This quick & easy Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole is made with 5 simple real food ingredients. Perfect for weekends and holidays for the whole family! Try serving alongside Overnight Pumpkin French Toast.
I absolutely LOVE breakfast casseroles.
The Sweet Potato Apple Bake and Overnight Coffee Cake are two of my family’s favorites, and I love that they can be prepped ahead of time and baked quickly in the morning. Breakfast has never been so easy, so fast, and so delicious!
The only thing that can make the breakfast casserole any better, is by making it in the Instant Pot. And wouldn’t you know, you can have that same delicious breakfast on the table in under 30 minutes!
Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole
We’re using FIVE main ingredients for this Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole recipe:
- Shredded potatoes. I used frozen shredded hash browns to save time, but also because there was only one ingredient listed: potatoes! They’re not the cheapest option, so if you’re really pinching pennies, you’re best to shred a couple whole potatoes yourself. You can use the thick hole option on a cheese grater or a food processor to make the job a little quicker.
- Sausage (or ground beef or ground pork). I’m including sausage seasoning in the recipe below, in case you don’t have actual “sausage” in your freezer. I know that I never do! I always buy plain ground beef or plain ground pork and then season it myself!
- Eggs
- Milk. I used almond milk, but you can use cow’s milk or even coconut milk.
- Cheese. I tested this with both cheddar and Colby jack. Both were delicious!
How to Make Instant Pot Hash Brown Casserole
Step One: Sauté the Sausage
- Turn on the pressure cooker to “sauté” and let it heat up.
- Add the ground meat (and seasonings, if used) and break it up using a wooden spoon. Brown the meat until it’s cooked through.
- Remove the sausage from the Instant Pot, add 1 cup of water (add 1 ½ cups of water if you’re using an 8 quart Instant Pot) and scrape up any browned bit on the bottom of the pot so you don’t get a burn notice.
- Add the trivet to the pressure cooker.
Step Two: Make the Egg Mixture
- Measure milk into a large Pyrex measuring bowl.
- Add the eggs, salt and pepper and mix well.
Step Three: Layer the Breakfast Casserole
- Lightly spray an oven-safe round 7” x 4” baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with thawed hash browns. Press down firmly to create a solid “crust” layer.
- Sprinkle the cooked and crumbled sausage over the hash browns.
- Pour the eggs over the sausage and hash browns.
- Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese.
Step Four: Cook the Breakfast Casserole
- Tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Place the casserole on the trivet, inside the pressure cooker.
- Press the “manual” button and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally.
A Few Tips on Instant Pot Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- This recipe works for both a 6 quart Instant Pot and an 8 quart Instant Pot.
- You WILL need a 7” x 4” metal baking dish, preferably a round one like this one.
- You can substitute tater tots for the shredded potatoes! Create one layer of FROZEN tater tots before adding the sausage layer. Pay attention to the ingredients of tater tots though – many packages have unnecessary ingredients.
- You can use either sausage (ground and pre-seasoned), or ground beef OR ground pork and the optional sausage seasoning in the recipe below. If you’re using sausage, you won’t need the sausage seasoning.
- Turkey or chicken breakfast sausage are also good options! If you start with plain ground turkey or ground chicken, use the sausage seasoning in the recipe below.
- You can make this recipe even faster by batch cooking the sausage ahead of time. Simply cook a full pound (or more) of ground meat and measure out 2 cups when you want to make this recipe!
- I’ve tested this recipe with cheddar cheese and Colby jack cheese. Both were really good! Similarly, Monterey jack and pepper jack would also work well.
More Breakfast Recipes
- Perfect Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola
- Toasted Coconut and Banana Sourdough Pancakes
- Cranberry Orange Scones
- The Best and Easiest Tex-Mex Migas
Two Week Sample
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This quick & easy Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole recipe is made with 5 simple real food ingredients. Perfect for weekends or holidays.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minute
- Yield: 4–6 Servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 ½ cups shredded potatoes (about half of a 26oz frozen bag, thawed)
- ½ lb ground sausage (about 2 cups)**
- 6 eggs
- ½ cup milk (any type)
- 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby jack, Monterey jack, etc.)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- SAUSAGE SEASONING (OPTIONAL, IF USING PLAIN GROUND MEAT)
- 1 ½ tsp ground fennel (or fennel seeds)
- 1 tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne
Instructions
- Turn on the pressure cooker to “sauté” and add the ground sausage (or the ground meat + sausage seasonings). Break the meat up with a wooden spoon and cook until the meat is brown and no longer raw.
- Remove the sausage from the Instant Pot, add 1 cup of water (1 ½ cups for an 8 quart Instant Pot) and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the trivet to the pressure cooker.
- Measure the milk and eggs into a large Pyrex measuring bowl and whisk together well. Add the salt and pepper and whisk again to combine.
- Lightly spray an oven-safe round 7” x 4” baking dish with cooking spray and spread the hash browns evenly over the bottom of the pan. Press down to create a solid “crust” layer.
- Sprinkle the cooked sausage over the hash browns, and pour the egg mixture over the sausage. Sprinkle the top with cheese.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and carefully place it inside the Instant Pot, on top of the trivet. Set the pressure to HIGH and cook for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally.
- Note: The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, 25 minutes to cook, and about 5 minutes for the pressure to release.
- Uncover the baking dish and enjoy your hot breakfast casserole!
Notes
** You can substitute ground sausage for any other ground meat. Beef, pork, turkey, chicken, bison and venison would all work great! Be sure to add the “sausage seasoning” to the Instant Pot when you cook the ground meet, otherwise your breakfast casserole will be bland.
As a bumbling meal preparer, I use my 8 qt Instapot often. As a widower, I am still learning and online simple recipes are my salvation. Thank You for sharing. This breakfast casserole was a little too bland for me, so to jazz it up I added 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, mushrooms, 1 clove garlic, and diced tomato. After cooking I added some more salt, pepper, and Texas Pete. I could not find a 7 by 4 baking dish but did find a 6 by 4. Since the 25 minutes left the finished product a bit runny, I might increase the cooking time to 30 minutes. I am also thinking about experimenting with cut spinach. I am not a fan of microwaves so I use a small steamer to reheat leftovers. Results are moist and at the right temperature.
Hi David,
You identified a great adaptation to cook it a little longer since the pan is smaller the amount is thicker. Let us know how it goes!