Ree Drummond's Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Breakfast Casserole Easily Feeds a Crowd

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We spend so much time in the days leading up to Thanksgiving preparing the house for guests, chopping veggies and getting pie crusts made, and dry-brining the turkey, that come Thanksgiving morning, we’re totally at a loss when it’s time for breakfast. The last thing we want to do is cook an elaborate meal, using up precious dishes, counter and oven space, and time before working for hours on our dinner feast. Luckily Ree Drummond, author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks―A Year of Holidays, has the perfect solution. She created a hearty make-ahead Thanksgiving breakfast casserole recipe that you can just pop in the oven on Thanksgiving morning and serve to the household once it’s heated up.

We love the combination of sweet, savory, and Thanksgiving-y ingredients Drummond uses to make her breakfast casserole recipe. There’s sage breakfast sausage, which mimics the flavors in our favorite stuffing and is bolstered by fresh sage; there are sweet-tart Granny Smith apples; and the base of the dish is made from cinnamon raisin English muffins. Add in a dozen eggs, milk, and a whole heap of grated white cheddar, and it’s the kind of breakfast people will request year after year.

Best of all, this dish is meant to be made ahead of time. The sausage and aromatics are cooked the night before, and then the whole casserole is assembled and covered (this The Pioneer Woman baking dish with lid is perfect), then rests in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, pull it out of the fridge while the oven pre-heats, then bake it for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top of the casserole is golden brown and crisp around the edges. Serve with some of the make ahead turkey gravy from Ina Garten’s make-ahead Thanksgiving menu, and your guests will be getting the best taste of the meal that’s yet to come. Talk about an appetizer!

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