GOOD SEASONINGS FOR EGGS RECIPES

Sharing today, an easy, vegetarian, spiced breakfast egg casserole loaded with veggies, bread, eggs, flavorful Indian spices, and cheese.

Eggs and Bread are two important and humble breakfast ingredients which can be made as fancy or as simple as we want to. When I decided to mix-up my breakfast favorites into a egg casserole.. I decided to keep it super easy and simple yet packed with flavor - loaded with veggies, eggs and bread, and spices (of course).

You won't believe this beautiful casserole needs just 7 minutes of prep. Rest is the job of our trusty oven. 40 minutes later, delicious warm breakfast is ready to devour.

Also, look at the money it will save for a family of 4 - easy 50 bucks!

So, let's get started!

I was wanting since long to make this spiced breakfast casserole... During the long weekend of Thanksgiving, we were planning a grand diner breakfast - more of a brunch. When I went to kitchen to make morning tea.. I saw 3/4 loaf of day old sliced french bread which changed my plans. Instead of going out and spending 1 hr waiting in diner… I decided to quickly assemble a homemade egg casserole for breakfast. 

My inspiration behind this spiced casserole is Indian Egg Toast which is a spiced and savory french toast made with eggs, milk, bread, and spices. In India, breakfast may have eggs but mostly it has no-meat and some veggies. This thought made me keep this casserole vegetarian. I mean with vegetables and eggs and no meat.

Key to Making Perfect Breakfast Casserole:
True test of perfectly cooked bread casserole is baking dish sparkling clean when strata is lifted. To achieve that, I make sure to:

1) Butter/oil the dish before adding prepared ingredients.
2) Use correct proportion of egg to milk ratio. (in short follow the recipe)
3) Layer the bread in one even layer and cover all nooks and crannies in casserole dish. This helps bread absorb milk-egg mixture evenly.
4) It is also important to let casserole rest after baking, say for 10-12 minutes. During this time, bread sets-in, soaks in any remaining liquid.

To make this casserole, I start by sauteing the onion and garlic, small chopped veggies with garam masala, paprika, and tomato paste. I saute until veggies are soft.

Next, I follow the key points above to assemble the casserole in 2 quart baking dish. To make colorful presentation, I also decided to layer veggies and bread slices in alternate fashion, almost like a breakafst casserole lasagna :).

40 minutes in oven and breakfast was ready to serve. Easy! Right?

Being a vegetarian casserole, you can swap any or all veggies in this as per your preference. Any day, I would love some diced zucchini, cauliflower, beans and even veggie sausage for some meaty texture. Only key is to cut veggies in same size which level well within layers of bread.

If serving in India, I would serve it with just a cup of hot chai tea or dollop of yogurt. This is how we enjoyed it last weekend. You can also serve this savoury egg casserole with some hot sauce, yogurt, sour cream or cheese sauce. 

I hope this warm breakfast will warm-up your family on a beautiful weekend morning. Since it is so easy to put together.. You can bake breakfast at home and ditch the diner :)

Wish you a wonderful rest of the week.

~Savita