Claire’s Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole

Recipe by Claire Baker, Beyond Celiac Director of Communications

The genesis of this recipe was an abundance of okay-but-not-that-great gluten-free sourdough bread-making. You can use any gluten-free bread you want. The key is to let the bread cubes dry out a bit before adding the egg and milk mixture so that they soak it up.

Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 t. garlic, minced
• 7 oz (two links) of Beyond Meat Beyond Sausage plant-based sausage, thawed and chopped into small pieces or equivalent of actual meat sausage, fully cooked, or alternate gluten-free sausage-like product, cooked to package instructions and chopped
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 5-6 cups of dry gluten-free bread cubes, ¾ to 1 inch square — sourdough cubes give a nice depth of flavor, but not necessary
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups milk or milk replacement
• 1 T. yellow mustard
• ½ t. liquid smoke (optional)
• ½ t. salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Grease a 9” X 13” dish.
2. In a medium skillet, heat oil and saute the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the sausage and cook until browned. Add the spinach and stir until thawed and wilted. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, mustard, liquid smoke, salt and pepper. Whisk until blended. Add 1 cup of the cheese and the sausage/onion mixture and stir.
4. Add bread cubes to the egg/milk mixture and stir, coating the bread cubes.
5. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese and cover with foil. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow the bread to soak up the egg mixture.
6. Preheat the oven to 325. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Turn the heat up to 350 and bake for 20-30 more minutes. If the top is browning too rapidly, cover for the last 10 minutes. To test for doneness, the peaks of the bread and cheese on top should be brown and a knife inserted in the middle should come out clean. 
7. Cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Salt and pepper to taste.