This Paleo Breakfast Casserole is loaded with so many goodies and is perfect for brunch or to make ahead! Roasted sweet potatoes form the “crust” and are topped with crispy bacon, roasted brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, and baked with eggs. Nutritional yeast adds the right amount of “cheesy” flavor in this Whole30 friendly breakfast recipe.
Guys, I completely spoiled myself with this recipe. Not because of the bacon and caramelized onions (or at least, not entirely) and not because of the roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts (god I love them!)
But really, I spoiled myself mostly because I woke up for 3 days straight and DID NOT HAVE TO COOK BREAKFAST.
Let me tell ya, it was a glorious 3 days. Well, actually it wasn’t totally glorious because it happened to coincide with the annoying upper respiratory infection that arrived in time for my birthday.
Don’t even ask why I made 2 breakfast casseroles when I was sick and it was a challenge to just stand upright. The short answer is that I don’t take sick days, the honest answer is that I can’t resist an opportunity to challenge torture myself.
I definitely do not recommend you do the same! Wait until you’re good and healthy, then make 3 of these babies (or however many fit in your fridge/freezer) and go on a breakfast strike for a solid week.
Let’s get right into the details here! When planning this Paleo breakfast casserole, there were a few things I NEEDED to include.
Caramelized onions and bacon, to start – there are simply no other ingredients that provide the flavor you get from that combo! I used my favorite sugar free bacon, discovered during my first Whole30 way back when from U.S. Wellness Meats and my family swears it’s the best bacon they’ve had, Paleo or not. That’s big stuff around here!
Second, I wanted sweet potatoes. Because let’s face it – I need some carbs in my breakfast and I wanted this casserole to be all inclusive – no frying or roasting on the side allowed, period.
Third, I wanted some roasted GREEN veggies! So, it was down to either brussels sprouts or broccoli. I decided on brussels sprouts since I’m digging them lately, but in truth, you can sub your favorite veggie/veggies here and it will be delicious. If you like, try including mushrooms, peppers, really anything roast-able 🙂
Lastly, I wanted a little bit of a kicker in the form of CHEESY flavor. Ever since trying out Amanda’s dairy free cheese sauce, I’ve been experimenting with adding nutritional yeast to a few of my favorites recipes.
While it has a subtle flavor, it definitely adds something to the egg mixture in this casserole and is a fun ingredients to experiment with if you typically avoid dairy or are doing the Whole30.
Ready to get started? We’re about to enter complete breakfast casserole bliss. Let’s go!
Paleo Breakfast Casserole {Whole30}
Paleo Breakfast Casserole {Whole30}
Ingredients
- 12 slices nitrate free bacon sugar free for Whole30
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and sliced into thin rounds approximately 1/4"
- 1 tbsp melted cooking fat** + sea salt for roasting the sweet potatoes
- 3 cups Brussels sprouts tops removed and either quartered or chopped, plus about 1 tbsp cooking fat** plus a pinch of sea salt for roasting
- 1 large onion or 2 small sliced thin
- 12 eggs
- 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp salt plus to suit your taste
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast this is for a cheesy flavor, you can also sub Parmesan if you include dairy in your diet
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425 F and grease a 9x13" casserole dish with coconut oil, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Cut the bacon into 1" pieces and cook in a large heavy skillet, over med/hi heat, stirring occasionally for even browning, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels and set aside. Reserve at least 3-4 tbsp of bacon fat to caramelize your onions*
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Now it's time to roast your sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. Toss the sweet potato rounds with your cooking fat of choice and sea salt to taste (generous pinch for me) and arrange, (overlapping since they will shrink after roasting) over the bottom of your casserole dish.
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Now do the same with your brussels sprouts, this time arranging them on the parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Place the casserole dish and baking sheet in your oven to roast. The sweet potatoes will roast for about 30 minutes until soft and the brussels sprouts for about 20.
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Meanwhile, it's time to caramelize the onions. Heat the pan you cooked your bacon in over low/medium heat and add the onions, tossing with the leftover reserved bacon fat*
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Add a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, adjusting the heat if any onions begin to brown too quickly. Your goal is to cook the onions long and slow (about 25 minutes) to bring out the most flavor! Once they're deeply caramelized and very soft, remove from heat.
