Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole {Gluten-Free}

by Dorothy Reinhold on April 1, 2021


Print This Post Print This Post OVERNIGHT MEXICAN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE:  A spicy, savory layered dish you assemble the night before, refrigerate, and bake up the next morning, for a crowd-friendly breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

OVERNIGHT MEXICAN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE: A spicy, savory layered dish you assemble the night before, refrigerate, and bake up the next morning, for a crowd-friendly breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

Here in Southern California, we eat Mexican food several times weekly, if not daily.

And if we aren’t eating authentic Mexican food, we’re eating what I think of as Mexican-ish food — meals that hint at the flavors and style, or fuse what are thought of as Mexican ingredients with other cuisines.

Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole on a bed of arugula on ShockinglyDelicious.comIt all ends up to be a creative melting pot of delicious dinners. like today’s Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole. Suitable for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner (with a green salad and some fruit on the plate), this is one versatile meal.

You assemble it the night before, put it in the fridge to mix, mingle and soak the tortillas, and bake it in the morning. It should serve 8-10, which makes it wonderful for a crowd, or perfect for a meal plus leftovers.

How to make Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients for Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole laid out on a white backgroundIt’s easy to put together. Gather all your ingredients.

Blackened poblano chiles in a white bowl for Overnight Mexican Breakfast CasseroleRoast the poblano peppers, let them steam, then peel off the blackened skin and remove seeds and stem.

Cracking eggs in a glass bowl for Overnight Mexican Breakfast CasseroleMix the egg-milk part.

Layering tortillas in the casserole dish for Overnight Mexican Breakfast CasseroleLayer the stuff in a casserole dish.

Pouring egg-milk mixture into Overnight Mexican Breakfast CasserolePour in the eggy milk.

2 plates of Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole on a rainbow striped towelVoila! 

This amazing recipe is from my food blogger friend Karen Kerr, who writes Karen’s Kitchen Stories. She’s known as a bread expert, but I needed to get an actual meal on the table, so I relied on her for this versatile dish! 

Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Total Time: 12 hours

Yield: 8-10

Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole

OVERNIGHT MEXICAN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE: A spicy, savory layered dish you assemble the night before, refrigerate, and bake up the next morning, for a crowd-friendly breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 6 poblano chile peppers (they may be called pasillas at your grocery store)
  • 1 1/2 pounds Mexican chorizo, removed from casings (if you can’t find that, you can use hot Italian sausage)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
  • 4 teaspoons chile powder
  • 10 large eggs
  • 3 cups half and half
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onion tops
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 7-8 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
  • GARNISHES
  • Sour cream
  • Some whole or chopped cilantro leaves
  • Tapatio or other picante sauce
  • Pico de Gallo or salsa

Directions

  1. MAKE THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF THE CASSEROLE:
  2. Roast the poblanos by broiling them on a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven, turning them with a tongs when they turn black. (Can also be done on an outdoor grill, or over the stovetop burner.) Once they are blackened all over, place them in a plastic or paper bag and let them rest/steam for 15 minutes. Peel the blackened skin off the chiles, cut to spread them open and remove the stems and seed pods and discard those.
  3. Mist a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Line the bottom of the baking dish with the chiles splayed open. Set aside.
  4. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chorizo, breaking it up as you cook it. Add the onions and bell peppers, and cook for 4 minutes while continuing to stir occasionally. Add the garlic and chile powder and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
  5. In a large bowl or 8-cup measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, half and half, Tabasco and black pepper. Set aside.
  6. In a bowl, combine the pepper jack and Cheddar cheeses with the green onions and cilantro and toss together to evenly mix everything. Set aside.
  7. ASSEMBLE THE CASSEROLE:
  8. Spread 1/3 of the chorizo over the poblanos in the baking dish. Place a layer of the tortilla quarters on top of the meat (use about 1/3 of the tortilla quarters; don’t worry if there are some gaps). Spread with 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the tortillas. Repeat with half the remaining chorizo, half the remaining tortillas, half the remaining cheese mixture, and then do a final layer of chorizo, tortillas and cheese. You should have used everything up. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the whole thing, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or at least 6 hours).
  9. IN THE MORNING:
  10. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
  11. Cut into squares and serve garnished with sour cream, cilantro, hot sauce and/or Pico de Gallo or salsa if you wish. You could put the garnishments in bowls at the table and let people serve themselves.
  12. Serves 10.
  13. Storage: Store leftovers in refrigerator in a covered container. You may also freeze it; I suggest freezing in individual portions for each breakfasts later.
  14. Heat level: This recipe has chiles, chile powder, Tabasco and pepper jack cheese in it, so If you fear your eaters are on the sensitive side, I would start by omitting the Tabasco in the recipe; you can always squirt some on at the table. If you want it milder, sub plain jack cheese for the pepper jack.

