Crock Pot Southwestern Breakfast Casserole
Like most Crock Pot recipes, this one mostly involves dumping ingredients in the Crock Pot (here’s one we love)! There is a little bit of prep, however. You’ll need to brown the sausage, mix the eggs, cut the veggies, and grate the cheese. This won’t take more than 15 minutes or so, and then you can dump it in the slow cooker and let it take care of the rest.
I love this for a mid-morning brunch. It took about 4 hours to cook (on low) in my slow cooker. You could wake up early and have this nice and hot for brunch, or put it together at lunchtime to eat for dinner.
Can you eat sausage on Weight Watchers and the 21 Day Fix?
Yep. Well, sort of. You can eat anything you want on Weight Watchers. Some types of sausage are much higher in fat and would therefore would be more points, which of course you would need to track.
On the 21 Day Fix, you want to look for a low-fat, minimally processed sausage…usually, chicken or turkey sausage (I don’t know of any approved pork sausage).
Here are some variations you could make for this recipe:
You could add diced onion and jalapeno for more kick. Alternately, you could cut the seasoning in half to reduce the kickiness!
You can use any sausage you like. This recipe uses a minimally processed turkey sausage to keep it compliant with WW and the 21DF. But if you’re not following those plans, use your preferred sausage.
You can also add extra hashbrowns! This recipe calls for frozen hashbrowns (the type where the only ingredient is potatoes – again, not a bunch of preservatives or other ingredients to keep this as clean as possible).
To reduce the points for this recipe, you could reduce the cheese a bit (but cheese…cheese!).
OK, let’s make this casserole!
Crock Pot Southwestern Breakfast Casserole
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 16 oz turkey sausage mild bulk sausage, no casings
- 16 oz frozen hashbrowns shredded
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 bell pepper finely chopped
- 8 eggs large
- 1/2 c water
- 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
- sea salt to taste
- black gound pepper to taste
- 1 c sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1 c Monterey Jack cheese grated
Optional Garnish/Toppings
- green onions chopped
- red bell pepper chopped
- cilantro
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
Instructions
- Spray a 6-quart orlarger slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cook sausage in alarge skillet until nicely browned, approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully drain excess grease from the skillet. Set aside.
- Spread hash browns in an even layer across the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the browned sausage and sprinkle the ground cumin and garlic powder on top.
- Add the chopped red pepper and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Whisk the eggs and water together in a large bowl and pour evenly across the top of the other ingredients before topping with the shredded cheese.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours (cooking times will vary based on your slow cooker). Serve immediately topped with green onion, red pepper, fresh cilantro, and/or additional shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This makes for some great leftovers. Or, you can break it up in a pan over medium heat with some oil added to it (or leave it out) to get it nice and crispy, then roll it up in a tortilla the next day (that’s how Charles has been eating the leftovers).
You can also freeze this recipe. Freeze in individual portion sizes and pull one out of the freezer when you’re hungry. Microwave for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes until thawed and warm.
If you’re looking for some other 21 Day Fix and WW breakfast recipes, check these out:
Can you use cauliflower rice instead of
hashbrowns?
I haven’t tried it…I feel like they might get mushy. I love the idea though…I may try that and see how it turns out!