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While the onions cook, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
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Now it's time to assemble the casserole! Lower your oven heat to 400 F, then layer your roasted brussels sprouts over your sweet potato rounds in the casserole dish. Remove the caramelized onions with a slotted spoon and layer over the brussels sprouts, follow with the cooked bacon. Finally, pour all the whisked egg mixture over the casserole to evenly cover.
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Bake in the 400 F oven for about 25 minutes until the center is just set and edges begin to turn light brown. Allow to cool for a bit in the baking dish before cutting into pieces and serving warm. Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days*** Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If you want to use a different cooking fat to caramelize the onions, coconut oil or ghee are your best bets!
**Melted coconut oil, ghee, or light-flavored olive oil will work well here
***If you wish to freeze this casserole to make ahead of time, cover tightly and freeze before the final baking step.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Paleo Breakfast Casserole
Want more Whole30 and Paleo breakfast recipes? Try one of these!
Roasted Butternut Bacon and Apple Hash
Chorizo Sweet Potato Frittata with Caramelized Onions
Whole30 Breakfast Recipes on the Web:
Buffalo Chicken Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast Baked Sweet Potatoes with Almond Butter, Banana and Chia
Tell Me!
How important are make-ahead breakfasts?
What are your favorite veggies to have with eggs?
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ohmygoodness. This looks AMAZING. I will be making a few of these next weekend. YUMMY!!
I made this today. It is incredibly tasty! Thank you!
Awesome!
What is the approximate calories for each serving?
Yes I would like to know the nutritional information for this!!!
Courtesy of Spark people macros approximate based on skin on sweet potato and 10 slices of thick cut bacon, all else is according to the recipe.
Nutrition Facts
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 363.6
Total Fat 17.7 g
Saturated Fat 3.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.2 g
Cholesterol 10.9 mg
Sodium 409.7 mg
Potassium 116.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 32.0 g
Dietary Fiber 7.1 g
Sugars 10.2 g
Protein 20.2 g
Vitamin A 297.4 %
Vitamin B-12 27.1 %
Vitamin B-6 93.3 %
Vitamin C 24.8 %
Vitamin D 1.0 %
Vitamin E 0.0 %
Calcium 4.8 %
Copper 1.3 %
Folate 0.0 %
Iron 3.6 %
Magnesium 1.0 %
Manganese 1.0 %
Niacin 61.7 %
Pantothenic Acid 1.7 %
Phosphorus 3.3 %
Riboflavin 120.0 %
Selenium 6.7 %
Thiamin 136.7 %
Zinc 4.2 %
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Omg Michelle! This recipe is amazing. I never comment on blogs but I have to for this one. I just made it with the intention to put it away for tomorrow and the remainder of next week cornmeal prep but I had to have a piece it looks and smells so good! Tastes amazing too. Thanks!
This is definitely a favorite! Thrilled you liked it!
This is so delicious! I added red peppers and spinach the last 5 minutes of carmelizing the onions and they tasted great. This is converting friends and family members to paleo. They all thought paleo was just boring food before.
Sounds so good! Glad you enjoyed!
How would this be without bacon for vegetarians?
So I made this today and to be honest while I was making it, I was thinking this will be the first and last time because it’s just too much work when you have a full time job. However, after one taste, I knew I was going to be making it again and again. I just have to figure out a strategy for making it quicker. One thing I”ll do is cut up vegetables for 2 complete recipes. Or maybe just make 2 and freeze one. But it is really delicious!
LOL because I totally agree 🙂 It’s definitely time consuming to make if you do all the steps at once – for recipes like this I will chop everything ahead of time and then make it on a Sunday while I’m home doing other things. If you can swing making 3 at once and freezing two that would be awesome!
Hi Michele,
I made three! Cooked one and froze two. how much longer should the frozen one be cooked?
