Bacon, Egg and Hash Browns Casserole

Nancy Fox can be found on SkinnyKitchen.com sharing her incredible skinnified recipes, like this delicious bacon, egg and hash browns breakfast casserole.

All breakfast foods in one hearty, super delicious dish. I can’t wait for you to taste this luxuriously rich breakfast casserole. It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or even dinner! It’s so easy to make since you’re using shredded and frozen hash browns. I’m also adding bacon that you’ll cook on paper towels in the microwave to remove most of the fat. In addition, the fat-free cottage cheese and sour cream really add to the richness of this dish. You can freeze the leftovers for a quick weekday meal. Each skinny serving has 230 calories, 4 grams of fat and 6 Weight Watchers SmartPoints. A definite keeper!

Cooking Information

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

cooking spray (I prefer olive oil sprays, you can use your favorite)

12 slices bacon or turkey bacon (I used Oscar Meyer Center Cut bacon, see shopping tips)

1½ cups onions, chopped

½ cup fat-free sour cream

½ cup fat-free cottage cheese

½ cup fat-free milk

2 eggs beaten  (I like using Eggland’s Best Eggs, see shopping tips)

2 egg whites

¾ teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt or salt

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

4 cups frozen hash browns, not defrosted, see shopping tips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2. To cook bacon: Line a plate with several paper towels. Place 6 bacon strips on the paper. Cover with several paper towels. Cook in microwave for 4-5 minutes until well done and crispy. Repeat with 6 remaining bacon strips. Add all cooked strips to clean paper towels and blot. Set aside.

3. Cook onions in microwave for 3 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, add cooked onions, crumble in bacon, sour cream, cottage cheese, milk, eggs, egg whites, ¼ teaspoon seasoning salt or salt and pepper. Mix well.

5. Pour mixture into baking pan. Spread evenly. Cover the top evenly with frozen hash browns. Make sure to break up the chunks of potato. Spray the top generously with cooking spray. Sprinkle top with ½ teaspoon seasoning salt or salt and a little pepper.

6. Cover casserole with foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 30 minutes. To crisp the hash browns, place under broiler for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Be sure to keep an eye on it while broiling to make sure you they don’t burn.

7. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes to set. Cut into 6 slices.

8. This casserole can be reheated and it freezes really well. It can be easily doubled and made in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Makes 6 serving (each serving, 1 slice)

Shopping Tips

Whenever a recipe calls for using eggs, I LOVE Eggland’s Best eggs. They have less saturated fat, less cholesterol, more Vitamin D, more Vitamin E and double the Omega 3 than regular eggs. Most supermarkets carry them in the egg aisle.

I also recently discovered a fantastic bacon. It’s called Applegate Farms Natural Sunday Bacon. It’s low in fat and calories, uncured and contains no nitrites! Many supermarkets now carry this brand, but I have purchased it at Vons/Safeway and Whole Foods.

Before finding this healthier bacon, I had combed the supermarket shelves looking for one of the leanest regular bacon choices and Oscar Meyer Center Cut Bacon is my favorite, compared to most regular brands. It’s much lower in fat and calories, 3 slices contain 70 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. Once cooked on paper towels, most of the fat soaks into the paper, not in the bacon, so the fat is further cut down. In my Skinny Facts, I subtract out the fat that’s left on the paper towels!

Frozen hash brown potatoes are sold in most supermarkets. They contain no fat, just shredded potatoes. I used Ore Ida’s frozen plain shredded hash browns. One serving (1¼ cups) has 70 calories, 0g fat, 10g carbs, 1g protein, 0.6g fiber, 0g sugar, 12mg sodium

Weight Watchers SmartPoints 6
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 6

SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving
230 calories, 4g fat, 2g sat. fat, 70mg chol, 15g protein, 32g carbs, 3g fiber, 458mg sodium, 3g sugar

FAT FACTS: for Denny’s Grand Slam Slugger with hash browns
1040 calories, 55g fat, 38g protein, 97g carbs, 4g fiber, 2,640mg sodium