Zucchini Sausage Breakfast Casserole combines veggies and Italian flavors in one hearty dish.

Using tater tots, thyme, oregano, fresh zucchini, mozzarella cheese, and Italian sausage, this gluten free breakfast casserole is filling, healthy, and delicious!

Serving of Zucchini Sausage Breakfast Casserole served on a white plate next to the casserole dish

Ingredients needed for zucchini sausage breakfast casserole

- Italian Sausage: Choose a ground Italian sausage without a lot of "filler" ingredients. My go-to is Mulay's. I've used both the Hot Italian Sausage and Mild Italian Sausage from Mulay's for this recipe with awesome results! Another favorite brand in our house is Beeler's. Or use my Homemade Italian Turkey Sausage!

- Tater Tots: This recipe calls for frozen tater tots, a quick and easy way to bulk up this casserole. You can also use frozen hashbrowns - the tater tots mostly break up during baking, anyway.

- Zucchini: Originally, I added zucchini to this casserole simply because I had a plethora of zucchini to use from my garden. Fortunately I found zucchini worked quite well in a breakfast casserole! It adds a veggie boost to breakfast, but since its flavor is fairly neutral, it doesn't take over the casserole.

Make sure to squeeze as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible before adding it to the casserole. Otherwise the casserole may end up soggy.

Ingredients for a breakfast casserole, including eggs, zucchini, onion, sausage, herbs, and cheese

How to make an awesome breakfast casserole

Breakfast casseroles are a no brainer for making big batches of food for delicious meal prep or to feed a crowd.

When making breakfast casseroles, you'll want to think about LAYERS.

Meat, vegetables, a starch, and cheese all work together to provide texture and big flavor for an awesome breakfast casserole. Otherwise, you'll end up with mostly eggs - which, although eggs are great, it'll get boring after a while!

First, you'll have to brown the meat and soften the veggies.

With zucchini as an ingredient, you'll also have to soften that up by lightly salting and squeezing out the excess moisture. (Alternatively, you can roast the zucchini beforehand.)

After that, you can whisk together the eggs, herbs, spices, and cheese until the eggs are well-blended and frothy.

For this recipe, I also use frozen tater tots to add bulk, texture, and flavor. You can use frozen hashbrowns or cauliflower rice if you'd like!

Zucchini Sausage breakfast casserole in a baking dish, sliced into 8 servings

How to change up this casserole recipe

One of the fantastic things about breakfast casseroles is their adaptability! You can easily alter a breakfast casserole to fit your tastes.

Use a different cheese: One of the easiest ways to change up this recipe - try a different cheese. Use shredded pepper jack or even crumbled feta.

Maple sausage: Use a maple-flavored breakfast sausage instead of Italian sausage. Omit the oregano and add ½ teaspoon chopped fresh sage.

No spiralizer? No problem: This recipe calls for a spiralizer to make long, wavy strips of zucchini. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can use a mandolin to slice the zucchini thin. Otherwise, use a food processor to shred the zucchini.

Roast the zucchini: Want a deeper level of flavor for the breakfast casserole? You can roast the zucchini beforehand. Chop into 1-2" pieces and toss in a bit of olive oil. Spread out on a baking sheet OR place a wire rack above a baking sheet (to prevent the zucchini from getting soggy). Roast at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes.