Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole

Do you need an easy solution for a filling breakfast? This crescent roll breakfast casserole can be prepared the night before and baked in the oven in the morning. Loaded with sausage, eggs, cheese, and buttery crescent rolls, this simple-to-make breakfast makes any day feel special!

Easy Breakfast Casserole

I’m back with another super easy make-ahead breakfast recipe! This recipe for crescent roll breakfast casserole is quick to prepare and perfect for serving to a crowd for a Christmas morning breakfast, or to your family as a hearty weekday breakfast.

If you’ve visited here before, you probably know that I’m no stranger to easy breakfast casseroles! I just love how everything bakes up in one dish. My make-ahead breakfast casserole, hashbrown breakfast casserole and tater tot breakfast casserole are among my favorites! We even love this enchilada breakfast casserole for a change.

This crescent roll breakfast casserole starts with a tube of refrigerated crescent roll dough. You know the kind – it comes in a cardboard tube that you pop open. I usually have a tube or two hanging around in my fridge and I often use them for making my sausage breakfast pizza.

Next, you layer on some cooked crumbled sausage, cheese, and eggs. At this point, you can store the unbaked casserole in the fridge to bake in the morning or you can bake everything for about 35 minutes. Easy peasy!

Why This Recipe Works

Customizable. The great thing about this recipe, in addition to being able to make it ahead, is that you can also customize it to your tastes. Don’t like sausage? Try bacon instead. Want to add more veggies to your diet? Throw in what you have in the fridge. Keep reading to learn about some more variation ideas.

Taste and texture. The crescent roll dough puffs up as it bakes and absorbs some of the egg mixture to make a deliciously light and fluffy texture. Each mouthful is full of tasty sausage, buttery eggs and crescent rolls, and gooey cheese. It doesn’t get any better!

An anytime meal. Enjoy it on Christmas morning or Sunday brunch. Bring leftovers in your lunch the next day or have breakfast for dinner one night!

Recipe Ingredients

All of the ingredients are pretty straightforward for this recipe and you should be able to find them easily in most grocery stores.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

Refrigerated crescent rolls: These are the ones that come in a tube. They usually have precut perforations on the dough that let you easily tear it apart to make crescent rolls. You can find these rolls in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, often near dairy products.

Breakfast sausage: My family loves the mild flavor of breakfast sausage, but feel free to use any variety of sausage that you like. 

Eggs: You need 8 large eggs for this recipe, which sounds like a lot, but the casserole is very hearty and filling, so it goes a long way.

Cheese: I use cheddar cheese with some Monterey jack for added flavor. Shredded cheese is always better when you grate it yourself.

Variations

Don’t you love when you can take a recipe and mix it up a little? Not only does it mean you can customize it to your tastes, but you can also use up ingredients you have on hand to make the recipe your own!

Here are some ideas for variations to get you started:

For a different flavor, you can use sage sausage and Gruyere cheese.

Use biscuits instead of crescents like I do in breakfast casserole with biscuits!

You can use all cheddar or even substitute it with mozzarella cheese if you prefer.

Swap the pork sausage for diced baked ham or bacon crumbles. 

For a little kick, add a few dashes of hot sauce and red pepper flakes with the eggs. 

Add in some sauteed vegetables such as onions, bell peppers, or mushrooms.

Sprinkle some chopped green onions over the casserole for a hint of green.

Add some chopped fresh herbs for a fresh flavor.

How to Make Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole

Follow these easy instructions to make this delicious sausage crescent roll breakfast casserole!

Unroll crescent dough. Open up your tube of refrigerated crescent dough and press it into a greased baking dish. Remember to press the perforated edges together with your finger until the dough is as smooth as you can get it.

Cook sausage. Add your sausage to a skillet and cook until it’s browned, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks. Let it drain on a paper towel-lined plate while you make the egg mixture.

Whisk eggs. Add the eggs to a large bowl and whisk as if you were making scrambled eggs. Add the milk and seasoning and whisk some more.

Assemble. Sprinkle the sausage over the dough, then the cheese in an even layer, and finally pour the egg mixture over the top of everything.

Bake. It takes 35 – 40 minutes at 375°F for the casserole to bake completely. Please let the casserole cool slightly before serving!

Expert Tips

Top browning too quickly? If it looks like the top of the casserole is browning too much before the middle of your casserole is cooked, cover the dish with aluminum foil while it continues to bake.

Drain the sausage. Don’t skip this step or you’ll end up with a greasy casserole. Line a plate with a paper towel and spoon the cooked sausage on top. The paper towel will absorb any additional grease.

Smooth out the crescent roll dough. Unrolled crescent roll dough has perforations in it that you normally use to tear the crescents apart. Press these perforations together with your finger to make the dough one smooth piece.

Grease the baking dish. Be sure to spray it with cooking spray. For easing slicing and serving, you want to create a nonstick surface so that once it is sliced, it comes out of the pan without falling apart.