This classic Wife Saver recipe has been a holiday tradition for decades. Also known as the ultimate Christmas Morning Casserole, this savory dish features layers of bread, ham, and cheese soaked in an egg mixture and topped with crunchy cornflakes. It's the perfect make-ahead breakfast casserole that lets you sleep in and enjoy the festivities while it bakes!
This Christmas Morning Wife Saver recipe is a savory overnight breakfast casserole with layers of bread, ham, cheese, eggs, and cornflakes. It's easy to throw together Christmas Eve and pop it in the oven the next day for a delicious Christmas morning breakfast, brunch, or any holiday morning! And the best part is... you don't have to remove the crusts from the bread!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- What is a Wife Saver?
- 🥘 Ingredient Notes
- 📖Variations & Substitutions
- 🔪 Step-by-Step: How to Make Wife Saver Breakfast Casserole
- Expert Recipe Tip
- 🌡️Storage
- 🥗What goes with Wife Saver Breakfast
- 👪 Serving Size
- ❔Recipe FAQ's
- Didn't find the answer you're looking for?
- 🎄More Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas!
- 📋 Christmas Morning Wife Saver Recipe
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Hearty. This casserole is a filling breakfast! You don't really need to serve anything else, but I love to serve it with a light Old Fashioned Fruit Salad!
- Easy. There are only a few minutes of prep, and the magic all happens overnight! In the morning, you just pop it in the oven and enjoy Christmas with your family!
- Portable. If you want to take it along to a breakfast potluck, it's ideal. You can bake it there or simply warm it up.
- Simple ingredients. You can find the ingredients for this recipe at any grocery store.
- Classic recipe. This recipe is a tried and true classic and has stood the test of time! It's a traditional recipe and family favorite that is well-loved!
Christmas morning has always been my favorite. It was the one day of the year, aside from Easter, that we were allowed to eat chocolate for breakfast. But the best part was that the chocolate was only the appetizer to the big Christmas brunch yet to come! Although my excitement for a chocolate breakfast never waned, as an adult, the after-brunch wasn't quite as exciting because I was the one who had to get up and cook it. That is, until I discovered overnight breakfast casseroles, like this Christmas Morning Casserole (aka Wife Saver Breakfast)!
Christmas brunch is even more special than your typical brunch because it's leisurely; there's nowhere to rush to (until dinner at least.) But being able to prep your Christmas morning meal the night before makes it feel even more leisurely, especially if you're an adult and the one responsible for getting it on the table! No wonder Grandma Jean made this recipe every year!
If you prefer a sweet option for your Christmas breakfast menu, give my Sheet Pan Sugar Cookie Pancakes or my Gingerbread Christmas Pancakes (with Cranberry Compote) a try! And if you're looking for more ideas, check out these 25+ Christmas Brunch Menu Ideas!
What is a Wife Saver?
The Wife Saver breakfast is a retro recipe (popular in Canada and the Midwest) designed to be prepared on Christmas Eve. It was originally named 'Wife Saver' because it allowed the cook (traditionally the 'wife' in the 1950s era) to prep everything the night before and actually enjoy Christmas morning with the family instead of being stuck in the kitchen. Today, it serves as the ideal overnight breakfast casserole for anyone hosting a holiday brunch.
I'm all about breakfast and brunch recipes that you can prep the night before and toss in the oven in the morning. And that's why overnight breakfast casseroles are ideal for holiday mornings. My Baileys Irish Cream Overnight French Toast Casserole, my Carrot Cake Overnight French Toast Casserole, and Lazy Pierogi Breakfast Casserole are also really great recipes that can be prepped the night before, do their magic overnight in the fridge, then get tossed in the oven.
🥘 Ingredient Notes
- White bread. I use white bread because whole wheat is too dense.
- Sliced deli ham. The ham serves as the protein, and the deli ham has the perfect texture as it's thin.
- Cheddar cheese *I use sharp cheddar cheese, and I grate it, instead of slicing
- Whole Milk. I buy whole milk just for this recipe! I usually drink 1 % but I tested it with both 1% and 2% milk, and the casserole gets too soggy.
