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by Jessica December 13, 2021
This overnight breakfast bake is made with toasted, buttery croissants, spinach, mushrooms, eggs and freshly gruyere cheese. It’s prepped the day before and enjoyed the next morning!
This breakfast will make your Christmas morning magical.
I promise!
It’s toasty and buttery and satisfying and one of the most delicious things you will EVER eat.
See, this croissant bake was one of the great things to come out of 2020 for us.
I discovered this about a week before Christmas. We get speciality sourdough and bread products through a local baker, and he did croissants for Christmas! I ordered them with this in mind knowing that we probably wouldn’t eat the croissants otherwise.
Oh.My.GOSH.
This overnight bake is not only the best I’ve ever tried, it’s the only one I’ve ever truly LOVED.
I’ve made stratas before and those are good. I’ve tried some of those farmer breakfast casseroles. Meh. I’ve done hash brown things. Eh.
THIS is the best overnight breakfast bake and the only one you really need.
Now here’s the deal. It’s super decadent. Very rich. It’s filling and hearty. A little bit goes a long way, and you definitely want to make this for a crowd. Even better if it’s a special occasion or a holiday, but of course it doesn’t have to be.
This is out of this world.
I realize that I sound like an exaggerating crazy dramatic person (which I am) but it is super true.
The original recipe is from the NY times. That one calls for sausage, and that’s how I made it last year for Christmas – completely as written. The thing is that I don’t love sausage at all. It’s not the sausage as much as the fennel seeds, but I rarely cook with sausage. In fact, so many of you ask all the time where all my recipes with sausage can be found!
I don’t love it so I don’t have many recipes with it.
Eddie likes it though, so I tried the recipe as is.
Even with the sausage, I still thought the croissant bake was outstanding. I mostly ate around the sausage though?. So after making it a few more times and putting a few twists on it, I did away with the sausage.
I KNOW.
This probably sounds ridiculous to some of you and I assure you that you can add the sausage in. But for me? I love this with straight up vegetables.
2009 me is seriously freaking out over 2021 me.
YEP.
I used a mix of onions, mushrooms, spinach and garlic to bring this to life. A classic veggie combo. These taste SO delicious against the crispy croissants, melty gruyere cheese, eggs and herbs. So freaking good.
Overnight croissant bake secrets!
- Toasting the croissants is KEY. This brings so many delicious caramelized flavor bits to the surface and adds texture to the dish. Don’t skip this part! It only takes a few minutes.
- Yes yes yes: this much egg, milk and cheese is really necessary here. It’s a rich, decadent breakfast bake that tastes best this way.
- You can make this a clean-out-the-fridge dish for sure. Add almost anything you want, including sausage or bacon, more greens or vegetables, different cheeses and spices and it will work!
- Prepping this overnight is the best way to make it. The original recipe noted as long as it was refrigerated for 4 to 6 hours it would be fine. I personally do not think that is the case! Yes, it’s FINE, I guess. But it’s not great. This tastes best when it sits overnight for at least 8 hours or even a bit longer. I’m telling you, it’s the best. I’ve made it both ways multiple times.
Now the only downside? This isn’t the prettiest thing to photograph so you may not grasp the deliciousness of it from the photos. JUST TRUST ME though.
It’s buttery, crunchy, savory, cheese and satisfying. The best!
Overnight Breakfast Bake
Overnight Croissant Breakfast Bake
Yield: 8 people
Prep Time: 45 minutes mins
Cook Time: 45 minutes mins
Fridge Time: 8 hours hrs
Total Time: 9 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
This overnight breakfast bake is made with toasted, buttery croissants, spinach, mushrooms, eggs and freshly gruyere cheese. It's prepped the day before and enjoyed the next morning!
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4.98 from 163 votes
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Ingredients
- 5 to 7 large croissants, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
- kosher salt and pepper
- 8 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces gruyere cheese, freshly grated
- fresh chopped parsley, for topping
- parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Place the croissants cut-side up on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until the croissants are toasty. Remove and let them cool slightly, then chop or tear them into pieces.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for another 5, until the mushrooms are plump and juicy. Stir in the spinach until it wilts. Sprinkle everything with a big pinch of salt and pepper and stir.
Brush a 9x13 baking dish with melted butter. Combine the croissant pieces and the spinach/mushroom mixture together in the dish and toss well, until everything is combined.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the grated cheese. I also like to stir in a handful of fresh chopped herbs, like parsley and chives, but it’s up to you! Place the rest of the cheese in a bag stored in the fridge.
Pour the egg mixture over top of the croissant mixture in the baking dish. Press any of the croissants into the egg liquid, making sure they are covered and absorbed the eggs.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dish 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off.
Remove the plastic wrap. Top with remaining grated cheese. Bake the dish uncovered for 45 minutes. Top with extra parmesan and a sprinkle of parsley before serving. Serve!
Notes
slightly adapted from ny times
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Author: How Sweet Eats
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posted in: Breakfast, Christmas, Recipes, Vegetarian 27 comments
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Leave a Reply
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Audrey G. — Reply
This looks so delish! I have been looking for a Christmas breakfast that everyone will eat! If you were going to add bacon or sausage would you cook it and add it with the vegetable mix? Thanks so much!
