I love the idea of using a slow cooker for breakfast. Because then you wake up to something smelling nice, and you did all the work the night before, so you don't have to put too much thought into it.
Don't lose this article. Enter your email below, and I'll send it to you right now. Plus a little encouragement and inspiration from me, straight to your inbox.
Quick Reference Guide
This is a great quick reference guide if you wanna just scroll through and figure out what you want. I think it might be even more helpful if you were able to make this, if it were sorted into sweet and savory. So somebody may have all of the savory first and then all of the sweet after, or something like that.
Five simple dinners. One grocery list.
No recipe hunting, no messy shopping notes, no complicated chef projects. Just family dinners that fit real weeks.
It might be easier to find what you're looking for.
| Recipe Name | Flavor Profile | Estimated Cook Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Classic Sausage and Hash Brown Egg Bake | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 2. Overnight Cinnamon Roll French Toast | Sweet | 2.5 hours (Low) |
| 3. Bacon and Cheddar Tater Tot Casserole | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 4. Apple Pie Oatmeal Casserole | Sweet | 6 hours (Low) |
| 5. Ham and Swiss Croissant Strata | Savory | 3 hours (Low) |
| 6. Denver Omelet Slow Cooker Casserole | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 7. Blueberry Muffin Bread Pudding | Sweet | 3 hours (Low) |
| 8. Spicy Chorizo and Pepper Jack Egg Bake | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 9. Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole | Sweet | 4 hours (Low) |
| 10. Spinach, Feta, and Sun-Dried Tomato Strata | Savory | 3.5 hours (Low) |
| 11. Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Casserole | Savory | 3 hours (Low) |
| 12. Peaches and Cream French Toast | Sweet | 3 hours (Low) |
| 13. Veggie-Loaded Farmer’s Market Egg Bake | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 14. Corned Beef Hash and Eggs Casserole | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 15. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal | Sweet | 5 hours (Low) |
| 16. Tex-Mex Black Bean and Salsa Egg Casserole | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 17. Everything Bagel and Cream Cheese Strata | Savory | 3.5 hours (Low) |
| 18. Cranberry Orange French Toast Bake | Sweet | 3 hours (Low) |
| 19. Smoked Sausage and Gouda Potato Bake | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 20. Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Casserole | Sweet | 6 hours (Low) |
| 21. Mushroom and Gruyere Bread Pudding | Savory | 3.5 hours (Low) |
| 22. Cherry Almond French Toast Casserole | Sweet | 3 hours (Low) |
| 23. Loaded Baked Potato Breakfast Casserole | Savory | 4 hours (Low) |
| 24. Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Bake | Sweet | 3 hours (Low) |
| 25. Three-Meat Meatlover’s Breakfast Casserole | Savory | 4.5 hours (Low) |
1. Classic Sausage and Hash Brown Egg Bake
You could also use ham or a different kind of cheese. I always like to throw in herbs, so even if you have just some dried oregano or some sort of dried herb, it would be a great addition to this. And you could probably add, if you wanted to, some onion or garlic; that would also be nice.
Ingredients
Method
- Grease your slow cooker insert well. Layer half the hash browns, half the sausage, and half the cheese. Repeat the layers.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the layers in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until the eggs are completely set in the center.
Crock-Pot 7-Quart Manual Slow Cooker
Check Price2. Overnight Cinnamon Roll French Toast
I think you could do a similar thing with not the cinnamon rolls but just regular biscuits, and then it could be a savory option with cheese and a meat of some sort. Also, if you wanna add a little bit of bourbon or something to the custard that you're pouring over the cinnamon roll pieces, I think that'll add a nice flavor.
Ingredients
Method
- Cut each unbaked cinnamon roll into quarters. Place the pieces into a greased slow cooker. Set the icing packets aside.
- Whisk the eggs, cream, vanilla, and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour over the cinnamon roll pieces and stir gently to coat.
- Cook on low for 2.5 hours. Drizzle the reserved icing over the top right before serving.
3. Bacon and Cheddar Tater Tot Casserole
I think you could also just do this with cut-up hash browns or maybe straight frozen potatoes. And maybe you wanna throw in some spinach or some bell pepper. You could also add; I like to add onion powder to a lot of things.
I think that it's an underutilized item, and it's easy to have around, and it goes well with a lot of things.
Ingredients
Method
- Spray the slow cooker with nonstick spray. Layer the tater tots, chopped bacon, and cheddar cheese.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and garlic powder together. Pour the mixture over the tots.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until the eggs are firm.
4. Apple Pie Oatmeal Casserole
I love steel-cut oats. I think they're fantastic, and you don't see them that much in the US, but they're just great, and finding out that cooking them in a crockpot is pretty smart cause otherwise it can take a while.
You can obviously do a completely different fruit instead of the apples, so you could do peaches. You could probably throw in some dried fruit of some sort. Almonds would be nice in here too.
