Easy Make Ahead Baked Scrambled Eggs
Imagine waking up on holidays, or any morning, to delicious make ahead baked scrambled eggs, ready and waiting to be heated and enjoyed. These overnight oven scrambled eggs are so easy to make, in either one large dish or individual ramekins, saving you time and leaving you to enjoy a delicious breakfast with your family and friends. No more last-minute scrambling in the kitchen!
Looking for more make ahead breakfast options? Try this amazing all real food overnight Monkey Bread, this Maple Mustard Bacon, or these Mediterranean Breakfast Freezer Burritos.
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Ready for a delicious, easy egg dish you can prep the night before and bake in the morning to wake up to a delightful, healthy breakfast?
Then you will love this recipe for oven baked scrambled eggs!
While it’s our Christmas morning tradition (along with our other, much loved make ahead dishes), I’ve also made these overnight scrambled eggs for Easter and Mother’s Day brunches, as well as on weekend trips to AirBnBs or camping. This recipe is so versatile!
What makes this recipe different (and better, in my opinion) from many other make-ahead egg dishes is that there is no bread-carb ingredient, just eggs, sour cream, cheese, and optional spinach.
Which makes it that much easier to add our favorite monkey bread, scone, coffee cake, or muffin!
One Dish or Individual Ramekins
For smaller gatherings like our family Christmas brunch, I love to portion the eggs into individual ramekins before storing and baking, like shown above, instead of a single baking dish. (Here’s a set of 8 affordable white ramekins that would work.)
It looks special and is much easier to serve up – just place one on everybody’s plate.
The ramekins also hold heat longer than a pile of eggs on a plate, so they stay warmer longer.
If you need eggs for a larger group, layering them in a 13×9-inch ceramic or glass baking dish is the way to go.
Do I have to make these ahead?
No! Simply skip the covering and overnight storage step and go straight to the oven after placing the loosely scrambled eggs in the ramekins or baking dish and topping with cheese. Then bake according to the recipe directions.
TIP: if you’re baking right away you can add the fresh spinach right to the eggs (you need to wilt it first or use frozen spinach if making ahead).
Ingredient Notes
This is a basic scrambled egg recipe with eggs and seasonings, but one extra ingredient takes them to a higher level:
- Sour Cream – this gives the eggs the creamy, rich texture and is key to helping them to hold up well overnight. Don’t leave it out, though you can experiment with using different amounts (I often use just a half cup).
Do you need to add the spinach?
No, it’s optional and I’ve made this many times without the spinach. I like that it adds vegetables in a way that everyone will eat.
If you do use spinach, it needs to be cooked and drained (or thawed and squeezed dry if frozen) before adding to the scramble or you will have soggy eggs the next morning.
How to Make Baked Scrambled Eggs: Step-by-Step
Here are a few helpful visual instructions – the full instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the printable recipe card below.
Step 1: Prep the baking dish and egg mixture. Butter whatever you are using to bake the eggs in, either a 13×9-inch glass or ceramic pan or six 6-ounce or larger ramekins. Mix up the eggs in a large bowl – choose either milk or water OR you can even leave it out completely!
Step 2: Scramble the eggs. Pour egg mixture into a heated, buttered pan and start scrambling. Whether you are adding the spinach or not (and do not add fresh spinach like shown here unless you will be baking it right away), the KEY is to not scramble the eggs until they’re completely dry and cooking gently over low to medium-low heat.
Step 3: Mix in sour cream. Add the sour cream to the still moist, fluffy eggs – you should see a bit of moisture around the edges still, not uncooked egg liquid, though, just not a completely dry scramble. Remove from heat and taste for seasoning (adding up to another 1/4 teaspoon) then add to your prepared dish(es). Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Spinach Tips (if using) – To keep it from making the eggs soggy:
- Do NOT add the fresh spinach like I show in the photos, unless baking right away.
- DO use either thawed frozen spinach or spinach you’ve sautéed first until completely limp. Simply cook the spinach over medium-low heat until wilted and the water from the spinach has evaporated, then add the egg mixture and continue with the recipe.
- If using frozen spinach, squeeze it out over a colander as much as possible (or lay it out on a towel to drain while you scramble the eggs) and add it when the eggs are just starting to scramble and finish with the recipe.
Step 4: Cook right away OR store in the fridge (if making ahead): Add a layer of plastic over the scrambled eggs and refrigerate them until the next morning.
If using ramekins like the photos, set them on a cookie sheet and cover everything with plastic. If using a baking dish, cover that. SO easy.
Step 5: Bake in the morning. When making ahead, remove the eggs from the refrigerator in the morning about 30 minutes before serving.
