Breakfast Shepherd’s Pie
This time of year some of my favorite recipe ideas are easy to make baked breakfasts. Many of us are visiting family or have family visiting next week, and being a short order cook at breakfast can be a real pain. Everyone wants something hot and fresh though, and creative egg based casseroles are the way to go. This one is a shepherd’s pie breakfast mash-up, with breakfast sausage and some veggies at the bottom, an egg layer in the middle, and cheesy mashed potatoes on top. What made it really unique was that the egg and potatoes kind of melded together and created some fun textures and flavors.
Start with the filling. Onion and sausage in the pan.
Spinach in next.
Once the spinach is wilted add in the tomatoes. Let this cook about 10 more minutes to thicken a bit. You don’t want it watery.
Get the tasty filling into the bottom of your baking dish. Next goes the egg layer.
So I debated with myself about how to make this for awhile, but in the end I decided shepherds pie needs mashed potatoes on top. I thought of hash brown options or putting the eggs on top of the potatoes, but it really just felt like a generic breakfast bake unless it was a mashed potato top crust. The problem with this plan which I knew going into it, was that the potatoes would be denser than the eggs and thus sink into them. As you can see here, when I started piping on the potatoes I got pretty nervous about this working at all. On top of that I chose a slightly too small baking dish.
Thankfully, there was plenty of potatoes to eventually cover the eggs and it all just barely fit into the pan. The side product of this which I did not expect was the blending of the egg and potato to form a really unique texture and flavor. It was really light and fluffy like a souffle with some bites more potatoey, and some more eggy.
Fresh out of the oven this thing is gorgeous. It was hard not to just dive right in.
You can see from the steam in these pictures that I didn’t wait that long.
The cheesy potatoes were perfect to go with the tomato and sausage mixture and there was just enough sausage and egg flavor to keep it brunchy and not feel like dinner. The crispy bits of potato brought it to the next level.
If you want to make this ahead so you can relax in the morning, I would suggest keeping the components seperate and just building it in the morning before you toss it into the oven.
Breakfast Shepherd’s Pie
This unique breakfast mash-up will make your guests happy because it is delicious, and you happy because you won’t be flipping eggs all morning.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 4 large yukon gold potatoes
- 1/2 stick butter
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar shredded
- 1/2 cup milk
- 8 eggs
- 12 ounces loose breakfast sausage
- 1 onion diced
- 5 ounces baby spinach chopped
- 14 ounces canned diced tomato
Instructions
- Bake the potatoes at 350 until tender, about an hour and a half. Peel and put into a bowl with the cheese and butter.
- Start to mash and add the milk slowly until you have the right amount of milk to have fairly thick mashed potatoes. Set aside.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat until smooth. Add salt and pepper.
- Cook the sausage and onion in a pan on high for about 12 minutes until fully cooked and lightly browned. Add the spinach and cook about 3 minutes stirring often until spinach is wilted.
- Pour in the tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook about 10 minutes to let everything meld together and thicken.
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Put the sausage mixture at the bottom of a baking dish. Next pour in the eggs.
- Use a piping bag or the corner of a large zip lock bag to pipe the potatoes onto the top of the casserole. This is the trickiest part of this recipe. Do a base layer of almost half of the potatoes to form a raft for the top layer to sit on, and then pipe the top layer in a more decorative fashion, keeping it tight so that it feels like an actual crust.
- Run a fork along the top of the potatoes to create more texture. Bake at 450 for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Ooooh, that looks so good. I think my husband would love this!
WOW! This looks yummy! Perfect for the cold weather!
I’ve just assembled this save the egg. (I did scoops of potato, so the egg can settle between). I’m making almost 200 servings for a ‘Pi day breakfast’. Thanks!!!
This is not shepherd’s pie which, as any English cook knows, is made with lamb mince (if it’s made with beef mince, it’s called cottage pie). This really looks quite unpleasant and I would not thank anyone for presenting me with one of these for breakfast. I make pies that have a potato topping, but would never dream of calling it a shepherd’s pie. One such dish, which is a complete meal, I call OmniPie.
Hi Nicole, I’d be interested in trying the complete meal Omnipie! I’m going to try this breakfast pie though, because it looks like a great filling breakfast option for the (high school boys) swim team’s after-practice brunch. (I have to modify to make gluten-free and dairy-free.) I hope you’ll share your recipe!
Wow, you sure are high maintenance! No one is forcing you to eat it nor look at it. If someone presented me with this I would be very thankful. I would also think of all the people who have no food in this world and what a treasure it would be to eat such a plate of food! ❤️
Looks great! I will modify to make gluten- and dairy-free, using melted bacon fat and ripple©
I found this recipe in 2016 on this site and made it for a New Years Day brunch party. I cooked, assembled, and baked it in an 8 inch cast iron skillet. It made a wonderful presentation and tasted outstanding! My fiends requested I make it again this year, but a double batch. I am going to try the double batch in a 12 inch cast iron skillet. I recommend this recipe to everyone, it is wonderful.
you mention nothing about adding the cheese , but anyways i added culfower and brockly to my recipte along with hamberger smelt so good and tasted awsome thanks
This recipe was outstanding, and a very interesting mash-up (pun intended). The combination of the buttery, cheesy mashed potatoes with the breakfast-y sausage was terrific and got raves from my guests. I added some chopped sage to the sausage when it was nearly cooked, which added a lot of flavor. The idea of making a potato base then piping to top layer on top was a necessity and really good idea. To make things easier in the morning, I cut up the potatoes and put them in water in the fridge for boiling in the morning, and also made the sausage mixture the night before, which allowed the flavors to meld nicely in the fridge.
You have a “print” icon that does not work for me.
Typical internet recipe – lists an ingredient then doesn’t say where to add it in until you get to this page with the pictorial. Sometimes a key ingredient is omitted. You just never know. Sometimes they get it right & it turns out delicious.