Cardamom, cardamom and peaches, and cinnamon would be great.
Ingredients
Method
- Add the oats, water, milk, diced apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a greased slow cooker.
- Stir well to combine all ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir well before serving.
5. Ham and Swiss Croissant Strata
I think croissants are fantastic, but they can be quite rich, especially if you've got all this other heavy stuff in here. Maybe if you did a couple of croissants and then also some white bread to kind of make it a little lighter, it's still gonna be quite heavy, but then you can add some shallots or some garlic to this. Would be really nice.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the torn croissants into a greased slow cooker. Top with the diced ham and shredded Swiss cheese.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and Dijon mustard until smooth. Pour evenly over the croissants.
- Cook on low for 3 hours until the eggs are set and the top is slightly puffed.
6. Denver Omelet Slow Cooker Casserole
This would also be pretty good with sausage or by adding some mozzarella to it. A nice whole-grain mustard would be nice to serve alongside it. The photo has an egg cooked on top of it, so you could probably add an egg on top of it at the end if you want to.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the hash browns, ham, bell pepper, onion, and cheese in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together, then pour over the hash brown mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until the center is set.
7. Blueberry Muffin Bread Pudding
This would really work with any type of muffin. And probably the best kind would be muffins that are a little old, but any kind of muffin would be great. I think an apple cinnamon muffin or those morning glory muffins that have carrots and lots of different kinds of nuts and things would also be nice.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the cubed muffins and cream cheese pieces into a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and maple syrup together. Pour over the muffins.
- Cook on low for 3 hours. Serve warm with extra syrup if desired.
8. Spicy Chorizo and Pepper Jack Egg Bake
Some chorizo is super spicy, so try a little bit of your chorizo before you add it to this recipe to make sure that you're not making it impossible to eat, because some of it is pretty mild and some of it is really hardcore. And it also depends on how much spicier you want it to be and the people you're cooking for.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the hash browns, cooked chorizo, green chiles, and pepper jack cheese in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour over the chorizo mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until the eggs are fully cooked.
9. Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
This looks delicious. I would want to top it with maybe some hot honey, so just heat some honey on the stove with a little bit of chili flake and a lot of salt, because this is so rich and sweet, and I think a nice counterpart would be something salty and spicy. But also, if you're heating honey on the stove, obviously you want to keep a close eye on it because it can turn into a giant mess.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the diced sweet potatoes and chopped pecans in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon together. Pour over the sweet potatoes.
- Cook on low for 4 hours until the sweet potatoes are tender and the eggs are set.
10. Spinach, Feta, and Sun-Dried Tomato Strata
This looks great. You could add some canned roasted red peppers to this, maybe some shallots. Or try a different cheese, or maybe put some shredded cheese on top that can get nice and melt.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the bread cubes, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour evenly over the bread mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 3.5 hours until the eggs are firm.
11. Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Casserole
I think you could do this with everything minus the gravy and then just top it with the gravy when it comes out of the slow cooker.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the biscuit quarters in the bottom of a greased slow cooker. Top with the cooked sausage.
- Whisk the eggs and pour them over the sausage. Pour the prepared gravy evenly over the top.
- Cook on low for 3 hours. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
12. Peaches and Cream French Toast
I think this recipe would be great with some cardamom, or just a couple of crushed pods, maybe if you have the peaches. Of course, you could do this with any other kind of fruit. I think you could also do it with a dried fruit; I'm envisioning dried sweet cherries would be nice with cinnamon.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the bread cubes, chopped peaches, and cream cheese cubes in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and brown sugar together. Pour over the bread mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours until the liquid is absorbed and the eggs are set.
13. Veggie-Loaded Farmer’s Market Egg Bake
Any vegetables that you get at any place, and some onion in there, cause this is basically like a frittata in a crockpot. And I find that some sort of onion is always really nice in that, and you can just slice whatever onion you have around, and it'll add a nice flavor.
Don't lose this article. Enter your email below, and I'll send it to you right now. Plus a little encouragement and inspiration from me, straight to your inbox.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, and mozzarella in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and Italian seasoning together. Pour over the vegetables.
- Cook on low for 4 hours until the eggs are completely set.
14. Corned Beef Hash and Eggs Casserole
Corned beef hash is great. It is very salty, so I would just make sure to taste it before you put it all into the pot, and probably don't add any extra salt until you have a handle on how salty it is. I think you could also throw in some tater tots or some potato something.
That would be great.
Ingredients
Method
- Spread the corned beef hash evenly across the bottom of a greased slow cooker. Top with Swiss cheese.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour over the hash.
- Cook on low for 4 hours. Garnish with green onions before serving.
15. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal
This looks fantastic. I love bananas and anything. You could also do maybe throw some peanut butter on top when you are serving it.