- Green pepper. Green pepper gives it a fresh taste and texture.
- Hot mustard. Hot mustard spices it up!.
- Worcestershire sauce. Adds a rich, tangy, and umami-packed punch~!.
- Corn flakes. Cornflakes breakfast cereal is the topping that gives this dish its special crunch!
*Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Ham - you could substitute Canadian bacon.
- Bread - you could substitute French bread, but white bread works best.
- Mustard - you could substitute dry mustard for hot mustard.
- Corn Flakes - you could substitute Special K cereal instead
- Sausage Breakfast Casserole: Swap the ham for crumbled sausage to make a savory sausage bake.
- Vegetarian Wife Saver: Skip the meat and add spinach and mushrooms for a veggie version.
- Holiday Brunch Casserole: While we call it a Christmas casserole, this works perfectly for Easter brunch or Mother's Day
This Christmas Morning Casserole brings back a lot of memories. Grandma Jean was my late mother-in-law, and she loved to make this dish for Christmas Day brunch. In fact, it was the dish she always made.
She was a big fan of The Best of Bridge Cookbooks, as am I. This recipe was adapted from the Best of Bridge "Wife Saver" Casserole, as it was known back in the day. Not my favorite term for it, but that's what it was actually called.
🔪 Step-by-Step: How to Make Wife Saver Breakfast Casserole
This Wife Saver breakfast is very easy to make! But the magic is in the overnight part. I love that you can simply turn on the oven and pop it in the next morning!
- Spray a 9X13 baking/casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add 8 slices of bread (with crusts on) to the bottom of the dish, overlapping slightly so they all fit.
- Cover bread with half of the ham slices
- Then sprinkle on grated cheese.
- Then add the remainder of the ham slices.
- Cover with remaining slices of bread, overlapping as in the first layer. Press down to flatten a little, if it's too high.
- Whisk eggs, hot mustard, and milk, then add green pepper, green onion, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Pour the egg mixture over the casserole.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in the fridge overnight.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove plastic wrap. Melt butter and pour over the casserole. Crush cornflakes (*I put them in a Ziplock bag and roll a rolling pin over them a couple of times) and sprinkle them on top of the casserole. Bake (uncovered) for 1 hour. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish: Sprinkle with chopped green onion and garnish with salsa or ketchup, if desired.
Expert Recipe Tip
- The Bread Matters: For the best texture, use day-old bread or leave your bread slices out on the counter for a few hours to dry out slightly before assembling. Slightly stale bread absorbs the egg mixture better without becoming mushy. While you can trim the crusts for a smoother texture (the traditional way), leaving them on adds a bit more structure to the casserole.
- Don't Rush the Soak: This is a true "make-ahead" recipe for a reason! The casserole needs to sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours (and up to 24 hours). This allows the bread to fully absorb the egg custard, ensuring a fluffy, souffle-like texture rather than just "wet bread."
- The Crunchy Topping Rule: Do not add the cornflakes and melted butter the night before, or they will turn into a soggy mess. Add the topping immediately before you put the casserole in the oven on Christmas morning to ensure that signature crunch.
- Avoid "Thermal Shock": Since you are taking a cold glass or ceramic dish from the fridge and putting it into a hot oven, let the casserole sit on the counter for about 20-30 minutes while the oven preheats. This helps the casserole cook more evenly and prevents your baking dish from cracking due to extreme temperature changes.
- Check the Center: Every oven is different. To ensure the middle isn't runny, insert a knife into the center of the casserole. It should come out clean. If the top is browning too fast but the center is still liquid, tent a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
- Using Leftover Ham: This recipe is the perfect vehicle for leftover holiday ham! If you are using deli ham instead, try to buy a thicker cut. Avoid very watery, thin-sliced deli meat as it can release too much liquid during baking.
- Vegetarian Option: If you have guests who don't eat meat, you can easily swap the ham for sautéed spinach, mushrooms, or even broccoli. Just be sure to cook the water out of the vegetables before layering them in.
