My grandmother’s egg soufflé is really a traditional breakfast casserole. It’s super-simple to make and it’s an über-delicious crowd pleaser!
All right, when I say “egg soufflé”, I realize that sounds redundant. You’re probably picturing a big, round, fluted souffle dish with a tall tower of fluffy egg climbing out of the top, right? Okay, stop. Because that is not to whence I am referring. No, no….my grandmother’s egg soufflé is a breakfast casserole with a fancy(ish) name.
If you’ve read my post “Why I Cook“, you know that my grandmother was probably the greatest influence on my love of and fascination with food. She cooked dinner nearly every night and was a very precise cook. She had several dishes that I would consider her “signature dishes”, things that I can’t eat without thinking of her. This is definitely one of them. When I was growing up, we only ate this once a year, on Christmas morning. Every Christmas morning, I could be assured that we would eat egg soufflé and Pillsbury orange danishes. There’s a funny story about this casserole, too. When someone would pass away, my grandmother knew that most people taking food to the family would not think about breakfast, so this was what she always took to the family. It was a secret recipe, and she didn’t share it with anyone but family members, whom she assumed would keep the secret, well, a secret. Unfortunately, her mother, my great-grandmother, apparently was unaware that this recipe was a secret….and she published it in her church cookbook. My grandmother was not happy.
I wonder how she’d feel about me sharing it on the internet. I hope she’d be okay with it….and I hope that, while the recipe is not 100% true to her original, she’d be proud that I’ve made it my own. It’s the best breakfast casserole I’ve ever had, and I hope that you’ll try it, in honor of my grandmother Betty. By the way, this is a “make-ahead” recipe that needs to sit overnight, so it’s great for special occasions, so you don’t have to slave over the oven.
The casserole is best when it has a little time to set before you serve it. The bread really soaks up the egg, and the combination of the warm, soft, eggy bread, the sharp cheese, and the spicy sausage is perfection. I don’t make this very often, but every time I do, it makes me appreciate a little bit more the gift that my grandmother gave me just by being in the kitchen every night. It’s almost like having her here every time I make her egg soufflé!
Yield: 6-8 servings
15 minPrep Time:
1 hrCook Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage or breakfast sausage links
- 6 slices white sandwich bread, crusts cut off, cubed
- 8 ounces (2 cups) cheddar cheese, shredded
- 6 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the sausage until fully cooked. If using links, cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Arrange the bread crumbs in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Evenly distribute the sausage over the top, then the cheese.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour over the bread, sausage, and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes with the foil on, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Serve immediately.
Click here to print the recipe for my grandmother’s egg soufflé!
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