Hi! Not sure…I’d say watch it until everything is set 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
I actually very rarely make breakfast in advance since I have oats most mornings, but if I had a family? Omg a huge dish like this would be a blessing. And isn’t nutritional yeast the best?! You’re right about it adding a certain “something”
Made-ahead breakfasts are a life saver for the working running mom that I am! I love mushrooms onions and cauliflower with my eggs. Sweet potatoes are also a must when I run before work. This casserole looks delicious! I will try it for sure.
When I clear out my fridge a little, I need to make this! With sooo much good stuff, I’m pretty sure I’d eat it at least two meals a day.
Has anyone calculated the calories in this dish ? It looks delicious!
Do you recommend freezing this with the egg added or without? I was thinking about freezing just the veggies and bacon, then adding the egg the day I cook it.
I think that makes more sense so you’re not dealing with anything raw. So, make the veggies and bacon and then whisk together the egg mixture the day of. Hope you like it!
I made this for Christmas breakfast. It was delicious! Even the people who are not following Whole 30 loved it. I cooked all the veggies the day before, then assembled it in the morning, and popped it in the oven. It turned out perfectly baked, very filling, and yummy. Next time I will bake with fewer onions and more bacon, just because we love bacon.
That’s incredible! Thanks for letting me know – I love getting comments like this!
And I thought I”d put in more onions. I love carmalized onions in my food!
It is very rare that I don’t have to adjust spices in recipes to my liking but this was amazing! Definitely time consuming but totally worth it. Cooking the onions in the bacon fat was such a nice touch. Can’t wait to make this again!
Oh I am the same with spices! So happy you liked this! I also wish it took less time to make but then again, at least it makes a lot 🙂
I did the prep work last night and then added the egg mixture and baked this morning. It is beautiful and yummy. My 11-year-old son even ate it for breakfast. That is something I consider a hit! Thanks for the recipe!
Definitely a hit if an 11 year old is on board! Go you for getting it all ready the night before!
How long will this keep? 3Days?
it should keep 5 days in the fridge 🙂
This casserole is amazing!! Usually I am someone who changes recipes to what I think would be great, but this recipe looked so satisfying that I didn’t change anything and it was sooo perfect and delicious! My husband immediately asked for it to be brought into our meal rotation and my toddler licked his plate clean 🙂 Bravo on the delicious recipe!
So happy to hear you guys loved it! Especially because it DOES take some work, it’s always nice to have the payoff in the end!
I do whole30 and just made this for my week… love it! I added green bell peppers with the onions and broccoli to my shredded Brussels sprouts. This is a just the change up I needed from my normal veggie frittata. Thank you!
Can you substitute egg whites?
Yes I’m sure you can, not exactly sure of the measurement though 🙂
Made this last night for my week of breakfast! I am doing a Whole30 this month and meal prep has been essential for me. I used butternut squash, because i had some cubed and needed to be used. I am enjoying this delicious breakfast right now! This is so good. Thank you for an awesome recipe. Can’t wait to try new flavors!
I’m so happy you liked it! I bet the butternut squash turned out great too 🙂
Wow! This was delicious! I am about 10 days into my Whole30 and this helped pull my out of my egg coma. Love this breakfast! I haven’t made the leap into ordering the US Wellness bacon and honestly probably won’t, so I’ve been crisping prosciutto in the oven as substitute; worked perfectly! I’ve also never used nutritional yeast- learning all sorts of things!
Thank you for the recipe.
This looks awesome! Definitely plan to attempt it this week. Do you have a brand of nutritional yeast you recommend? And do you buy it flaked or in powdered form? Thanks!
I typically use the Bob’s Red Mill flaked kind but I think any would be fine 🙂
i have been eating paleo for over 4 years and have made numerous breakfast casseroles and egg dishes that have been great, but this one is by far my FAVOURITE!!! I left out the nutritional yeast as I had none, but I need to hunt some down now! Thank you for sharing your recipes with us, you have been added to my favourite paleo peeps and I’m giddy to try many more of yours!
So thrilled you like it! Woohoo!
I never post about recipes but this is my favorite also… it was so good! I used Japanese sweet potatoes and they reminded me of a quiche. Yum!!
