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.
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!
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.
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!
Farmer's Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 cups frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
- 1½ 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This turned out so good! Thank you so much for sharing!
Confusion regarding cooking/baking times. Recipe information mentions: ” Cook Time 50 minutes”.
However, the directions call for : “Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the center appears set.
I realize not all ovens are the same, but there’s a BIG difference between 50 minutes and 75 minutes (which makes planning to make this for a church potluck for the first time really dicey). Could you please clarify the timing discrepancy? Thanks!
Thanks for pointing that out- it should take about an hour and 15 minutes to cook all the way through.
I have never made this breakfast casserole but I want to for a family gathering. I was wondering if you could make it ahead of time and freeze it. It sounds delicious. Thanks
I haven’t tried cooking and freezing it.
Great recipe. I made it a few hours ahead and refrigerated until about 30 minutes before I had to start baking. I placed the casserole in preheated oven more to the middle/top rack. It cooked up in 1 hour and looked toasty on top. But it was cooked all the way through and tasted fabulous.
Followed the recipe exactly and like a previous review my casserole was very soupy in the middle after baking for over an hour and half. I even put a metal knife in the middle to help spread the heat.
I’m sorry you had trouble getting this to set. May I ask what kind of evaporated milk you used? Whole or fat free? And are you baking at a higher altitude?
I just made this. Had to drain out all the liquid after baking for 1 1/2 hours. Never did set properly. I ended up putting it in a fry pan and browning on the stove top. Too much evaporated milk!!?? I followed the recipe exactly. It did taste good but next time I’m only going to use 1 can of evaporated milk if not less tha that.
That’s really strange– I’ve made this numerous times without any problems. Sorry you had trouble!
Does doubling this recipe for a big crowd work and what would be the cooking time if so?
I would suggest just making TWO pans of it instead of trying to double the recipe.
This came out great the only thing I would of done differently is seasoned the hash browns with salt & pepper. I wish I could of shared a picture.
This sounds amazing! Just wondering about the hash browns…are they thawed and drained, or do you just use them straight from the freezer?
You can keep them frozen.
Made this recipe for Father’s Day brunch. Was a big hit! I even added spinach, zucchini and mushrooms. Just needed to cook about twenty minutes longer to get it to set up.