- Don't remove the bread crusts: I don't remove the bread crusts, as the original recipe calls for, because WHY? We're not 3-year-olds here and we can handle a little crust, right?! And so it doesn't lay perfectly flat in the pan- who cares? That's what overlapping is for. I'm all about making things easier. And bread crusts taste good!
- Whisk the eggs: It's important to whisk the eggs with the other ingredients really well or the casserole won't bind and end up runny.
🌡️Storage
FRIDGE: This Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days.
TO REHEAT:
Oven: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. If you have the casserole in its original dish, tightly seal your casserole dish with aluminum foil (shiny side in) and put it in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes, until it's warmed through. If it's in a plastic container, remove it and put it into a casserole dish or lasagna pan and follow the same directions.
Microwave: Warm up slices separately on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 1-2 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
🥗What goes with Wife Saver Breakfast
Since this make -ahead breakfast casserole is like a meal in itself, I like to serve it with fruit on the side and salsa or ketchup. I sprinkle chopped green onions on top as a garnish to give it a little color.
You can serve fruit or a Classic Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing (shown below) on the side or a simple and fun kiwi garnish. I also like to serve it with Cinnamon Overnight Sticky Buns!
Looking for drinks to serve with this make-ahead breakfast casserole? Try my Cranberry Christmas Brunch Punch or Homemade Masala Chai Tea!
👪 Serving Size
This overnight breakfast casserole makes 12 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. You'll just need additional pans.
❔Recipe FAQ's
This Christmas Morning Casserole originated in the Best of Bridge Cookbook and it is a Canadian tradition. Although an antiquated term, it was named "wife saver" because it is supposed to save the homemaker/cook (usually 'the wife') time on Christmas morning because the casserole can be fully prepped in advance and simply put in the oven to bake on Christmas morning.
You can make this Christmas Morning Wife Saver casserole up to 48 hours in advance, but if you leave it any longer than that, it will get too soggy.
I have found the best way to crush the cornflakes for this casserole is to put them in a Ziploc bag and roll a rolling pin over them a couple of times.
Yes, you can freeze it before or after baking.
Two Tips to Ensure Success:
If you are going to freeze this specific recipe, keep these two things in mind to maintain the quality:
The Topping Strategy: If freezing before cooking, do not add the Corn Flake/melted butter topping until the day you are actually putting it in the oven. If you freeze the topping, the cereal will absorb moisture and lose its "crunch" factor.
The Thaw: For the best texture, thaw the casserole in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking. Baking from rock-solid frozen can lead to the outside overcooking/drying out before the middle is set.
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So, if you are looking for an easy and make-ahead casserole for your Christmas breakfast, with very little cleanup, for your upcoming holiday breakfast, then give this Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole a try!
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📋 Christmas Morning Wife Saver Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 slices white bread
- 16 slices sliced ham (sandwich meat) (approx 395 g package)
- 1.5 cups grated cheese
- 6 whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 cups whole milk * it has to be whole milk or it gets too soggy
- ¼ large green pepper
- 1 teaspoon hot mustard * I use Keen's hot mustard
- ¼ cup green onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup corn flakes, crushed a little
Garnish
- additional chopped green onion
- salsa or ketchup, as desired
Instructions
- Spray a 9X13 baking/casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add 8 pieces of bread (with crusts on) to bottom of dish, overlapping slightly so they all fit.
- Cover bread with half of the ham slices.
- Then sprinkle on grated cheese.
- Then add remainder of ham slices.
- Cover with remaining slices of bread, overlapping as in the first layer. Press down to flatten a little, if it's too high.
- Beat eggs, hot mustard and milk, then add green pepper, green onion and Worcestershire sauce.
- Pour mixture over casserole.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in fridge overnight.
- In the morning: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
- Remove plastic wrap. Melt butter and pour over casserole.
- Crush corn flakes (I put them in a Ziplock bag and roll a rolling pin over them a couple of times) and sprinkle on top of casserole.