Japanese sweet potatoes are my favorite and they make awesome crusts for quiches! I have a quiche recipe with spinach mushrooms and onions that’s similar to this, you’d love it 🙂
This is so delicious!! Great way to shake up normal breakfast frittatas. It is a bit time consuming (why must brussel sprouts take so long to chop?!) but definitely worth the work. Thank you for this recipe!
Ah yes brussels sprouts! I love them but sometimes I’m just too lazy…that said I’m so glad you went for it and liked the recipe!
Is Nutritional yeast compliant on Whole30?
Yup it is! Here’s a great resource: http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/
Thank you! I missed that on my list! Now I just need to find the stuff? I think we should have a Whole30 store in every city! Finding things is the most time consuming thing?
Two stores near me carry the bob’s red mill and Bragg brands (the “healthy section, lol), otherwise Amazon is a good option: http://amzn.to/2krAmYh
This recipe is absolutely amazing! As everyone else has already commented, I rarely love a recipe just as is. This one is perfect though and something I will be making regularly! A fantastic find!
I’m so thrilled you liked it! I too am one of those people who always needs to change something, lol, so I totally appreciate that you thought it was perfect!
This is nothing short of AMAZING!! I had to make a few changes but it still came out beautifully! I used zucchini, mushrooms and spinach instead of Brussels. I didn’t have nutritional yeast so I used coconut cream to replace that and the coconut milk. And can I just say ALL of your recipes that I’ve tried are really good! Dinner will be another! Thank you so much!
That’s great! Your version sounds delicious 🙂
Hi! Made this casserole and served at our district Spring garden club meeting. Everyone loved the flavors. This recipe us a keeper! . Thank you!
I want to make this recipe, but was wondering if U can leave our the bacon. I have all the other ingredients. Thanks.
I’m sure you can and even add other ingredients 🙂
Hi! How long and at what temp would you use to reheat the whole dish? ?T
I would say cover it with aluminum foil and reheat at 400 degrees until heated through, not certain how long.
Can you assemble this the night before and then cook in the morning? Or do things get soggy?
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work out just fine, let me know if you try it out!
Hi there,
Can you tell us the nutritional information for this dish? Thank you!
First things first. The results are delicious. But . . . It takes far longer to prep and cook than advertised. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to prep. Furthermore, 25 minute cook time left me with a runny middle. Had to put it back in for about 20 minutes upon arriving at brunch. Start to finish including the bake off to finish was nearly 2 hours. Short on time? I microwaved my sweet potatoes and spread them like a pie crust. So if you don’t take that shortcut add the time to prep the sweet potatoes and cook them–probably another 25 minutes.
This Breakfast Casserole is fantastic! I’m doing 7 day meal prep along with Whole30. One challenge is finding recipes for days 5-7 that will keep in the freezer. This one will work great.
I had to scurry the portions into the meal prep containers and whisk them away because I could have easily stood in the kitchen with a fork and went to town! 🙂 I had previously tried a frittata recipe (from a different site) that I didn’t care for because it was so dense and flavorless. The addition of coconut milk to the eggs keeps them fluffy and the flavor compliments the sweet potato.
I’m doing the prep and Whole30 with a friend who doesn’t care for brussel sprouts, so I replaced them with 3 cups of zucchini. I lightly sautéed cubed zucchini after the onions and it turned out great. Next time I’ll do brussel sprouts because I love them.
This one is a keeper. Thanks so much!
So happy you like it! Great to sub in different veggies to make it personalized 🙂
This is literally the most delicious recipe I’ve ever made!!! This will a new obsession and will be a go-to from now on. Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world!
I made this casserole for a Sunday class brunch. It smelled delicious and was totally gone by the time I got to the table!! I sauteed spinach (4 cups baby) instead of brussel sprouts and added chopped red bell pepper. It looked fabulous, festive and had many requests for the recipe. Thanks for making my paleo quest yummy and healthy.
That sounds so good! Love that you customized it to make it your own – this is one of those recipes you can make with so many different ingredients and it always seems to work out 🙂
Oh my gosh…. this is so delicious! Such a great combination of fall flavors. I love Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Never would have thought to add them to a breakfast casserole! I just started meal prepping. This recipe is great for that – fairly simple to put together, makes a weeks worth of breakfasts, and it warms up well. Thank you for sharing it!
