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This slow cooker breakfast casserole recipe is a gluten free casserole recipe, stuffed to the gills with low carbs and healthy nutrition! It’s a great back to school crock pot recipe for breakfast or dinner.
The holiday season isn’t too far away, so we are all looking to pinch our pennies, whether it’s because we have a lot of mouths to feed or some extra expenses this time of year, so #SundaySupper is bringing you a menu of Budget-Friendly recipes. Not only am I going to help you save some pennies, you’ll also save some calories and effort with this easy, gluten free, low carb egg recipe. Let the crock pot work overnight, and in the morning feed the crowd Cauliflower Hash Browns Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole.
Pretty much my entire family is originally from a three town radius. We would trick-or-treat at my aunts and uncles houses, had a massive table for Thanksgiving, and Christmas was two days of different combinations of family members gathering at different houses, and even welcoming those that were as far-flung as, you know, the next county. Obviously as the generations have grown up and families have expanded and moved around, these holiday celebrations have changed, but one of the biggest changes for me as a kid was when my aunt, uncle and cousins moved to Kentucky. Since we all grew up together, spending most of our days at each others’ houses or going on outings or vacations together, Kentucky felt like it was pretty much halfway across the world.
One thing we could count on, though, was that they did come back to New Jersey for Christmas as often as they could. And they always stayed at our house. Now, our house was by no means small, but it wasn’t huge either. So when it expanded from four people living there to nine, plus a Christmas tree and presents and the dining room table with the extra leaf in it and more family members popping in and out, well, it did feel sometimes like it was busting at its seams. We were always thrilled to see each other, but, you guys, between the bath towels and the food. Well, just wow.
So it was always good to find some meals that could feed a crown for not a long of money. So we always made one (or two) of those big ol’ breakfast casseroles where you let the bread soak in the egg and cheese mixture overnight, then bake it in the morning. It was easy, filling, and reheated well a couple days later.
Well, naturally I had to remake it with my favorite sneaky veggie…
You guessed it – cauliflower!
Cauliflower Hash Browns Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole is such a simple way to make a morning meal for a big crowd.
Plus, you’ll be starting the day off with a big serving of vegetables and tons of protein.
And eggs are one of the most economical sources of protein. I threw in some pre-cooked breakfast sausage, but if you want to save a few more dollars or are serving vegetarians, you could leave it out. Other alternatives would be bacon, vegetarian sausage crumbles, or even bits of leftover Christmas ham, to really be frugal.
My version is also gluten free, low carb, and, if possible, even easier than the original version, since the slow cooker does the work. It’s ready as soon as you wake up… no waiting for it to bake for forty-five minutes.
Or, you know, everyone loves breakfast for dinner, so this slow cooker breakfast casserole is a perfect meal to come home to on a busy weeknight. The boys and I put a major dent in this, and they had some more for lunch a couple days later. I am actually freezing the rest of it, since it made so much! Honestly, I’ll probably cut down or skip the onion entirely next time, since I’m not a huge onion gal. but I know a lot of people like them, so I left them in.
Do what makes you happy. Sometimes the best budget friendly ingredient is versatility.
What is your favorite budget-friendly meal?
If you try it, I’m pretty confident that this slow cooker breakfast casserole recipe will become one of your favorites!
Here are a couple of items you may need to make this breakfast recipe:
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Cauliflower Hash Browns Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 head cauliflower shredded
- additional salt and pepper to season the layers
- up to one small onion diced (can omit or use less)
- 10 ounces pre-cooked breakfast sausages sliced (I used two 5-oz packages of turkey sausage. Can also omit, or use about 1 lb bulk breakfast sausage cooked and crumbled, or bacon, vegetarian sausage crumbles, or chopped ham)
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese or about 2 cups
Instructions
- Grease or coat a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Lightly beat together the eggs, milk, dry mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Place about a third of the shredded cauliflower in an even layer in the bottom of the slow cooker, and top with about a third of the onion. Season with salt and pepper, the top with about a third of the sausage and a third of the cheese. Repeat the layers two more times.
- Pour the egg mixture over the contents of the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until eggs are set and the top is browned.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
Enjoy!
Here are a few more of my penny-pincher meals…
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This is my favorite recipe in the entire world. I packed several to go containers of casserole in my backpack before I flew to NYC to visit family. I heated up a plate of it for my 89 year old Dad and he took one sniff of it and cleaned his plate in 60 seconds. He looked astonished and praised the meal, saying I turned out to be an excellent cook. This is the same man who swore he would never eat cauliflower.
This is the highest compliment!
Is it possible to just throw this in the oven? My slow cooker is broken.
I have not tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I’d probably try an 11×13 pan versus a pie/quiche pan.
What oven temperature & how long-ish to bake?
Hi Joni,
This is a slow cooker recipe, so I’m not certain how long it would take to bake in an oven. I would think 350 degrees F. should be fine, but I’m sorry… I have no idea on the time.
For the oven, I tried 375 degrees for 20mins, then realized the edges were browning too quickly, so lowered to 350 degrees for another 25mins. – I need more patience & bake longer at 350 like you recommend! 🙂 This is a wonderful recipe & your reheating through pan frying is perfect!
Thank you, Joni!
Do you have the nutrition information for this?
Hi Lindsey, I do not have the nutritional information, because it varies depending on the ingredients used. There’s a free nutritional calculator on myfitnesspal.com that you can use to calculate the nutrition, though!
Hey there! Awesome recipe. Got it in my crock pot now! Question: it’s almost done but is SUPER watery. You’re recipe doesn’t mention cooking the cauliflower first. Was I supposed to?
