How to Make Slow-Cooker Breakfast Casseroles

For easy removal and clean-up, line slow cooker with aluminum foil, folded into thirds; spray with cooking spray. 

Begin layering the Slow-Cooker Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole with half of the hash browns. 

Continue layering half of the sausage, peppers, green onions and cheese.

Repeat layers with remaining hash browns, sausage, peppers, green onions and cheese. Pour egg mixture over layers.

Cover; cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2 ½-3 hours or until the temperature reaches 160 degrees and the eggs are set. 

Sprinkle reserved cheese and green onions over top of casserole. Cover; cook 10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Remove foil before serving by loosening edges using a table knife. 

What we learned when developing and testing these recipes:

• When it comes to making egg dishes in the slow cooker, timing is everything. If you overcook them, they’ll become dry and tough and can burn on the bottom; and undercooked eggs aren’t food safe. Well-done mixtures should appear set in the center and any liquid should appear clear and not have any raw-egg appearance. A digital thermometer works well to insert in the center to ensure the dish has reached 160 degrees. A slow cooker with a built-in thermometer (in the Betty Crocker Kitchens we love Hamilton Beach’s programmable version!) will identify the temperature of the dish you are cooking without having to open the lid and disrupting the cooking process.
• Adding additional cheese and fresh chopped herbs or vegetables such as green onions, chopped parsley or bell peppers at the end of the cook time will freshen up the appearance of the egg dish before serving.
• Cream or half-and-half work well to bind ingredients to prevent the ingredients from curdling and also add a rich, great taste.
• Recipes high in sugar such as French toast can only be cooked on the low-heat setting or they burn around the edges.
• Most slow cookers have a side that is hotter and can cause foods sensitive to heat (think egg dishes!) to burn more easily. So we like to line the sides of the slow cooker to prevent overcooking on hot spots. To make a foil liner, just take a long piece of foil and fold it over crosswise into thirds to fit the height of the slow cooker. Spray the liner with nonstick cooking spray and remove it from the slow cooker before serving. Bonus: the foil also makes clean up much easier. 
• If you want to remove food from the slow cooker to a serving platter in one piece, make an aluminum-foil sling. Heavy-duty foil works best for this job, but we had success using regular foil too. To make a sling, use two pieces of foil long enough to line the slow cooker and hang over the sides. Place the sheets perpendicular to each other in the slow cooker and spray with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking before adding the food. Once the food is finished cooking, simply lift the food out by the sling (we usually tackle this as a two-person team) and place on a serving platter, gently removing the foil from the sides and bottom of food.