This Farmer’s Casserole recipe is a very popular breakfast recipe.  It’s the perfect recipe to serve when you have a house full of guests or relatives.  Watch the short video showing you how to make Farmer’s Casserole, then scroll to the end of this post to print out the recipe so you can make it at home.

Overhead shot of Farmer's Casserole in a white casserole dish

What is a Farmer’s Casserole?

Farmer’s casserole is a delicious breakfast casserole that is made up of a few simple “farm-friendly” ingredients.  It calls for hash browns, eggs, cheese, ham, green onions and evaporated milk.  It’s all baked together to create a baked breakfast casserole.

I have made this recipe many times for Thanksgiving morning, Christmas morning, Easter brunch, kid sleepovers, family gatherings and more. It’s the kind of recipe that everyone enjoys so much, and it’s a very popular recipe here on the RecipeGirl site!

Change things up by adding in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, mixing in sauteed bell peppers and using a combination of cheeses.

Some of my readers have mentioned that they also enjoy making this for dinner.  Leftovers eaten the next day are delicious!

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole in a white casserole dish

Is Farmer’s Casserole Gluten Free?

Since my Mom has to eat gluten-free these days, I was super happy to find that I could make this breakfast casserole completely gluten free.

I use Ore-Ida shredded hash browns for this recipe if I need to make it gluten-free. If you don’t need to worry about that, just use whatever hash browns you can find!  Evaporated milk is naturally gluten-free, so you don’t have to worry about that.  Check the label on the ham you buy to make sure it’s gluten-free.

Overhead shot of Farmer's Casserole in a white casserole dish with a gray napkin and green onions

Can you use regular milk instead of evaporated milk in Farmer’s Casserole?

I don’t recommend using regular milk.  Evaporated milk is more concentrated and creamy.  It works best in this recipe.  You can locate evaporated milk in your market’s baking aisle.  Those who have used regular milk find that the casserole turns out too watery.

Can you use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns in Farmer’s Casserole?

I don’t recommend using fresh potatoes for this recipe.  When you grate the fresh potatoes, they will immediately begin to oxidize and turn an unappetizing grey color.  Frozen hash browns work great for this recipe!

If you are looking for more recipes to serve with this recipe, you might enjoy adding Banana Coffee Cake and Fruit Salad with Lime Syrup to the menu.  Champagne Brunch Punch also looks very good!

Overhead shot of Farmer's Casserole in a white casserole dish
4.25 from 102 votes

Farmer's Casserole

Just a great breakfast casserole, and it's super easy to make!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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Ingredients

  • 6 cups frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
  • cups shredded Jalapeno Monterey Jack Cheese (can sub cheddar or Swiss)
  • 2 cups diced, cooked ham (or Canadian bacon)
  • ½ cup sliced green onions
  • 8 large eggs, beaten (or 2 cups egg substitute)
  • Two 12-ounce cans evaporated milk (can use whole, 2% or fat free)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions 

  • Grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with cheese, ham, and green onion. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish.
  • At this point, you can cover and refrigerate until ready to bake (several hours or overnight). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the center appears set. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. If baking after casserole has been chilled, you will need to increase baking time to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Notes

  • Add Tabasco for a bit of a kick.
  • Serve with a good dollop of sour cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 268kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 155mg, Sodium: 288mg, Potassium: 547mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 465IU, Vitamin C: 11.1mg, Calcium: 286mg, Iron: 1.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.25 from 102 votes (68 ratings without comment)

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152 Comments

  1. Jasmine says:

    I made this tonight for dinner. It was super easy and very tasty. I used southern style hashbrowns instead of the shredded hashbrowns and it was great! I also Browned them in a skillet first which kept them firm. Me and my husband are from the south so this was truly comfort food for us. Will definitely be making this again!

  2. Chelsea says:

    This was very yummy. To accommodate my husband’s tastes I replaced the green onions with sliced jalapeños and served it with extra cheese (Mexican shredded cheese), a dollop of sour cream, and hot sauce. He loved it. These extras added lots of flavor for those of you who thought it was bland at first. Great recipe, will definitely be making this again.

  3. charli says:

    I fix this in the crock pot and cook it on low after a couple of hours on high the first two so if you are up late on about 9 then at 11 turn it down and when you get up that morning it will be ready to eat so you can get the rest of the Christmas meal done but I do fry the hash browns crisp first

  4. sammbelina says:

    Thanks for this! Saw this looking for a breakfast casserole on pinterest and just made it; the verdict with me and le husband is good! Changed the cheese to one cup of pepper jack and a half cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Also, seasoning the hash browns before it’s in the pan is a good idea, as one of the other commenters said. Next time I might try cooking/drying out the hash browns a little as part of the prep to get them crispier, but I admit that just putting ’em in frozen is easier.

  5. AJ says:

    Made this for dinner tonight. It was super easy and tasty. I did read a comment about it being bland which I can see would happen, so I seasoned the heck out of the potatoes and it was great! Found this recipe via Pinterest. Thanks!

  6. Lola says:

    Sounda great, thinking will halve it

  7. peyton says:

    I made this for a work breakfast and it got GREAT reviews!!! a few modifications… 6 cups of hasbrowns would have been 48 oz which was twice as much as needed. I used a 26(ish) oz bag and it was perfect. The monterey jack cheese with jalapenos gave it a great kick of flavor. I also added a bag of pre cooked pre crumbled turkey sausage and that added a lot of flavor. I added a little bit more green onion too. I have already emailed it out to several coworkers. OH… I wasn’t sure if I should bake it covered or uncovered. I baked it covered and after an hour it wasn’t set so I took the foil off and cooked it for an additional 20 min.

  8. Deb says:

    My husband & I cook up a huge breakfast for our grown kids & grandkids on Christmas morning. I think this is going to be this years meal, plus pancakes of course. It looks & sounds too good! Thanks, so much, for simplifying my life…..

  9. Stephanie says:

    Doed the evaporated milk go in dry? Or does it need to be prepared in some way first?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      Evaporated milk is sold in a can- likely in your market’s baking aisle. It’s a liquid.

  10. Leah says:

    Have to feed 30 people breakfast in 2 weeks and this looks perfect! Going to do a test run before the event. Can’t wait to see how this turns out. I LOVE that it has hashbrowns in it!