TATER TOT SAUSAGE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

This Tater Tot Sausage Breakfast Casserole is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner! It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen for later. This is a great dish for overnight guests. Mix it up the night before and bake it in the morning. SO easy!

Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole is super easy to throw together for a weekend breakfast. It’s full of cheese, sausage, and eggs making it a one dish meal. The tater tots are placed on top of everything else so that they brown and crisp up nicely without any precooking. In addition to cheese mixed into the casserole, there’s also plenty of gooey, melted cheese on top. This is sure to be a breakfast the whole family will want to dig into.

This Tater Tot Sausage Breakfast Casserole is crazy good! Tater tots, sausage and cheese - you can't go wrong with that combination. I didn't thaw the tater tots before mixing up this casserole. I just threw them in there frozen.

What makes this Breakfast Tater Tot Casserole so easy to prepare is Johnsonville Fully Cooked Breakfast Sausage. It comes in both patties which I love to use for these Breakfast Sliders and links, which I have sliced up and used for this casserole.

Fully Cooked Breakfast Sausage makes breakfast so easy. Ready in only 30 seconds, these sausage links have that bold Johnsonville flavor that you love. Whether your morning schedule is super hectic and you serve them with some scrambled eggs for a breakfast that is ready in just a few minutes, or you use them to whip up a breakfast casserole on a more leisurely morning, you’ll love the flavor of these Johnsonville sausages.

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces ground pork breakfast sausage
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra to sprinkle over top
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (whole) milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• One 32-ounce bag frozen tater tots
• Thinly sliced chives, for serving
• Special equipment:
• 12-inch cast iron skillet, or other oven-safe skillet

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Cook the sausage: Warm a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat, and add the sausage. Cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the pan from heat.
3. Assemble the casserole: Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
4. Spread the sausage into an even layer over the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese, and pour the egg mixture over the top.
5. Arrange the frozen tater tots over the egg mixture in concentric circles, starting with a row around the rim of the pan and working your way in, or vice versa. (You won't use the entire bag; reserve remaining tater tots for another use.)
6. Bake the casserole. Bake until the eggs have fully set and the cheese has melted, 35 to 40 minutes. If desired, sprinkle some additional cheese over top and bake an extra minute or two, until the cheese has melted.
7. Serve: Let the casserole cool slightly before cutting into wedges. Sprinkle with some sliced chives and serve. Leftovers will keep for about 5 days.