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White baking dish of Christmas Breakfast Enchilada Casserole with melted cheese and sour cream on top
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Christmas Breakfast Enchilada Casserole

"We share a love of for both red and green chilies in my family, so we enjoy this recipe Christmas-style by making half the pan with red sauce on top and the other half with green sauce. It's a great make-ahead breakfast. I loke to make and bake these enchiladas, and then my kids can serve themselves and reheat portions through the week." - Mary Younkin, The Weekday Lunches & Breakfasts Cookbook
NOTE: Step-by-step photos in blog post above!
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 597kcal
Author Toni Dash

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound Breakfast Sausage (loose) regular or spicy
  • 1/2 small Onion diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup yield)
  • 1 small Red or Green Bell Pepper diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup yield)
  • 1 4-ounce can Diced Green Chilies mild or hot
  • 10 Eggs
  • 1 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Granulated Garlic OR Garlic Powder
  • 1 1/2 cups Green or Red Chile Enchilada Sauce* OR 3/4 cup of EACH for Christmas-style
  • 12 Corn Tortillas OR 5 Flour Tortillas quartered for corn tortillas, cut into pie-shaped wedges for flour tortillas
  • 5 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack Cheese (or a combination)

Optional Toppings:

  • Fresh torn Cilantro leaves
  • Sour Cream
  • Hot Sauce or Salsa

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Crumble the sausage into a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat. As the sausage begins to brown, add the onion and the peppers. Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender and the meat is fully cooked (about 5 minutes). Add the green chile and stir to combine.
  • Transfer the meat and vegetables to a plate.
  • While the sausage mixture cooks, crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly, just to combine them. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a plate and add the butter to the skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Pour the eggs into the hot skillet. Season the eggs with the salt, pepper and garlic. As the eggs begin to set, gently pull them across the skillet with a spatula, forming large, soft curds. The eggs are done when they look just a little bit runny. The eggs will continue to cook some when removed from the heat.
  • Add the sausage mixture back to the skillet with the eggs. Stir to combine.
  • Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce (red or green; OR 1/4 cup of each) into the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of tortilla wedges (1/3 of the total tortilla wedges) over the sauce. NOTE: use 16 corn tortilla quarters per layer.
  • Distribute half the eggs misture over the layer of tortillas. Sprinkle generously with 1 1/2 cup of the cheese.
  • Add another layer of tortilla wedges (another 1/3 of the total), the remaining egg mixture, 1 1/2 cups cheese.  Finish with the remaining tortilla wedges.
  • Pour the remaining sauce over the top layer of tortillas. Sprinkle generously with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the cheese has fully melted and is lightly browned. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with sour cream and hot sauce, if desired.

MAKE-AHEAD DIRECTIONS:

  • MAKING AHEAD WITHOUT COOKING: The casserole can be prepared the night before without baking and then popped in the oven in the morning. When baking cold from the refrigerator, plan an additional 10 to 15 minutes cooking time.
  • PRE-BAKING & REHEATING THE COOKED CASSEROLE: Prepare and cook the casserole. Store in an airtight contatiner in the refridgerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or covered in the oven. This casserole can be stored in one large container or portioned into individual servings for storage and reheating.

Video

Notes

*for those gluten-free verify the sauce being used is gluten-free. I used Hatch brand for the recipe which is labelled gluten-free.
Recipe published with permission from 'The Weekday Lunches & Breakfasts Cookbook' by Page Street Publishing Company and Mary Younkin.

Nutrition

Calories: 597kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 310mg | Sodium: 1221mg | Potassium: 317mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1475IU | Vitamin C: 8.8mg | Calcium: 625mg | Iron: 2.6mg