Recipe for egg casserole with Italian cheeses, sun-dried tomato and fresh herbs
A bag of beautiful sun-dried tomatoes, a gift from my friend Mary, inspired several dishes in my kitchen recently, including this baked egg casserole with Italian cheeses and fresh herbs from my garden. Egg casseroles make ideal breakfast, brunch or light supper entrées. You can whip them up in minutes, they serve a lot of people, and they adapt to almost any flavor profile, so you can raid the pantry or use up leftover chicken, pasta or cooked vegetables. Add green chiles and cumin, for a Mexican flair, or soy sauce and scallions, to put an egg foo yung spin on this recipe. I love the classic combination of tomato with basil and thyme, both of which are still prolific in my herb garden.
Egg casserole with Italian cheeses, sun-dried tomato and fresh herbs
From the pantry, you'll need: eggs, onion, fresh herbs, grated cheese, black pepper, cooking spray.
Serves 6-8.
Ingredients
10 large eggs
2 Tbsp half-and-half or milk
3 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp minced onion
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
8 oz grated mixed Italian cheeses, your favorite mix of mozzarella, provolone, asiago, etc. (I use Weight Watchers low-fat four-cheese Italian blend)
Cooking spray
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl or 8-quart glass mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and half-and-half until well combined. Stir in the tomatoes, onion, basil, thyme, black pepper and cheese.
Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray, and pour in the egg mixture. Place the dish in the oven, and bake at 375F for 35 minutes.
Let cool for a few minutes, and serve at room temperature. Or, let cool completely and refrigerate for up to 3 days; when you're ready to serve, reheat in a low (300°F) oven or microwave.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Corn, green chile, egg and cheese casserole
Egg and cheese casserole with chayote squash and green chiles
Kale, mushroom and caramelized onion breakfast casserole
Baked egg with bacon, spinach and mushrooms
Egg and cheese casserole with leeks, red pepper and bacon
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Egg white breakfast casserole with sausage, spinach and tomatoes, from Andrea Meyers
Kale and feta breakfast casserole, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Green chile egg bake, from Gluten-free Goddess
Sausage, artichoke and goat cheese egg bake, from The Kitchn
Jalapeño and cheese breakfast casserole, from Homesick Texan








Posted by: Lana | September 13, 2012 at 02:02 AM
This is doable even on a school morning! My girls are ravenous at breakfast and I am always on the lookout for something hearty and different. I usually have all of the ingredients at hand - as I said before, I am a pantry-hoarder, thanks to you (and I cannot be happier:)
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | September 13, 2012 at 10:11 AM
Lana, that's a great idea. You could even bake this the night before (or at the beginning of the week), and reheat at breakfast time.
Posted by: Kalyn | September 13, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Love the sound of this. I think the sun-dried tomatoes make it sound like a good dinner, but I'd eat it any time of day.
Posted by: kellypea | September 13, 2012 at 12:53 PM
YUM, Lydia! I should make this for the hubster and freeze pieces of it for him to heat up while I'm away. Sounds delicious :)
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | September 13, 2012 at 01:42 PM
Kalyn, I'm an anytime egg casserole eater! I actually make this for supper, and enjoy the leftovers for breakfast.
Kellypea, he's a lucky guy. I haven't tried freezing this (because it never lasts that long), but I refrigerate and portion it out during the week.
Posted by: Jeanette | September 13, 2012 at 09:32 PM
So nice of your friend to share her sundried tomatoes with you - a nice addition to this versatile egg casserole recipe.
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | September 13, 2012 at 09:41 PM
Jeanette, what I love about using the sun-dried tomatoes is that they don't add extra liquid to the casserole they way fresh tomatoes would do. Such great texture, too.
Posted by: carol,boston @ cabinetstew | September 14, 2012 at 08:18 AM
YUM!!! What about layering leftover bread, croutons etc on the bottom first (maybe increasing the the liquid a tad) to create a "breakfast Bruschetta" that you can eat with your hands on a busy morning!
Posted by: pam | September 14, 2012 at 09:57 AM
I love egg casseroles for dinner with a salad and a chunk of bread!
Posted by: Jamie | September 14, 2012 at 01:10 PM
You've just made the omelet that much easier! And I love sun-dried tomatoes and they pair perfectly with cheese.
Posted by: Kristi Rimkus | September 14, 2012 at 03:34 PM
Fantastic - I love egg dishes and you've kicked it up by adding fresh basil.
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | September 14, 2012 at 04:03 PM
Carol, that's an interesting idea. Not as low-carb, but a kind of built-in bruschetta.
Pam, same here. I make them all the time.
Jamie, an omelet with no flipping! Put this recipe on your list for your new kitchen.
Kristi, the fresh basil is an absolute treat, and it really gives this dish a special flavor.