Sausage Stuffing Breakfast Bake

This low carb sausage stuffing egg casserole was invented one day out of boredom. Every few months, I get bored with eggs to where I want to do something different than just cook and eat them. I wanted something new and comforting made with eggs as a breakfast meal, but with the old-fashioned flavors that reminded me of Thanksgiving day stuffing, and since I had all the ingredients, I think I pulled it off. I hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

For the “stuffing”
2 servings of “cornbread” skillet or muffins (2 wedges or 4-5 muffins)
1 cube or 1 teaspoon chicken bullion
Fresh snipped or dried sage (or thyme, marjoram)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup boiling water

10-12 ounces bulk breakfast sausage, turkey or pork
1/4 cup diced onion
1-2 ribs celery, diced finely (optional)
10 large eggs
1/3 cup whipping cream
Fresh snipped or dried sage
(you can also use thyme, marjoram, or poultry seasoning)
Celery salt or ground celery seed, to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups Swiss, Gruyere, or Gouda cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F

(If not using the “stuffing,” skip to the next section) Break up or cube the corn bread into 1/2 inch pieces so you have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of pieces.
In a small bowl or mug, place the butter and the chicken bullion and add boiling water. Stir to dissolve. In a medium bowl, place the pieces and then pour the hot chicken broth mixture over all. Toss gently until all pieces are moistened, and there is no liquid pooled at the bottom of the bowl. Spread the stuffing mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake 15 minutes or until the pieces are dry and starting to brown very well. You can also do this step any time in advance, but I haven’t tried it. Pull the stuffing pieces from the oven to cool down and continue to dry.

Brown the sausage, optional celery, and onions in a skillet and set aside.

Grease a pie dish or 9″x 9″ baking dish or line a metal pan of same size with parchment.

Beat the eggs together with the cream, herbs, and salt & pepper. Fold in the shredded cheese.

Place the browned sausage & onion into the pie dish and if using, spread the the stuffing mixture evenly over the sausage. Pour the egg mixture over all and bake 40 minutes at 350F. Let cool before slicing, and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings. Refrigerate leftovers up to 5 days. Freezes well when cut into pieces.

Notes:

You can totally skip doing the “corn bread” part of the sausage stuffing egg casserole if you just want a recipe for sausage & egg casserole.

Optionally, if you do want a bread-y texture to your sausage egg casserole, but don’t want to bother with the “corn bread,” you can swap that out for your favorite grain-free flour substitute. I’ve done it twice now that I’ve run out of the corn bread. I used a 1/3 cup measure, added in 2 TB of oat fiber and filled the rest with coconut flour.