Solar Recipe: Sausage Breakfast Casserole (Make It Tonight, Bake It in the Sun Tomorrow!)
Caleb GarvinSausage Breakfast Casserole
A make-ahead breakfast that might be the most forgiving dish you'll ever cook in the sun. Layers of torn bread, browned sausage, and sharp cheddar soak overnight in a savory egg-and-milk custard, so it goes into the oven ready to bake. In the morning, set it in your My Solar Oven and let the sun finish the job. There's no fuel, no fuss, and a golden, bubbling breakfast waiting when you're ready to eat.
And yes, the overnight rest makes it a natural fit for solar cooking. By the time the sun is high enough to bake, breakfast is already prepped.
Serves: 6 Prep Time: 25 minutes (+ overnight refrigeration) Cook Time: 45–50 minutes (conventional) / 90–110 minutes (My Solar Oven)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sausage, cooked and drained (mild or hot, we prefer hot!)
- 8 slices of white or white wheat bread, torn into small pieces
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups milk or half and half
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Step 1 — Brown the Sausage
In a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat, cook the sausage until it is browned all the way through, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the grease thoroughly and set the sausage aside. The casserole bakes at a gentle temperature, so the sausage needs to be fully cooked before it ever layers in.
Step 2 — The Night Before: Build the Casserole
Tear the bread into small pieces and spread it in the bottom of a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Layer the browned, drained sausage over the bread, then sprinkle the shredded cheddar evenly on top of the sausage.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the casserole, pressing down gently so every piece of bread gets soaked.
Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. This overnight soak is what gives the casserole its custardy, bread-pudding texture, so don't skip it!
Step 3 — Morning: Fire Up the Sun
My Solar Oven: Set your My Solar Oven out 15-30 minutes before cooking so it's fully preheated and tracking the sun. Pull the casserole from the fridge when the My Solar Oven begins to preheat. A cold, straight-from-the-fridge pan will slow your cook considerably.
Conventional oven: preheat to 350°F.
Step 4 — Bake
My Solar Oven: Place the foil-covered dish in your preheated My Solar Oven and cook for 80 to 110 minutes, keeping the oven aimed at the sun. The casserole is done when the top is browned, the center is set, and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Conventional oven: Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until browned on top.
Step 5 — Rest and Serve
Let the casserole rest about 10 minutes before serving. It slices clean, holds its heat well, and feeds a table full of people straight from the dish.
Notes & Tips
- The overnight soak is your friend. The bread fully absorbs the custard overnight, which means the casserole holds together beautifully in a My Solar Oven. Even if a cloud passes over mid-bake, nothing is ruined; it just needs a little more time.
- Use a dark, shallow metal pan for best heat absorption. If your 9×13 glass dish is all you have, it works, just budget for extra time.
- Cover it for the first hour to trap steam, then remove the foil for the final stretch to let the top brown.
- Doneness cues over the clock. Solar cooking runs on sunshine, not timers. The top should be golden, the center should jiggle as one piece (not slosh), and the internal temperature should read 160°F at the middle.
- Hot sausage is great here. The dry mustard and Worcestershire already bring a savory backbone, and the bread and cheese mellow the heat nicely.
