Rise and Shine for This Bacon, Tomato, and Cheddar Breakfast Bake

Do you ever wake up on the weekend and wish you could have a tasty meal to start the day, but without putting in a ton of work?

As much as I love a runny egg on top of an eggs Benedict with homemade hollandaise, I don’t always have the energy to make an intricate breakfast after surviving a long work week.

There’s something about a weekend morning spent gathered at the dining table with your family.

The early morning light pouring in through the window, the smell of freshly cooked bacon, mugs of coffee, and glasses of fresh orange juice… These are the idyllic memories I have with my husband on the rare Saturday or Sunday morning when we have no plans.

Life certainly has a tendency to get hectic. I don’t know about you, but the only thing that can really make me sit down and slow down is food.

It can be any kind of homemade meal, to be honest. However, the promise of a tasty breakfast is something that can really convince me to take a moment to chill out.

I am not much of a breakfast person in the morning on a weekday. Normally, it’s a small cup of yogurt or a bowl of fruit that I shovel into my mouth as I start the day at my desk.

That may sound a little sad, but I really don’t have time to make breakfast in the morning (I’m a late riser, always) and I don’t particularly have the appetite on a busy day.

While I have my strategy for prepping breakfast on busy weekdays, the weekends are a different story entirely. That’s the one time when I feel like I can slow down and take a deep breath. Everything is a little slower, so a lazy morning meal is a priority.

I can’t think of anything easier to prepare for a weekend morning meal or brunch than a breakfast bake recipe.

It has everything you could ever want to start your day with. There’s toasted golden cubes of sourdough bread, crispy savory bacon, vegetables, and perfectly cooked eggs.

I know that a lot of morning bake recipes out there start with an egg base, like our chile relleno breakfast casserole. but this one is different because it has a bread base. Don’t get me wrong, you still get the egg element in here. But the bread serves a starring role.

Despite filling the base of the pan with just bread and veggies, the casserole is incredibly moist, thanks to the savory chicken stock and all that cheese.

It’s ooey-gooey, and filled with so many flavors and textures. Instead of mixing in the eggs, they’re baked right on top. Each slice that you serve comes with a bit of that tasty bread casserole, plus a whole egg that’s ready to enjoy, without having to dirty a single skillet.

This breakfast bake is the ideal dish for entertaining because you can prepare this casserole the night before if you want to. Then all you have to do is bake, crack a few eggs, and finish it off in the oven.

It is super savory and easily feeds a crowd, plus it’s incredibly easy to make. Pull out this recipe, and every weekend morning when you serve it is sure to be that much more special.

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Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prep and Measure Ingredients

Cut 1 pound of sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes.

Melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

Thinly slice a large yellow onion. And don’t worry about those tears!

Dice enough tomatoes until you have 2 cups total. You can also use a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes. Make sure to drain the tomatoes well in a colander and pat them dry if you are using canned.

Chop the green parts only of four green onions.

Measure out all of the remaining ingredients as listed on the ingredients list.

Preheat your oven to 350˚F. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.

Step 2 – Toast Bread

Add the bread cubes and melted butter to a large bowl. Toss to coat the bread.

Spread the bread cubes on a large rimmed baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until golden brown.

Step 3 – Cook Bacon and Vegetables

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the bacon and cook until it’s crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes. If you don’t want to make a mess cooking bacon on the stovetop, you can cook it in the oven.

Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Discard the excess bacon fat from the pan, and reserve about 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet.

Roughly chop the bacon and set it aside.

Add the onion to the skillet with the bacon fat and saute it over medium heat until caramelized, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and cook until almost all of liquid has evaporated, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Step 4 – Assemble

Add the vegetable mixture, toasted bread cubes, bacon, shredded cheese, green onion, chicken stock, and salt to a large bowl. Stir until everything is incorporated.

Spread the mixture in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and cover it with foil.

At this point, rather than proceeding right away to the following steps, you can also place the dish in the refrigerator and then bake it in the morning.

Want to add more greens in your breakfast? Here’s an idea: use the wilted kale and leek mixture from our kale and eggs recipe and incorporate it in this step!

Step 5 – Bake

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the top is crispy and golden.

Step 6 – Add Eggs and Bake Again

Remove the baking dish from the oven. Use the back of a ladle to press 6 indentations into the bread mixture. Try to space these evenly since each one will contain an egg, and make each one deep enough to accommodate a large egg.

Next, you’re going to crack one egg into each indentation. To avoid getting eggshell in the casserole, I like to crack each egg into a small cup or bowl before adding it to the pan.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the eggs are set but the yolks are still runny. Remove from the oven. Slice and serve immediately.