Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole

This easy slow cooker breakfast casserole will be a hit with everyone you share it with! One of our favorite meals. It’s full of wholesome ingredients and is so easy to make!

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, though I rarely have the time or energy to make more than a bowl of cereal or toast and scrambled eggs. However, when I do find the time, I always enjoy it. One of my favorite types of breakfast food are breakfast casseroles. One of our most popular recipes is this sausage breakfast casserole that I shared a long time ago – and it’s popular for good reason. It’s simple to throw together, and it tastes delicious.

I thought it would be fun to make a slow cooker breakfast casserole. I absolutely love my slow cooker because it makes making meals so easy. Even though I don’t have a child in school yet, we live a rather busy life, so it’s important to me to have quick and easy meals – and slow cookers make that even easier.

When I was coming up with this breakfast casserole idea, I thought I would try and make it with more natural products than the traditional breakfast casseroles I’ve made and eaten. I primarily used products from Kroger’s Simple Truth line, sweet potatoes instead of hash browns, and Silk Almond milk instead of cow’s milk. It makes about 12 servings, and one serving is full of veggies and flavor. You can use regular hash browns if you want (Simple Truth brand is excellent), but the sweet potatoes add some more nutrition, and I love the taste of them. I couldn’t find diced or sweet potato hash browns anywhere, so I just took some sweet potato french fries and diced them up. It worked perfectly for this dish!

Now, the real question is – can you start this the night before? Well, technically, yes, you can. If you have a slow cooker that has a timer that automatically turns to warm once the timer is hit, then you can easily set this to cook the night before and have it all ready to go in the morning.

If you don’t have a slow cooker like this, then it would probably be best to just prepare all the ingredients the night before, and set it to cook in the morning. On high it is done in about 2-3 hours, and on low in 4.5-5.5 hours. It’s great for those late start mornings for school, teacher appreciation breakfasts, or for holidays. And if you are able to let it cook all night, even better. It’s a great way to start your child’s day off with a breakfast that will keep them full until lunch (because honestly, cereal doesn’t get you very far!)

I do think this is a great breakfast that pretty much anyone can enjoy. Everyone in our house did!

Since I’m all about making life easier, I thought I’d share a few tips for making meal and snack time easier, especially as school starts back up. My son is just three, but with a new baby arriving soon, we definitely are wanting to make everything as easy as possible.

1. Simple Meals

I believe in the importance of eating meals together (at least dinner) and having balanced meals. However, I don’t think that means you have to slave in the kitchen all day, either! I already mentioned how much I love having a slow cooker, because you can throw a bunch of ingredients into it and have something delicious several hours later. I love, love, love my Ninja 3-in-1 slow cooker (I mean, it’s non-stick, and it can act as a stove top AND oven as well. What more could you want?!) I think freezer meals are also a great idea, our meat lasagna without ricotta cheese and green chili chicken enchiladas are great for freezing, as well as just for simple meals for those days when you just don’t want to cook. Most recipes you’ll find on Clarks Condensed are easy and family-friendly, so be sure to take a look around. 

2. Involve Children

I’m a big believer in involving children in meal preparation and in grocery shopping. While grocery shopping can be rather hectic with children, it can also help them feel like they are more involved in the choices of food they are going to have. Jack helps us make just about everything in our house, and I honestly think it’s part of why he isn’t super picky. We also like letting him decide on some of the foods we get at the grocery store. For instance, on our recent trip to King Soopers, we went over to the snack aisle, found snacks that were in the “natural” section (Kroger stores do a great job of labeling this), and let him pick any snack he wanted. He was thrilled to be able to pick out something, and I was happy that it was something I felt good about him eating!

3. Have Easy and Healthy Snacks

Jack is only three, but he is already always asking to eat. I’ve been told that having boys really puts a dent in your food budget, but I didn’t think it would quite start so soon! We try and have snacks available to give him when we feel he really is hungry, and it’s not meal time yet, and I like to make sure they aren’t just empty calories. We love Horizon brand products, because they are made with good ingredients that are geared toward a child’s constantly changing and growing body. They don’t taste like “health” food, which can sometimes be hard to get kids to eat. Jack chose some peanut butter sandwich cookies the other day, and I’m having a hard time not eating them all myself!

Snack time doesn’t have to be hard – just make a conscious effort to have better-for-you snacks stocked in the pantry and fridge, so when your kids are asking for something, you can feel good about the options you have available.

4. Shop at Kroger Stores

I’ve shopped at a lot of grocery stores, and I have definitely come to find my favorites. Without a doubt, if there’s a Kroger-affiliated store nearby, it’s where I will go. Not only do they have great digital coupons, as well as great coupon policies for using third party coupons, but their customer service is top notch. They’ve recently made a big effort to provide more natural food options at affordable prices. I’ve never been someone who felt like I only should buy organic, but I do try to make healthy choices. However, it can be hard when the prices for healthy or organic foods are through the rough. I was thrilled when Kroger stores introduced the Simple Truth brand, because they offer tons of great products at prices very similar to their less-than-healthy counterparts. Even beyond the Simple Truth brand, the prices on other healthier options are great as well. For instance, the Horizon peanut butter crackers I mentioned above were only $2 for a box (on sale.) They make it easy to identify where all the healthier products are with these big signs that are in just about every aisle.

Forrest was just commenting on how he feels they offer a lot more (affordable) organic products that other normal grocery stores. I think you can really save a lot of money, and get great products, by shopping at Kroger stores. We definitely do.

5. Make a Meal Plan

This is something I’ve tried to be better at in recent months, because I feel like it’s a key to success. When I make a plan of what food to make for the week, I usually don’t deviate from it. When I don’t, I tend to make less healthy meal choices, and we go out to eat a lot more frequently. I think it’s easier to make healthy, balanced meals when you make a meal plan, because you can plan on it ahead of time, rather than resorting to frozen foods. It also helps keep your budget more in line!

Be sure to check out Kroger’s Inspired Gathering’s website for more recipes, DIY, Decor, tips and tricks, and cleaning hacks to make your life just a little more simpler. 

This conversation is sponsored by WhiteWave Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.