I think banana and peanut butter are a really good combination, or you can get those peanut butter chips.
Ingredients
Method
- Combine the oats, water, milk, mashed bananas, and vanilla in a greased slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 5 hours.
- Stir well, then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top right before serving so they melt slightly.
16. Tex-Mex Black Bean and Salsa Egg Casserole
I would be concerned that the black beans might discolor this. I guess it probably doesn't matter, but black beans tend to put a lot of weird color into whatever they're next to, and you're soaking it in egg. You could get around that by using kidney beans, and it would have the same kind of flavor.
Cilantro would be a great garnish for this.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the black beans, salsa, corn, and cheese in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour over the bean mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until the eggs are firm.
17. Everything Bagel and Cream Cheese Strata
This would be fun to serve with some smoked salmon on the side and maybe some fresh dill. I wouldn't put the smoked salmon in the slow cooker, though, cause that would smell really bad.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the bagel pieces, cream cheese cubes, and bacon bits into a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour over the bagel mixture, pressing down slightly so the bread absorbs the liquid.
- Cook on low for 3.5 hours until the eggs are set.
18. Cranberry Orange French Toast Bake
This one, I would just throw a whole cinnamon stick into it or something. It definitely needs cinnamon, maybe some black pepper, too. And if you had a little salad on the side, that would be great.
I have served a really heavy French bread French toast kind of dish with shaved fennel and grapefruit on the side.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the bread cubes, dried cranberries, and orange zest in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and maple syrup together. Pour over the bread.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours until the liquid is absorbed.
19. Smoked Sausage and Gouda Potato Bake
If you're anything like me and want to save a bit of time, I think you can get away with just ripping the hash browns with your hands. You don't need to get that granular with it. But yeah, smoked sausage would be good.
You could use some chorizo in here. Manchego would be nice. Some dry herbs would also work a treat.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the hash browns, sliced smoked sausage, and Gouda cheese in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour over the potato mixture.
- Cook on low for 4 hours until the eggs are set and the potatoes are tender.
20. Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Casserole
I think some vanilla extract would be helpful here, and you could serve it with some whipped cream or some sort of, I don't know, maybe a mascarpone. I'm just sensing it needs a cream of some sort, or maybe just whipped cream cheese.
Ingredients
Method
- Combine the oats, water, milk, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a greased slow cooker.
- Stir well until the pumpkin is fully incorporated.
- Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir well before serving.
21. Mushroom and Gruyere Bread Pudding
If you wanna skip having to sauté the mushrooms, you can just toss them in a little oil and throw them in the oven. And the umami flavor will come out, since you're making this in a crockpot anyway. You're not looking for a really hard sear, but fresh thyme leaves for sure.
You could probably do a little squeeze of lemon when it comes out of the crockpot. Or you could throw in a little bit of lemon zest. Also, some greens would be nice, like spinach.
Ingredients
Method
- Place the bread cubes, sautéed mushrooms, and Gruyere cheese in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and thyme together. Pour over the bread mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 3.5 hours until the eggs are firm.
22. Cherry Almond French Toast Casserole
I would watch the cherry pie filling because it can be super sweet, so taste it before you add the whole can to it. But yes to almond extract. I would put some cinnamon or some other warm spice; maybe nutmeg or even allspice would actually be quite nice here.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the bread cubes and cherry pie filling in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and almond extract together. Pour over the bread and cherries.
- Top with sliced almonds. Cook on low for 3 hours.
23. Loaded Baked Potato Breakfast Casserole
I would love to see it with some blue cheese, because you got the bacon. That would be what I would suggest. Maybe throw some garlic on top in there.
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, mix the hash browns, sour cream, bacon, and half of the cheddar cheese. Spread into a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and pour them over the potato mixture.
- Cook on low for 4 hours. Top with the remaining cheese and green onions right before serving.
24. Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Bake
This one could use either some almond extract or some vanilla extract, and then I think when it comes out of the crockpot, you could get away with putting some balsamic reduction on top to serve, or even some fresh cracked black pepper.
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the bread cubes, frozen berries, and cream cheese cubes in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and maple syrup together. Pour over the bread mixture.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours until the liquid is absorbed.
25. Three-Meat Meatlover’s Breakfast Casserole
I think this one would really be helped out with a ton of garlic. Maybe a mix of cheeses would be great. Some bell pepper would be nice, like a green bell pepper, because you've got all of these meats in here.
Cherry tomatoes would be nice.
You could put a lot of other things in here and make it a little less heavy or serve it with a little breakfast salad on the side. I know that not everybody eats salad for breakfast, but I think that I love a breakfast salad
Ingredients
Method
- Layer the hash browns, bacon, sausage, ham, and cheddar cheese in a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Pour evenly over the meat and potato layers.
- Cover and cook on low for 4.5 hours until the eggs are completely set in the middle.
