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Close-up of a golden, cheesy breakfast casserole with ground beef and hash browns, fresh out of the oven

Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole with Ground Beef and Fresh Hash Browns

We swapped the sausage for ground beef, which makes this version pork-free, and we used fresh potatoes instead of frozen ones.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • About 600 to 700 g fresh potatoes, grated, squeezed dry and salted (or a 30 oz / 850 g bag of frozen shredded hash browns, fully thawed and squeezed)
  • Butter or a drizzle of olive oil, for browning the potatoes
  • 450 g (1 lb) ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1 to 2 pinches of salt, for the beef (adjust the salt to your taste)
  • 8 eggs
  • 35 cl (about 1 1/2 cups) heavy cream
  • About 2 cups (200 g) shredded cheddar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
  • A little oil, for the dish

Method
 

  1. Preheat and grease the dish
    Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Grease a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish with a little oil (cooking spray or a brush).
    Greasing an oval baking dish with oil spray before making a breakfast casserole
  2. Brown the potatoes
    Brown the potatoes. Once the grated potatoes are squeezed well and salted, brown them in a pan over medium heat with a little fat for about 10 to 15 minutes, until they start to take on some color (not fully golden, but almost). We used olive oil, but butter works too, and butter is our pick. Take them out of the pan and set aside.
  3. Cook and season the beef
    Cook the ground beef in a pan over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces, and season it with the paprika, pepper and salt. Once it is well cooked, drain the fat if there is any, and set the meat aside.
    Cooked and crumbled ground beef seasoned with paprika for a breakfast casserole
  4. Make the egg mixture
    Make the egg mixture. Whisk the eggs a little, add the heavy cream, then the salt, pepper, garlic powder and nutmeg.
    Eggs whisked with heavy cream and seasonings in a metal bowl
  5. Layer the casserole
    Layer the dish in this order: first the potatoes, spread across the bottom. Then the ground beef. Then the shredded cheddar. Finally, pour the egg and cream mixture over everything. Some of the cheese floats up to the top, which is what gives the golden crust.
    Breakfast casserole layered with potatoes, ground beef, cheddar and egg mixture before baking
  6. Bake covered
    Bake covered with aluminum foil for 40 minutes at 375 °F (190 °C).
    Covering the breakfast casserole with aluminum foil before baking
  7. Uncover and finish baking
    Uncover and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until it is nicely golden.
    Close-up of a golden baked hash brown breakfast casserole with ground beef and cheddar
  8. Serve
    Serve. We cut it straight out of the oven and it was already well set, so we did not need to let it rest.
    Golden ground beef and hash brown breakfast casserole just out of the oven

Notes

Squeeze the grated potatoes really well. Getting rid of the excess water is what keeps the bottom from getting soggy.