk
- Spoon or Spatula
🥫 Storage
You can refrigerate any of your breakfast bakes that you do not eat right away. Simply store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Then, reheat as you would like.
To extend the shelf life you can even freeze your croissant bake. Freeze for 1-3 months in an airtight container. Freeze and then thaw in the fridge overnight or defrost straight from the freezer.
💭 Tips
- Make sure your meat is fully cooked before you move on to the next steps.
- When you pour the egg mixture over the baking, do so evenly. That way, it bakes evenly.
- Use a toothpick to stick in the center of the mixture to make sure it bakes up fully. The eggs will take the longest in this casserole.
- Evenly break up the croissants so you get bite-sized pieces.
⁉️ FAQ
Yes, this dish can be prepared the night before. It can be kept in the fridge and then baked in the morning. You can take it straight from the refrigerator and bake it until it is done.
Feel free to add vegetables if you like—spinach, garlic, peppers, finely chopped broccoli, etc. I recommend sauting the veggies first to help reduce the moisture.
Yes, you can leave out the meat or substitute a different meat. You will assemble and bake the same way.
OTHER RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:
- Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Applesauce Cheesecake Pancakes
- Red Velvet Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls
- Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Overnight Croissant Breakfast Casserole Bake with Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion peeled and chopped
- 1 pound roll breakfast sausage mild flavor
- 4 large butter croissants or 8 small croissants
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 cups milk (whole milk recommended) divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus additional for the gravy to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (plus additional for the gravy to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened and translucent. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until completely browned. Drain the fat from the pan and reserve to use in the gravy(pour into a small container with a lid and refrigerate overnight).
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked sausage and onions, torn croissants, and the shredded cheese. Pour this mixture into a 9×13-inch glass baking dish greased with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy whipping cream, ½ cup of the milk, mustard powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Pour this mixture all over the croissants and sausage in the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or for 8 hours
- Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake the casserole at 350F for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.
- While the casserole is baking, heat over medium heat the butter and 1 tablespoon of the reserved fat (from cooking the sausage) until melted. Add the flour and whisk until combined. Allow the fat and flour mixture to cook over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Slowly add the remaining 2 ½ cups of milk a small amount at a time, whisking well between each addition until all of the milk is combined. Allow the gravy to simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Slice the casserole and serve the gravy on the side or ladled over each slice.
Great
Thank you Jean!
Do you bake the croissants before pulling apart or do you add them uncooked?
The croissants used are purchased already baked
Thanks for asking that question. I was going to put stress off raw croissant dough but lucky for me I read the comments, especially yours. Oh wow 😆
So yummy. Restaurant quality. We skipped the gravy. It was the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning. Thank you!
Thank you Rachel so glad you enjoyed! It is a favorite in our house. We like it without gravy but some like it with so we do make it for them.
I made this dish for a work potluck. It was so easy to prepare the night before. The next morning after baking the casserole, I made the gravy and poured it on top. It was a big hit. Will be making again.
Thank you Luz! So glad you liked it. We make it a lot when we have company on the weekends. Everyone always loves it.
We have made this for many Christmas mornings now and anytime in between! Super simple, and absolutely delicious! We don’t make the gravy, because it’s just fantastic even without it! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! so happy you love it. We love it without the gravy too butt always make it for those who like to add it. 🙂
Can I make this two days in advance?
We always make it the day before. Have never tried it 2 days ahead. My only concern might be the croissants getting too mushy
How many people does this feed.
The recipe card has a serving of 12 but honestly it depends on how big of a portion people will be eating
Thanks for the recipe! Approximately how many cups of cut up croissants would you say are in the recipe? Not sure that the croissants I have are considered large and figured a measured amount might work better for me.
We never measured the croissants so I can really say. There are only 2 kinds we have ever seen. The regular size and small ones. We use your average size croissant.
Love this breakfast casserole, have made this three times, family loves it too.
Thanks so much, Shayla! It is our go-to for make ahead breakfasts!