Lauren, I’m sorry that I didn’t see your comment until this morning.
No, you do not cook the cauliflower first. I’m not sure why the hash browns were watery when you made them, but I suppose moisture content could vary based on the size of the cauliflower. Next time you make it, perhaps try keeping it on low, with the lid off for a short time near the end of the cooking time. This may allow some moisture that naturally builds up in the slow cooker to evaporate.
Looks yummy. I had a couple of questions though.
I am always confused when people say a head of cauliflower. Are we talking a small or large head of cauliflower? Do you know how much it would make when measured out?
What is the best way to shred cauliflower?
And okay, one more question, can heavy whipping cream be substituted for the milk?
I have not tried heavy cream. I would be a bit concerned about it cooking so long in the slow cooker. As far as shredding, I personally like to use the shredder blade for my food processor, but you can do it by hand on a cheese grater. I have seem some really large heads of cauliflower lately in one of the grocery stores near me, and that would probably end up with too much. I’d say a “medium” head ends up with about 6 cups, give or take a little.
Can you please tell me how many servings this recipe makes? Thank you!
I haven’t made it in awhile, but it can easily feed 8-12, depending on what you are serving with it.
What can you use to replace milk? Will soy or almond milk work?
I have not tried it, but I don’t see why not.
Yummy yummy … This is very beautiful, I do not sabbatical to try it!
I haven’t tried it, but I think almond milk would work. I don’t have much experience with soy milk.
Super !!!
This looks so good! I’m excited to try it! Do you think it would be possible to freeze the leftovers?
Yep, I just ate leftovers I had frozen. I actually cut slices and crisped them up in a pan and I think I liked them even better!
Saw your recipe on Pinterest! This hashbrown crockpot recipe would also be great for dinner too. Thanks for sharing!
Yep, we had it for dinner, actually. We are breakfast for dinner-type people!
So I’m curious – do your kids know it’s cauliflower? This sounds like something my mom would have made us when we were kids, but we were so picky she probably would have “forgotten” to mention it wasn’t actual potatoes, lol!
This looks wonderful, and I love that it’s in the slow cooker – so much easier if you have a holiday crowd at your house!
I’m always up front with my kids and let them know when I sneak in veggies. So I guess it’s not really sneaking, right? Just makes it into a form they enjoy more.
Another great cauliflower recipe, Brianne!
Thanks Cindy!
Always looking for new riffs on cauliflower – this looks delish!
Keep an eye on my blog – I am always riffing on cauliflower 🙂
Such a brilliant idea!!
Thank you!
I’m all for budget friendly food! I’ve only made one breakfast casserole in my slow cooker before and it did NOT look as good as yours! Trying this one out.
I was surprised. I was a little hesitant about eggs in the slow cooker, but now I want to try more!
This looks fantastic! I love that it’s so simple and healthy, can’t wait to make this one.
Never hurts to find ways to get more veggies in!
What a great idea! Definitely making this for Christmas breakfast.
Thanks! Won’t it be great to have it ready when you wake up!
My husband has a huge family…so I can picture the full house you described! This dish sound delicious, and something I would consider even making during the week for “breakfast for dinner”.
Yes, that’s what we actually did – breakfast for dinner. And all those people – it’s wonderful and stressful at the same time!
This will be perfect for holiday entertaining. Love that it is made in the slow cooker. Pinned!
Thanks Lisa! Yes, definitely good for feeding a crowd!
I’m totally loving cauliflower as a GF sub in so many things–this recipe looks totally phenomenal! Thanks so much for sharing, Bri!
Thanks! I love the versatility of cauliflower!
Yum! This looks sooo delicious and sneaking in veggies sounds like a brilliant idea. Gonna try this one of these days.
I like my kids to eat veggies looking like veggies, but I also like to sneak in some extras!
What a cool and unique recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Shannon!
Breakfast casserole that is healthy and looks DELISH….sign me up 🙂
I know! How can you go wrong?! 🙂
It’s almost dinner time here in California, but I would love to have a piece of two of this fabulous looking dish right about now!
We are breakfast for dinner kind of people anyway!
If I ever have leftover cauliflower and need a recipe to use it for, I know who to come to! I deem you the cauliflower queen. =)
Hey, we’ve all gotta be good at something 🙂
If I’m the cheesecake queen, you are most definitely the cauliflower queen! I love cauliflower and love the different recipes you come up with it.
We could start a join blog – Cauliflower & Cheesecake!
Very clever substituting cauliflower for potatoes in this recipe! SOunds great.
Definitely lightens it up a bit!
What a great looking breakfast casserole and I love that it is made with cauliflower, how cool is that!!
Thanks Tara!
Love the addition of cauliflower! Besides bringing a delicious vegetable to the dish, it, also, adds a great flavor combination.
More veggies are always good – helps balance the chocolate 🙂
What a great update to the ubiquitous hash brown casserole! I like yours even better!!!
Thanks Liz! I always like to make things a bit healthier… so I can eat more dessert 🙂
The cauli queen tops herself!
Hahahaha! Keep Calm and Cauli On!
What a fabulous idea! I can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Tammi!
Saw this on Twitter and had to come for the recipe. I’m glad I did: what a great slow cooker breakfast idea! We are vegetarian and I think I would maybe sub in sauteed mushrooms for the sausages. Will pin and Stumble when on less awkward device.
Thanks so much! Yes, definitely easy to make vegetarian, or really do anything you like with this recipe. I love mushrooms, so it sounds perfect to me!
Should I squeeze out excess water from cauliflower before layering in slow cooker?
Thanks!
Yes, Patricia. Definitely squeeze out the excess moisture from the cauliflower before cooking it.