New York Breakfast Casserole

Having company for brunch is one of my favorite ways of entertaining. It’s a relaxing way to catch up with family and friends and there’s inevitably something that satisfies the appetite of even the pickiest eater – blueberry muffins and fruit anyone? However, the late morning timing of brunch requires the host or hostess to be on their game. Organization is the key to pulling together a variety of foods in a limited time window. This recipe for New York breakfast casserole by Deb Perelman, published in her cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook, hits all the brunch high notes. Combining bagels, cream cheese, tomatoes and purple onions in a rich, creamy, egg custard is a stroke of pure brilliance. And are you ready for this: this dish is assembled in its entirety the night before you serve it. The only thing you have to do is pop the casserole into a preheated oven one hour before your guests arrive.

New York Breakfast Casserole

This recipe for New York breakfast casserole, includes cut up bagels. Perhaps you are acquainted with that long-standing rivalry between New York bagels and Montreal bagels. Debates about which bagel is superior — Montreal or New York — have raged for decades. Food critic Phyllis Richman declared in the Washington Post that “the best bagel in the Western Hemisphere is from Montreal, not New York,” whereas former New York Times critic Mimi Sheraton scathingly dismissed Montreal bagels. “I thought they were horrible,” she said. “They couldn’t even be called bagels.” Trash-talk aside, how do the two types of bagels differ from each other? The dough in a Montreal bagel is boiled in honey water, hand-rolled, then baked in a wood-fire oven. The recipe does not contain salt or eggs. The result is a crispier, slightly sweeter, flatter, more compact bread than what comprises the more puffy, smooth-surfaced New York bagel. New York bagels are boiled in water with added barley malt rather than honey, making them less sweet than their northern counterparts. They also contain salt, resulting in a saltier taste. Although New York bagels were rolled by hand once upon a time, this is rarely the case today. Baked in a traditional oven, New York bagels have a chewier bite. People feel a very strong allegiance to their choice of bagel. However according to Maria Balinska, who wrote a history of bagels, “The Montreal bagel isn’t better than the well-made New York bagel — it’s just different,” she wrote.

Whatever bagels you choose, they will bake up into a crunchy crust, dotted with creamy cubes of cream cheese and tart, juicy grape tomatoes in this luscious and easy breakfast dish. And when your guests ask you if you got up at 5 a.m. to prepare this satisfying casserole, just smile.

Assemble your ingredients. Cut six bagels into one inch cubes. You should have eight cups of bagel cubes. Slice one pint of grape tomatoes in half and cut one brick of cream cheese into small pieces. Slice one quarter of a red onion into thin slices. Crack eight large eggs and measure out 2 1/3 cups of milk.

Spread one third of the bagels in a 9X13-inch pan or 4-quart baking dish. Dot the bagels with a third of the cream cheese and scatter 1/3 of the tomatoes and onions on top. Repeat two more times. Beat the eggs and milk together with a whisk. Add salt and pepper to the mixture. Pour the egg mixture over the bagel, cheese and vegetables in the casserole. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the plastic wrap and place the casserole or 9X13-inch pan on a baking tray, uncovered. Bake the casserole in the middle of the oven for one hour. It will appear to be puffed and golden. Allow the casserole to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Practice smiling modestly and whatever you do, don’t tell anyone how easy it was to make this winning dish.

Print Recipe

New York Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast, bread and muffins

By Deb Perelman, in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook – Serves: 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes + an overnight rest in the fridge – Cooking Time: 60 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes + resting time

This easy breakfast casserole combines bagels, cream cheese, tomatoes and purple onions in a rich and creamy, egg custard.

Ingredients

8 cups of bagels cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces cream cheese, chilled and cut into small cubes (I used brick cream cheese)
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced in half (or quartered if very large)
8 large eggs
2 1/3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Prepare the casserole the night before you want to serve it

Spread a third of the bagel cubes in a 9 X 13-inch pan or other 4 quart baking dish. Dot the bagels with a third of the cream cheese cubes and add in a third of the onions and tomatoes here and there. Repeat in two more layers.

Whisk the eggs with the milk, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bagel, cheese and vegetable layers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Cook the next day

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the casserole dish, UNCOVERED, on a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for one hour. The casserole should appear puffed and golden brown. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.