Ham and Potato Breakfast Casserole for Two is easy, delicious, and perfect for those days you’re not cooking for a crowd – whether it’s for breakfast or dinner!
Small Batch Breakfast Casserole
I didn’t use to be a breakfast person. Well, I am, I love breakfast. But, I didn’t used to wake up and make breakfast. I enjoyed sleeping in more than eating.
Now that we have kids, 7:30 is sleeping in. I’ve learned that you can accomplish so many things when you get up early! (who knew?) Lately, before 9 am on the weekends, I have loads of laundry done, the house is clean, the baby has already eaten a couple times, and I now make breakfast.
I love breakfast casseroles but most recipes make a 9×13 pan which is too much for our small family. It’s often just me and my husband eating so I scaled it down to make just enough for the two of us.
Serve it with some fresh fruit and a muffin and you can easily stretch it to four servings.
- To save time, I like to use prepared potatoes in this recipe. Either a brand like Simply Potatoes that are fresh, not frozen, or frozen potatoes that you’ll just have to remember to thaw beforehand. That eliminates the scrubbing, peeling, and dicing to speed things up.
- For the ham, I like to buy a pre-cooked ham steak and quickly dice it up. You can also use leftovers if you’ve recently had ham because it freezes well.
- Add-Ins – I stuck with ham & cheese with this one but you can add in some veggies (diced peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes) or other meats (sausage).
Side note: Do you put ice in your orange juice? I didn’t know adding ice to your OJ was weird until my husband told me. I took a poll on Facebook and turns out he’s right. Only a couple of you are odd ducks like me and add ice to juice. #rebel
Helpful Tools
- 8×8 Baking Dish – the point of this recipe is to make a smaller serving size so you want to make sure you have an 8×8 dish instead of a 9 x 13.
- A whisk – you’ll need to whisk up the eggs with some milk and salt and pepper. I recently ordered this one and really like it.
- A trivet – I’m really bad about putting hot pans directly onto our countertop but you should really put them onto a trivet to cool. There are so many cute options, I need to get more!
What to serve with your breakfast casserole
- Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls – semi-homemade but SO good, these cinnamon rolls would perfectly finish your breakfast.
- No Bake Chewy Granola Bars – these bars are great for breakfast on the run.
- Apple Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins – this is one of my favorite recipes. The fact that it has both a fruit AND a veggie in it makes me feel better about the fact that it’s basically a cupcake.
- Crescent Roll Breakfast Pizza – don’t feel like making a casserole after all? Try it in pizza form!
- Hawaiian Rolls French Toast – comes together really fast & adds a nice, sweet component.
Need more breakfast ideas? Try these:
How to hard boil eggs on the stovetop
Ham and Potato Breakfast Casserole For Two
Video
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.non-stick cooking spray
- In a large bowl, add the potatoes, diced ham, and shredded cheese and stir to combine. Pour the potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.10 oz diced potatoes, 6 oz pre-cooked ham steak, 1/3 cup shredded Colby Monterey Jack cheese blend + more for topping
- In the same bowl, add the eggs, milk, salt and pepper and whisk together.1/2 cup milk, 6 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and use a spatula to gently press down any potatoes that are peeking out.
- Sprinkle with a handful more of cheese.
- Bake for 40 minutes then check on it. The edges should be lightly brown and the center should be set and not jiggly. Mine took right around 45 minutes to bake.
- Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes on a cooling rack.
- Slice and enjoy! I served mine with sour cream.
Notes
- Use prepared potatoes like Simply Potatoes (fresh, not frozen) or thawed frozen potatoes to skip scrubbing, peeling, and dicing.
- A pre-cooked ham steak works great—just dice it up. Leftover ham is also perfect and freezes well for later use.
- Beyond ham and cheese, feel free to mix in veggies like diced peppers, onions, spinach, or tomatoes. Sausage is a great alternative or addition for extra flavor.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Originally published October 6, 2014
Did You Make This?
If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
You can also tag me on Instagram – @melissa_ppplates or share a pic in the Persnickety Plates Community Facebook group. I love seeing what you’ve tried!
Can you substitute eggs with something?
Have family members can’t eat eggs…
It’s an egg casserole so I would just suggest a different recipe :/
Hello! Can the ingredients be mixed together the night before? I’m making this for New Year’s Day- thanks!
Yes 🙂
You are the best! Love your recipes!
Thank you, Carol! ❤️
Delicious!! I sautéed .. 1/2 onion chopped, and a little chopped red/green bell pepper and used turkey sausage crumble instead of ham, added 1/2 tsp parsley, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning.. just enough for my honey and me. Thank you.
Sounds great, thanks, Michelle!
Delicious!! This is exactly the recipe I’ve been looking for! It makes a 8×8 instead of 9×13 and has the perfect amount of eggs, potatoes and ham. I did change a few things but they were pretty minor. I used 1 cup of cheese instead of 1/2 cup, I added diced jalapeño and 1/4 tsp each of onion and garlic powder. I will be making this recipe regularly. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Thank you for sharing your rendition of this awesome recipe; I love your idea on mixing up the ingredients.
do I have to cook the potatoes prior to putting them in the dish? I bought whole potatoes and am fine with scrubbing, dicing, etc. but don’t know if they will cook thoroughly going into the casserole raw.
If starting with fresh potatoes, I would parboil them a bit before assembling.
This is a really good recipe. I made for myself (I live alone) and it lasted me for at least three meals. Hope to add to my brunch offering for my kids/grandkids next holiday season!
Thanks, Jean! I hope the kids like it, too 🙂
This is the easiest and quickest recipe I’ve ever had to make. And it was so Delicious 😋.
Thank you❤️❤️❤️
You’re welcome! Thanks for reporting back ❤️
This recipe was a great starting point, but it needs more flavor. I added more cheese, a chopped onion with the potatoes and about a teaspoon of an herb mixture-thyme, chervil, basil. In an 8×8 fish, it took closer to an hour in my oven.
Can this be froze before or after being cooked?
I haven’t tested before baking, though Google tells me it’s possible. After baking it will be fine, wrap it tightly and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you can, move it to the fridge the night before you need it so it can thaw. Then reheat either in the oven or in the microwave in portions.
I just made this recipe today for the first time and it will be a regular at my house and at family/friends gatherings
However I had a few slices of bacon left in the frig and threw it on top and baked. It added just enough extra to it. Thank
Great addition! I’m so glad it will be a regular 🙂
First let me thank you for a recipe for just two!!! It’s just my hubby and I now, kids grown and on their own. It is so hard to find recipes that aren’t for a group of 4 to 6 and cutting the recipes in half doesn’t always work well in flavor. Now, this recipe sound delicious to me just the way it is and I am planning it for next week.
You’re welcome! I suppose I should make more small scale recipes, I get many similar comments. Let me know how you like it 🙂