A couple of years before I started working at Southern Living, my mom pulled a recipe page out of our 2014 December issue, just as she’d done dozens of times before. Like all the lucky magazine recipes that end up in her spiral-bound cookbook alongside the ones on recipe cards in her or my grandmother’s pretty penmanship, this one has been used many times in our house. 

Southern Living’s recipe catalog is proof that there are countless delicious ways to cook up a breakfast casserole, but for some reason, this Cheesy Sausage-And-Croissant Casserole has stuck with our family.

Though it initially fed my friends and I on weekends visiting home from college, this dish continues to see us through different life stages. Recently, as a host for a lifelong friend’s baby shower, I was tasked with providing breakfast casseroles to the food lineup. While I could’ve easily spent a lot more money but a lot less time picking up a ready-made option, I knew only the Cheesy Sausage-And-Croissant Casserole would be worthy of the occasion. Multiple guests at the baby shower asked me where we had the breakfast casseroles catered from, and I was more than happy to let them know they came straight from our own kitchen. 

What’s In This Breakfast Casserole?

This breakfast casserole has all the usual suspects—eggs, sausage, cheese, milk, bread—but what makes it a standout is all in the details. Instead of regular bread cubes, the base of this dish is buttery croissants. As if that didn’t make it decadent enough, Gruyère cheese is the surprise ingredient that makes people ask for the recipe. 

How Do I Make It?

1. To start, cook hot ground pork sausage in a skillet and drain it on paper towels.
2. We added the whites of the green onions the recipe calls for into the skillet with the sausage for even more flavor.
3. Next, tear up a package of mini croissants. This is a great step to have the kids help with, as there’s no right or wrong way to do it.
4. As any Southern cook knows, for the best casserole results, you should shred your own cheese instead of buying pre-shredded. For this casserole, I go half and half. For the Parmesan cheese it calls for, I buy pre-shredded to save a little time (sorry, Test Kitchen pros!). But for the pièce de résistance, the Gruyère, I shred it myself.
5. Just like any eggy casserole, you stir together eggs and milk and pour the mixture over the dry ingredients before letting it chill and baking.
6. This casserole only calls for five eggs with both milk and heavy cream. At first, it might seem like the eggs-to-milk ratio is wonky (Only five eggs? Four cups of milk and cream together?), but trust the process, y’all. Don’t stray from the recipe here! It’s exactly what makes the end result so incredibly creamy instead of spongy and dry.  

Can It Be Made Ahead Of Time?

Yes! That’s one of the best things about this breakfast casserole recipe! It actually needs to be prepared ahead of time for the best texture and taste, so all you have to do the morning you’re hosting brunch is pop it in the oven. 

What Should I Serve With It?

First of all, the recipe is topped with chopped green onion, and I would definitely recommend you don’t skip that ingredient or step. It adds some much-needed color to the presentation and a welcome bit of bite. As far as sides go, because this casserole is so rich, you can never go wrong with a fresh fruit salad or simple green side salad. Don’t forget a big batch of Bloody Marys, y’all!