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Jessica — Reply
yes! what i would do is cook it first in the pan. then i’d use the residual fat from the sausage or bacon to cook the vegetables! then toss it all with the croissants.
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James Tuozzo — Reply
Jessica,
I’ve been on your E Mail list for for a few years and enjoy your take on recipes. I make a Christmas overnight recipe from Diana Yen that is somewhat the same but uses bacon! Ingredients are eggs, milk, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, bacon, red bell pepper, ciabatta ,cheddar and scallions. The bacon is cooked 3/4 done first then finished with the peppers until crispy.See AlsoButtermilk Syrup Recipe -
T — Reply
This looks SOOOOOO good, gonna make it for my extended family while they’re in town!! Any thoughts on swapping out half n half for the cream and milk combo? I always have that in my fridge for my morning coffee, but only buy cream for recipes.
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Jessica — Reply
half and half is cream + milk, so as long as you use the same amount, you should be good!
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Amy — Reply
This looks amazing! I’m trying to work ahead where I can on Xmas dishes. Could I freeze this, thaw overnight, and bake?
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Rose — Reply
There was a previous comment about substituting half-and-half and you said yes as long as we use the same amount. So would that be 3 1/2 cups of half-and-half? Thanks 🎄
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Carly — Reply
This looks amazing! How much sausage would you use if it was added in? 16oz maybe?
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Harper — Reply
Fennel is the worst. I have been fighting people over it for years.
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Amy — Reply
I second that!
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Tracy — Reply
Agree!!!
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Antosh jaskowiak — Reply
Muy buena la receta.!!!!!!!
Facil y muy sencilla… -
Barb — Reply
Can this be made ahead and frozen, and then baked later
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Jessica — Reply
i have never tried to freeze and egg dish before baking. i do not think it would work as well though?
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Debby — Reply
Was just reading the comments from the original NYT recipe. Someone stated, “Did a trial run before I had a house full of guests. Cut the room temp left overs into individual portions wrapped and froze. A month later unwrapped a frozen portion heated at 350° F. For 15 min. Still delicious!” So even if you bake first, sounds like it still turns out great!
There are only two of us (one being vegetarian) so I’m going to try pairing the recipe down for 8×8.
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Natalie S. — Reply
This looks delicious, but my daughter has celiac so croissants aren’t an option. Any thoughts on the best type of gluten free bread to use? I realize it probably won’t taste quite as good. 😢 Thanks!
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Cissy Allen — Reply
i toasted the croissants in my toaster. Used a bit of minced onion and no garlic. Layered in two 8x 10 dishes and baked 35 min.
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Sandrah — Reply
Made this for Christmas morning/ brunch. A major hit, loved by everyone.Thank you!.
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Me — Reply
Looks and smells delicious l!
Mine came out watery, what did I do wrong? I followed the recipe 🤷🏻♀️
I returned to oven at higher temp. -
Mary — Reply
I made this for Christmas morning- outstanding! Everyone loved it. Another great recipe- thanks Jessica!
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C1crawfish — Reply
I do a breakfast casserole for my family for Christmas morning each year, so I’ve tried a LOT of recipes. As soon as we wake up, I take the casserole out and put it on the counter while the oven preheats. Then I bake it as we open presents, and midway through presents, everyone’s ready for whatever is delicious-smelling from the kitchen. This is my new go-to recipe, and there will be no more testing new recipes for me. As a side note, I added a pound of cooked sausage (loose, not patties) to the casserole before baking, and since my local store (on Christmas Eve) was out of Gruyere, I substituted a cheddar/Monterrey mix, with fresh parmesan on top–which was fantastic. With a little better planning, the addition of Gruyere next year as the recipe calls for will be amazing. Make this your Christmas morning tradition, as well…you won’t regret it.
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Ashley — Reply
We really enjoyed this! Baked exactly 45 minutes. I used costco croissants, added crumbled sausage, and extra herby seasonings. I would definitely make it again!
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Mo — Reply
This recipe is so good! I added chorizo, but otherwise followed the recipe fully–yum. Will definitely make this again
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Heather Bohen — Reply
Have made this several times for the holidays and always get raves…sometimes add crumbled bacon. Always delicious!
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Michele — Reply
The flavor of this was very good, but I think I would have preferred a sturdier bread instead of the croissants. The edges got super crispy, but the texture of the middle was too soft for our tastes.
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Jill — Reply
Flavors and concept are great. I did have trouble, as well. Here’s my two cents, croissants are very airy and have plenty of fat already, so they can’t absorb that much liquid. I’d keep the eggs or maybe increase? At least halve the liquid and increase cook time if needed. I halved the recipe and it still baked about an hour.
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Nikki — Reply
I made this for my bookclub brunch this past weekend, and it turned out absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it! Very easy to prepare the day ahead, which is nice. The only change I would make is that it took waaay longer to bake than the recipe says. I had to cook mine for over an hour and a half for the egg in the middle to set.