- Bake (uncovered) for 1 hour. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Garnish
- Sprinkle with chopped green onion and garnish with salsa or ketchup, if desired.
Notes
- The Bread Matters: For the best texture, use day-old bread or leave your bread slices out on the counter for a few hours to dry out slightly before assembling. Slightly stale bread absorbs the egg mixture better without becoming mushy. While you can trim the crusts for a smoother texture (the traditional way), leaving them on adds a bit more structure to the casserole.
- Don't Rush the Soak: This is a true "make-ahead" recipe for a reason! The casserole needs to sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours (and up to 24 hours). This allows the bread to fully absorb the egg custard, ensuring a fluffy, souffle-like texture rather than just "wet bread."
- The Crunchy Topping Rule: Do not add the cornflakes and melted butter the night before, or they will turn into a soggy mess. Add the topping immediately before you put the casserole in the oven on Christmas morning to ensure that signature crunch.
- Avoid "Thermal Shock": Since you are taking a cold glass or ceramic dish from the fridge and putting it into a hot oven, let the casserole sit on the counter for about 20-30 minutes while the oven preheats. This helps the casserole cook more evenly and prevents your baking dish from cracking due to extreme temperature changes.
- Check the Center: Every oven is different. To ensure the middle isn't runny, insert a knife into the center of the casserole. It should come out clean. If the top is browning too fast but the center is still liquid, tent a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
- Using Leftover Ham: This recipe is the perfect vehicle for leftover holiday ham! If you are using deli ham instead, try to buy a thicker cut. Avoid very watery, thin-sliced deli meat as it can release too much liquid during baking.
- Vegetarian Option: If you have guests who don't eat meat, you can easily swap the ham for sautéed spinach, mushrooms, or even broccoli. Just be sure to cook the water out of the vegetables before layering them in.
- Don't remove the bread crusts: I don't remove the bread crusts, as the original recipe calls for, because WHY? We're not 3-year-olds here and we can handle a little crust, right?! And so it doesn't lay perfectly flat in the pan- who cares? That's what overlapping is for. I'm all about making things easier. And bread crusts taste good!
- Whisk the eggs: It's important to whisk the eggs with the other ingredients really well or the casserole won't bind and end up runny.
River says
I've been making this for ever. My mom made it growing up and I've taken over since her passing over 12 years ago. Always a hit. My family jokingly refers to it as lazy B@st**d breakfast since I took over but it's really not a lazy dish at all. The only bonus is that you can prep it the night before. That doesn't make it a wife saver or lazy. It's amazing though and everyone loves it.
Terri Gilson says
Hi River,
That's so wonderful that you've carried on the tradition 🙂 And I agree with you- it's not lazy at all! You're right, everyone sees you simply pop it in the oven in the morning and don't see all the work you put in the day before! It's very deceiving....
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Terri
NANCY says
great comfort food and perfect for leftovers!
Terri Gilson says
Thanks, Nancy!
Kristen says
I love the idea of a casseroles Christmas morning. Talk about making things a little easier! Thank for sharing.
Terri Gilson says
Me too, Kristen! I'd rather be opening presents 🙂
Sharon says
Fun! I love the idea of breakfast being leisurely for all, even the cook. 🙂 And I have never heard of Best of Bridge! Just reserved it at my library. Christmas reading! Thanks. 🙂
Terri Gilson says
Thanks, Sharon! Yes, the Best of Bridge have a series of books and some really great recipes - enjoy!
Yvonne Langen says
I LOVE a one-pan solution to breakfast and not having to do 100 dishes on Christmas morning when I want to be opening presents!
Terri Gilson says
I agree, Yvonne!
Amy says
I'm going to be honest, I've never heard of Christmas Morning Casserole before. But, this looks amazing especially if you need to feed a large crowd.
Definitely going to try this!
Terri Gilson says
Hi Amy,
Yes, it's a pretty retro recipe so not surprised you haven't heard of it. ! I hope you enjoy it 🙂