Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake
Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

I don’t understand people who don’t like breakfast. I mean, I get that some folks don’t like to eat when they first get upโ€”I much prefer a cup of coffee (with my dairy-free cashew coffee creamer, please and thank you) before I dig into foodโ€”but not liking breakfast food at all? Who are you and what horrific childhood toast incident did you have to make you this way?

Breakfast is my jam. So much so, I have a whole flock of chickens roaming around my backyard so I can have a constant supply of fresh eggs. When we first got our flockโ€”we have eight hensโ€”I thought there was NO WAY we’d go through that many eggs. Hens lay an average of about six eggs a week each in the warm months, and I thought we’d be drowning in eggs. Turns out, we are egg-eating champions. We never really run low (except in the middle of winter) but we also never have a surplus. Apparently, eight hens is the perfect amount of eggs for our little family of three (plus sharing with my parents).

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Part of the reason we do the egg thing so well is because, even though I have a raging sweet tooth, I much prefer to stick to the savory side of breakfast. I won’t turn down a stack of pancakes, but if I had my choice? Savory, all the way, baby.

Ten years ago, when I first told my then boyfriend/now husband that I didn’t really like donuts (so not my thing), I think he actually contemplated breaking up with me for a brief second. Now, I’ve converted him to the savory side of breakfastโ€”although I occasionally pick up a fresh maple donut for him from the local donut shop. Because love and all that mushy stuff.

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

I think what I like so much about savory breakfast is the option to add some veggies to my morning meal. I’m not sure pancakes with a side of spinach will ever be a thing, but serving up a savory egg dish packed full of healthy veggies? Totally acceptable.

If you’ve never done a breakfast casserole like this one here, it’s such an easy way to pack in all kinds of flavor and nutrition into your morning meal. These casseroles can be made ahead of time and then just baked off in the morningโ€”which makes them perfect for serving to houseguests. I have a reputation for serving biscuits and gravy to my house guestsโ€”and I’m a total biscuits and gravy snob, so everything has to be made from scratch and fresh, which means I spend most of my morning in the kitchen instead of hanging out with my houseguests. If I could, I’d switch in a heartbeat to this breakfast bake (although, honestly, I think people might revoltโ€”my biscuits and gravy are kinda a thing).

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Most breakfast bake recipes you’ll see out there use white bread as the base (similar to your Thanksgiving dressingโ€”the bread soaks up all the flavor), but I’m all about inserting nutrition where I can, and this is one case where I definitely can. I used Dave’s Killer Bread White Bread Done Right, which is, quite honestly, my favorite bread on the planet. It is soft, fluffy, and light like white bread, but it’s packed with whole ancient grains like quinoa, rye, barley, and spelt. It has nothing artificial in it. Honestly, it seems like it’s too good to be trueโ€”a whole grain, all natural bread that tastes like white breadโ€”but it isn’t.

White Bread Done Right is available all across North America! For a while there, I had to get my WBDR shipped directly to me from my awesome friends at Dave’s Killer Breadโ€”but they now sell it at my regular grocery store. Love, love, love. You can find a store near you using this handy dandy locator.

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Look at those flecks of red and green peppers up there! Can you imagine a more festive and tasty breakfast to serve on Christmas morning? You can probably get by serving six folks on a single batch of this (especially if you have it as part of a whole brunch spread), but it’s also easy to double or even triple the recipe. This baby is designed to feed the masses.

Enjoy!

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Combine your favorite omelet with your favorite breakfast casserole in this Denver Omelet Breakfast Bake. It can be made the night before for an easy houseguest breakfast!

Ingredients

  • Cooking spray
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup chopped ham
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 8 slices Dave's Killer Bread White Bread Done Right, cut into 1" chunks

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 13 x 9 casserole dish liberally with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
  3. In a very large mixing bowl, toss together the onion, green and red bell pepper, ham, cheddar cheese, and bread cubes.
  4. Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and stir to mix. Pour into the prepared baking pan and even out.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until the casserole begins to puff up a bit, the top is golden brown, and the middle feels set. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

I used whole cow's milk for this recipe, but any unsweetened milk will doโ€”almond, soy, etc. I'd avoid coconut milk because of the added sweet flavor.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 543Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 322mgSodium: 1151mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 33g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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20 Comments

  1. I made this as a dinner yesterday ๐Ÿ˜€
    Used a ciabatta bread, and we all liked it! Even the picky kids ate it ๐Ÿ˜€
    This is a great basic recipe, which can surely be used to clean the fridge ๐Ÿ˜‰ I added a handfull of corn kernels that I found in the fridge ๐Ÿ˜€
    Definitely a keeper!

  2. I just had to tell you that this is every bit as delicious and wonderful as your photos and instructions made it sound. It came together quickly, and baked up beautifully. We just moved and everything is chaos, but having this casserole to pull out and microwave for breakfast makes things feel a bit special and more manageable. Thank you!

  3. This (well, a version of this) is my family’s go-to Christmas breakfast. It gets assembled the night before (along with a fruit salad), spends the night in the fridge, and goes in the oven as soon as the kiddos emerge in the morning. By the time the stockings are open, breakfast is ready to go. Perfection. I can’t see this without thinking “Christmas!”, and the red and green peppers are just perfect.

  4. I remember chatting with Dave at the Seattle Vegfest years ago and all the ladies were milling around him like he was Justin Bieber or something :^D

    1. HA! That’s hilarious. I mean, he does make some awesome breadโ€”but I’m not quite sure that should make the guy a celebrity. ๐Ÿ˜›

  5. This recipe looks awesome, but I’m mostly just checking in to show support for savory breakfasts. I’ll take eggs over french toast any day!

  6. Have you shared these famous biscuits & gravy? Hubby is from the deep South and is stuck up here in the Northeast, and he often bemoans the lack of good biscuits & gravy!

    1. You know, I haven’t. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for ages!

      The secret to perfect biscuits and gravy isn’t really the ingredients (although those are important), it’s all about the method! Especially with the biscuits. I’ll have to make a video! ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. this is like savory french toast…perfect to feed a large party! i have not tried this brand of bread, will def check it out.

    1. Eggs and the freezer can be trickyโ€”then tend to get a little watery after freezing, so I can’t recommend that. As far as make-ahead, I’d say you could get by with making it 24 hours ahead of baking, but overnight is best (8~ hours).

  8. I’m one of those people who doesn’t love breakfast. I adore French toast on Christmas morning but otherwise my breakfast of choice would be a Bacon,Tomato and Onion on toast, which ties into my favourite meal – Lunch! I LOVE any sort of sandwich/wrap goodness.
    I think my sister would like this recipe (I have texture issues so this would not be my jam) but it might be hers I’ll pass it on!!

    1. See, I could totally skip lunch the rest of my life, and be happy! My ideal food set up: coffee first thing, then a big, big breakfast around 10am and a big, big dinner around 3pm. And then snacks in between.

    1. It definitely isn’t the cheapest loaf on the shelf, and that’s because it’s packed full of such goodness! But I totally understand the price being a pain point. For us, bread is one of the places where we try not to skimp on quality. We eat a lot of bread (especially my daughterโ€”huge peanut butter sandwich fan), and since it’s such a pervasive part of our diet, I figure we can afford to spend a few extra bucks to get the good stuff. But, like everything else in life, you have to decide where your priority is!

      1. My husband has taken a hobby in bread making. He’s pretty good at it and it fulfills the ole carb cravings. ๐Ÿ™‚