I love that on Easter…we brunch.
Nothing against mega Christmas dinners, or 4th of July grill-outs, or Thanksgiving all-day-eat-a-thons. They’re all well and good. I just especially love that on Easter — after going to church in the morning, and celebrating this wild and wonderful promise of hope that was discovered on a morning long ago, that we come back home (yes) in the morning and — we brunch.
It seems pretty perfect to me.
So for any of you who are still finalizing your plans for Easter brunch, or if you just happen to be looking for a tasty seasonal recipe that just happens to be vegetarian and gluten-free and super-customizable with your favorite ingredients, I’ve got a winner for you today. Oh, and bonus? You can even make it the day ahead of time if you want your holiday to be all the more stress-free.
So friends, allow me to introduce you to this beautiful Spring Vegetable Egg Casserole. ♥
Or maybe I should have named it, The Saute-Up-All-Of-Your-Favorite-Seasonal-Veggies-And-Bake-Them-Up-With-Eggs-And-Cheese Casserole. Because really, that’s about all it is.
I just gathered up all of my favorite spring veggies, sauted them with some garlic, layered them in a baking dish with some crumbled feta…
…and then poured a whisked egg mixture on top, and popped it in the oven until everything was baked through.
And then look at that! This gorgeous, colorful, fresh casserole was the result. So simple, so tasty, and so perfect for a crowd. :)
See the directions below if you would like to make it a day in advance. And please — please — feel free to use any of your own favorite fresh seasonal veggies or your favorite cheeses in the casserole. I sauteed all of my veggies together on the stovetop, but you could also roast yours in the oven, or use up some leftover cooked veggies, or whatever sounds good to you. The general rule of thumb is just that the veggies need to be pretty well cooked-through before you add them to the baking dish.
So feel free to make this dish your own and personalize it with whatever sounds good to you, and enjoy!
Spring Vegetable Egg Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
- 1 large carrot (or 1 cup of baby carrots), peeled and diced
- 1 pound asparagus, cut on the diagonal into bite-sized pieces
- 4 ounces sugar snap peas, halved
- 3-4 cups chopped broccoli florets (about 1 medium head of broccoli)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 12 large eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup milk
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4-5 minutes, or until it is soft and translucent.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, carrot, asparagus, snap peas, broccoli and garlic, and stir to combine. Continue cooking for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies have softened and cooked through. Add the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, and stir for another 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer about half of the veggie mixture to the prepared baking dish, and spread the veggies out in an even layer. Sprinkle evenly with half of the feta cheese. Repeat by adding the remaining veggies on top in an even layer, followed by the rest of the cheese.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk and a generous pinch of salt and pepper together until combined. Then evenly pour the egg mixture over the veggies.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the casserole comes out clean. Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Wow! So many veggies!!
Kari
Oh my goodness, yum, this looks and sounds incredible!
xx Kelly
I quickly went to the recipe after receiving your email. And then I groaned. I was anticipating a spring casserole that could be made with garden items. I live in a rural area, 15 miles one way to the nearest grocery. Too many non spring ingredients for those of us with only a country grocery that does not have a wonderful produce section. Ah, well. Back to my own recipes.
Juli Bachman, she said at the very beginning to use whatever vegetables you want to use, just make sure they are cooked through before adding the eggs. This would totally work with your garden vegetables!!
Sounds wonderful! I make this type of dish often using even larger/deeper baking dishes (lasagna size), adding more veggies, eggs and egg whites. As far as make-ahead, I find that the most time-consuming step is the veggie prep and sauté, so I just do that the night before and assemble the casserole in the morning for baking. However, now that I know I could do the whole thing, I may try it…and adding asparagus!!
Thanks for sharing with us Karen — we hope you enjoy this! :)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many vegetables baked into eggs! This sounds soooo good!
Thanks Katrina — we hope you enjoy! :)
Wonderful recipe I’m going to make for Easter Brunch , put in muffin Tins. Do you think I could make ahead and then reheat in oven that morning?. :)
Yes, we think that would be just fine — we hope you enjoy! :)
This looks very tasty and easy to make. Would love to try this recipe out, thanks for the post.
What a beautiful and colorful breakfast!! This is my kind of brunch dish! :)
Thanks Marina — we hope you enjoy! :)
YES bring me all the brunch!! I love how versatile this is, and it would be perfect leftover for easy weekend lunches too. Happy Easter week!
Thanks Erin, we hope you love it! Happy Easter week to you as well! :)
Who needs an excuse for brunch, right?! I love this dish: I’m always looking for new ways to use up any leftover vegetables and I think this recipe is perfect!
We totally agree! ;) And thanks Vivian, we hope you enjoy this!