Have you ever made this without onions? I can’t eat onions, so wondering if it still has depth of flavor?
Wow this is so, so good! Customized the ingredients a little more to my liking. Used red potatoes, sliced and cooked in microwave. Roasted the brussels on the stove, added some kale and spinach. Added some cheese and no-salt seasoning to the eggs. Loved it!!
That’s great! Sounds delicious 🙂
Hi Michele!
This recipe sounds amazing and I will definitely try it, since I love all the ingredients included. Was wondering though, have you ever tried making this in a slow cooker? Thanks!
Nope I haven’t tried and I’m not sure about the time due to the eggs and not wanting to overcook, but I would think it’s possible as long as you get the timing right!
This looks so good but my husband despises sweet potatoes. Is there another option that tastes just as good? ?
You can probably use regular white potatoes with good results, haven’t tried it this way but it’s worth a shot. Also, you might want to look into Japanese sweet potatoes which are starchier and sort of a cross between sweet and white potatoes (and my absolute favorite!) They’re purple inside and white/yellowish inside.
This casserole is so, so yummy!!!!! I made it for the first time yesterday after seeing it on @wholefoodfor7 feed. I have it pegged for my breakfasts all week and I’m already looking forward to making another batch this weekend. Can’t wait to try many more recipes on your awesome website. Thank you!!
This recipe is 100 percent a breakfast win for me! I can eat eggs ’til the ends of the earth – fortunately for a Whole30 participant. However, when I’m not on W30, those eggs come with some pretty unhealthy drivethru runs because I don’t have time to make something every morning; I’m not a fan of hard boiled eggs that have sat in fridge for a week, and for some reason every frittata recipe I ever tried make the eggs taste weird. I’ve done breakfast muffins, too, and I don’t like the flavor of the eggs. I’ve been desperately searching for a healthy breakfast meal for years. I’ve finally found it here! Not only was this an easy time-saver cuz I could make a batch of twelve servings, freeze some, and have two weeks worth of breakfasts,
but I’m also a fan of how easy the recipe is to customize. To be clear, it is perfectly delicious as is. Now that I’m done with my January W30, though, I’ve made it with spinach, crumbled spicy breakfast sausage, and a very thin layer of Swiss cheese. It is SO good! Thank you for helping to provide me with the type of breakfast that suits my lifestyle – incredibly flavorful and fast. A true breakfast win!
I like your version! This is definitely one of those recipes that anyone can customize to their liking! Happy you really enjoyed it 🙂
Hi Michele,
I’m sorry I didnt know where to reply in a new box, but I was wondering if it’s possible to keep this in the refrigerator instead of the freezer, overnight before the final baking process. I would like to make this the night before a breakfast brunch at my office, but would rather not freeze it. Please let me know.
thank you so much!
Kim
I do that that would work out just fine as long as it doesn’t sit too long unbaked (overnight is okay)
I can not stand coconut. So my question to you is, does it taste like coconut at all? I usually use almond milk.
Nope, no coconut flavor here at all!
I see the one post that provides Macros and am concerned it lists so many carbs. Was that an accurate macro count for this recipe?
Hi! I just updated the nutrition for this – you can find all the stats right under the recipe. it’s an old recipe and I forgot to convert it! I based it on 10 servings and the carb count seems accurate to me, hope this helps.
Amazing! Made this today with a few alterations. Regular potato instead of sweet potato, mushrooms instead of brussel sprouts (sautéed after the onions) and added rosemary – so good!!!
Yum! How did the regular potato work out as a crust? I’ve been meaning to try it!
I didn’t want to commit to 12 eggs, so I hailed the recipe. Kicking myself now! It’s delicious, and I will be making it again. I skipped caramelizing the onions opting to roast them with the other veggies and omitted the bacon since I’m on the vegetarian Whole30 plan. Thank you!!
Can I use something instead of the coconut milk or just eave it out completely. I do not like the way it tastes
You can use another non-dairy milk or possibly just leave it out – it shouldn’t affect the final outcome much!