This recipe is essentially a savory bread pudding with apples and sausage. We think it’s delicious for any meal of the day. You do need to start it ahead of time to give the egg mixture time to soak into the bread cubes. Either make it in the morning and pop it into the fridge to bake that night, or make it and let it chill overnight for baking the next day. As always, we include gluten, dairy, and vegetarian options.
We talk you through making this delicious apple breakfast bake in Episode 251 of our podcast. If you enjoy this dish you may also like our recipes for Sausage and Apple Pot Pie and Sausage, Apple, and Bread Stuffing.
Ingredients
1 roll ground breakfast sausage or a pound of your favorite sausage or plant sausage, cut or crumbled into pieces
1 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
6 cups cubed bread or gluten free bread
10-12 eggs
3 cups whole milk or thick oat milk
3 sweet/tart apples, diced. Peel if desired, we did not. Pink Lady or Granny Smith work well.
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or dairy free cheddar, divided
½ teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh and chopped
½ teaspoon dried sage, or 1 tablespoon fresh and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Instructions
This dish needs to sit for around 8 hours or overnight for the bread to absorb the custard. So plan ahead.
In a large skillet, brown the sausage. Set aside to drain and cool. Add a splash of olive oil to the skillet and cook the onion, stirring occasionally. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and beginning to brown. Set the skillet aside to cool.
Spray or grease a 9×13” baking dish and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and milk, and whisk together until well blended. In another bowl toss the apples and cinnamon together and set aside.
Spread about half the bread cubes evenly in the bottom of your prepared baking dish. Top with half of the sausage, half of the onion, half of the apples, and half of the cheese. Repeat the same layers a second time with the remaining ingredients. Bread, sausage, onion, apples, cheese.
Carefully pour the egg mixture over top of the casserole. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325 F. Uncover the dish and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm and enjoy!