Notes

Recipe source: Adapted from Karen’s Kitchen Stories, who adapted it from The Food Network

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/overnight-mexican-breakfast-casserole/

areyoupinningPin the image below to your Pinterest board to save this recipe for Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Overnight Mexican Breakfast Casserole closeup on a plate

Here’s another hearty breakfast-for-dinner option

Beef Migas for breakfast or dinner on ShockinglyDelicious.comBeef Migas

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This post was originally published April 15, 2018 and has been refreshed and republished today.

This post may contain affiliate/referral links. It is a way for this site to earn advertising fees (at no cost to you) by advertising or linking to certain products and/or services that I approve and prefer.


{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }

Heather Kinnaird April 19, 2018 at 8:31 am

i cannot wait to make this over the weekend! i’m sure everyone will love it

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 19, 2018 at 11:50 am

Heather,
I do hope you can! Come back and tell me how you like it!

Reply

mangafox April 18, 2018 at 4:54 am

This looks amazing! I will definately give it a try!
I hope I will manage as I am not a great cook!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 18, 2018 at 5:52 am

Manga,
I have confidence in you! You can do this…just get everything out at the start, so it is all there, and follow the steps. They are very methodical. And come back and tell me how you liked it! 🙂

Reply

Angie | Big Bear's Wife April 17, 2018 at 3:26 pm

This is my kind of breakfast casserole! yum! Thomas will love this!

Reply

Dee April 17, 2018 at 7:15 am

We eat a ton of Mexican food here, too, so this is my ideal breakfast casserole!

Reply

Abeer April 17, 2018 at 5:16 am

I am sure this tastes as amazing as it looks!

Reply

Allyson Zea April 17, 2018 at 5:14 am

I love Mexican food and I love breakfast so this is a match made in heaven! YUM!

Reply

Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth April 16, 2018 at 11:50 pm

I was giggling at the thought of you stalking Sara to get the blog of choice! 🙂 What a choice to make, who wouldn’t like to have breakfast sitting in the fridge, just to be pushed into the oven, ready by the time we are done with our morning chores. Beautiful recipe…

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 17, 2018 at 3:09 pm

Rafeeda,
Yeah, I can be relentless. 🙂

Reply

Stephanie April 16, 2018 at 5:30 pm

I’m in Texas and this type of food is life here as well! I love overnight breakfast, makes it so easy in the morning!

Reply

Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) April 16, 2018 at 4:19 pm

The flavors in this dish are so sensational!

Reply

Tara April 16, 2018 at 11:26 am

Ooh!

1. 3 months til we move to LA and get to be surrounded by Mexican food!
2. I would love to start my day with this! Such great flavors.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Tara,
Really, you’re moving to L.A.? Wonderful!

Reply

Candy April 16, 2018 at 9:50 am

Perfect make ahead dish for those busy weekend or weekday breakfasts. This would be great for our 4th of July breakfast potluck at our church.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 1:07 pm

Candy,
That is a PERFECT event for this casserole! I think you ought to print some copies of the recipe because everyone is going to ask you for it. 🙂

Reply

Sarah April 16, 2018 at 8:37 am

That sounds delicious! There is very little Mexican food to be found in Canada, so I make a lot at home. I look forward to trying this too!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Sarah,
You are going to love this, I predict!

Reply

SallyBR April 16, 2018 at 7:47 am

YOU GOT KAREN????

OMG, the chances of that…. I bet there was a happy dance, extended version…

how cool… love it!

it was so fun to do this again….. I miss it too much!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 1:01 pm

SallyBR,
I am of the “ask for what you want” persuasion. 🙂

Reply

Ashley Lecker April 16, 2018 at 7:20 am

This sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it.

Reply

Erin Vasicek April 16, 2018 at 5:23 am

I love overnight breakfast casseroles! I need to try this one.

Reply

Amy (Savory Moments) April 16, 2018 at 4:09 am

This casserole looks amazing — so full of flavors! We love Mexican food, too. Also, I had so much fun going through your blog for the SRC Reunion!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 4:42 am

Amy,
Thank you for the great write-up about my blog! You picked a winner of a recipe…Chicken Tinga!

Reply

Wendy April 16, 2018 at 4:02 am

How fun that you convinced Sarah to give you Karen’s blog. I got your other choice. Neener neener.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 4:42 am

Wendy,
You got Sally’s blog? Heading over to see right now!

Reply

Kathy M Walker April 15, 2018 at 10:21 pm

Breakfast casseroles are sought after and this one sounds like a winner! Love it….. Breakfast for dinner, who can wait until the weekend for this dish! Thank you so much for sharing.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 16, 2018 at 4:39 am

Kathy,
Agreed! This is an anyday recipe, not just for the weekend!

Reply

Michaela Kenkel April 15, 2018 at 9:20 pm

This one is getting made at my house, STAT!! Looks so good!

Reply

Karen April 15, 2018 at 9:07 pm

OMG. This is the recipe on my blog that I have made the most. Seriously, every pot luck this is requested. Love you. And as far as throw downs go, you beat me to the link up dammit. xoxo

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold April 15, 2018 at 9:10 pm

Karen,
It is a point of pride to be first in the link-up! Ha!

Reply

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