Let them sit on the counter while the oven preheats. Then bake for 15 minutes, or until the center is heated, and serve.
Additions & Substitutions
Additions & Variations:
- Add chicken, beef, or pork sausage. Use precooked or cook before and add when you’re mixing in the sour cream.
- Increase the vegetables (and nutrition) by sautéing onions and peppers first and then scrambling with the eggs.
- Greek: Add 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives with the spinach and top with feta and fresh tomatoes.
- Southwest: Add a 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder to egg mixture, top with pepper jack cheese, and serve with salsa.
- Pesto: Mix in a couple tablespoons of prepared pesto with the sour cream and top with parmesan.
Substitutions:
- Instead of cheddar try jack cheese, goat cheese (pictured above), fontina or parmesan.
- Sauté kale instead of spinach and cook with the eggs.
- Make dairy free by using a sour cream substitute and cheese substitute and omitting the milk.
Your Questions Answered
Yes! I love doing this – it’s so nice to not have to stumble around an unfamiliar kitchen the first morning after arriving somewhere.
Simply put the prepared eggs (at the stage you’ll refrigerate them) in one or two gallon zip top baggies (or leak-proof container). Put the shredded cheese in another bag or container. In the morning, spread the eggs in a 13×9 pan, top with the cheese and bake.
You can reheat any leftover eggs either by gently heating and stirring in a microwave or remove them to a frying pan and heat gently over medium-low until warmed through.
Kept tightly covered, fully cooked scrambled eggs will last 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Baking the eggs like this heats up the pan, whether that’s a glass baking dish or individual ramekins, which will keep the eggs warm for 10-15 minutes after removing from the oven.
To keep oven baked eggs warm longer, make sure to cover the pan and they should stay warm for 30 minutes.
We always have these on Christmas morning when make ahead recipes are so great to use. Our bunch menu includes the eggs, overnight monkey bread that’s baked fresh in the morning, slightly sweet maple mustard bacon, sliced seasonal fruit, and sometimes a potato dish.
Other things to serve with the eggs would be Frosted Maple Oat Scones, Sticky Bun Sourdough Coffee Cake, or Make Ahead 10 Grain Berry and Nut Freezer Muffins.
The flavor of these eggs are SO delicious – really! The touch of sour cream brings them a step above regular scrambled eggs so that everyone I’ve served them to just loves them.
More Easy Recipes for Breakfast
- Simple Healthy Buckwheat Oat Granola Bark with Nuts & Seeds
- Amazing Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles
- 22+ Healthy Bread and Breakfast Recipes
- 25 Of The Best Apple Breakfast Recipes
I hope you love this baked scrambled eggs recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a rating so I know how you liked it!
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Easy Make Ahead Baked Scrambled Eggs
Equipment
- 1 13×9-inch pan OR six 6-ounce ramekins (or larger)
Ingredients
- butter for baking dishes & skillet
- 12 eggs
- 1/3 cup water or milk, optional
- 1/2 teaspoons salt & pepper or to taste
- 2 cups chopped spinach, optional *either frozen and squeezed dry OR sauteed until limp and then drained on a towel while preparing eggs – the spinach should be a dry as possible
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheese sharp cheddar, jack, fontina, goat or other cheese of choice
Instructions
- Butter a 13×9-inch pan OR 6 ramekins (6-ounce to 1-cup size). If using ramekins, place them on a small cookie sheet to store and bake on.
- Combine eggs, water or milk (if using), and seasonings in a large bowl.
- Heat a 10-12-inch skillet over medium-high heat with a pat of butter. Add egg mixture and cook until eggs just start to scramble. (Alternatively, you can sauté fresh spinach first until wilted and liquid evaporates and then add the egg mixture to scramble with the spinach)
- If using cooked/thawed spinach, drain and add, stirring a bit more until the eggs are just set but still moist.
- Remove from heat and fold in the sour cream.
- Spread eggs in prepared pan or divide evenly between the prepared ramekins. Top with cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Bake right away (325 degrees for 10-15 minutes) OR cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to make ahead.
- If made ahead: In the morning, uncover the eggs and let sit on the counter while the oven is preheating to 325 degrees, about 10-15 minutes.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until eggs are warmed through and cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Greek: add 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives with the spinach and top with feta and fresh tomatoes.
- Southwest: add a 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder to egg mixture, top with pepper jack cheese and serve with salsa.
- Pesto: mix in a couple tablespoons of pesto with the sour cream and top with parmesan.
Nutrition
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in January of 2017.
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Looks delicious!