With the holidays right around the corner, there are a million and one recipes on how to cook a turkey or a ham or a prime rib, but what about those guests/family members that come into town and stay with you who need to eat something other than just the big holiday meal? We all know that it’s leftovers for lunch and dinner after the big festive feast, but what about breakfast? Or what about the days before that epic Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? Don’t worry. I’m here to help with a simple breakfast skillet that is as delicious as it is easy. Let’s get after it and make a Holiday Breakfast Skillet.
Holiday Breakfast Skillet Ingredients:
1.5 lbs cubed potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 sweet bell pepper, chopped (any color but green)
1 lb Johnsonville Ground Italian Sausage (sweet or spicy)
5 oz fresh spinach
5-6 eggs
6 oz fresh grated cheese (we used brick cheese and apple smoked cheddar – more on these later)
1 baguette of bread
2 fresno peppers, minced (substitute baby bell peppers)
Everything bagel seasoning
2 tbs asiago cheese, freshly grated
Flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
***Makes one pan

How to Cook a Breakfast Skillet
Start off by cubing the potatoes while the grill gets up temp. Target temp is between 300-350 degrees in the pan. We will be using both oil and butter as I prefer the way using both fats browns up the potatoes.
First pour the oil into a cast iron pan:

Then drop the butter:

In this case, we made two skillets of this recipe. One with the Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage and the other with the Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage. The only difference between the two pans besides the sausage types is one got topped with red minced fresno chilies and the other with yellow and orange bell peppers. Red went on the Johsnonville Hot Italian Sausage pan which made it easier to determine which was which. Now back to the recipe.
Once the oil and butter in the pan are hot, drop in the potatoes:

Once the potatoes brown on the bottom, flip them over to brown them all the way around:


Once the potatoes have browned most of the way around, drop in the peppers and onions:


Make sure to hit the peppers, onions and taters with a sprinkle of salt:

And some pepper:

Time to stick the sausage in
Mix the peppers and onions throughout the pan and once the peppers soften up a bit and the onions turn a little translucent add the sausage:

We used the hot Italian in this pan, but go with whichever Johnsonville Italian Sausage variety you prefer. I bet that chorizo variety is really fantastic too.
Break up the sausage into bite size chunks and work the chunks through the potato/pepper/onion mixture:


Once the sausage browns all the way, add the spinach:

When the spinach wilts, mix it throughout the cast iron pan:

Eggs need nests
Next up, take a spatula and create little nests in the skillet for each egg:

And then drop a raw egg in each nest:


Once all the nests have an egg in them add the cheese:

Now put on the lid to allow the eggs to firm up and the cheese to melt:

While the eggs are cooking and that cheese is melting, let’s toast some crostini (the plural of crostini is crostini). Slice the baguette on a bias about an inch thick. Place them on a cutting board or in a pan and hit them with some spray oil on both sides:

Toast the bread on both sides over the hot fire which will only take a few moments so don’t step away for a mimosa or a trip to the restroom:

Remove the crostini from the heat and set aside.
Once the eggs are solid and the cheese is melted, remove the skillet from the heat and top with the minced Fresno peppers and everything bagel seasoning:


We are almost done
Add the chopped parsley and then grate the asiago over the top:

Just about ready:

Don’t forget those crostini:

Now place a crostini on a plate and add a scoop of the skillet making sure an egg is in the middle:

Now serve:

Holiday Breakfast Skillet Summary
So which was better? Both versions were equally amazing. One just had a little more zing than the other. Both had the hearty potatoes, savory Johnsonville Italian Sausage, gooey cheese and firm eggs. This dish is an absolute home run and sure to satisfy your family and friends visiting for the holidays.
I’d like to thank Johnsonville Sausage for bringing this post to you as they sponsored this one which allows me to do what I do.
Also, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook page, Instagram, and YouTube feeds
Holiday Breakfast Skillet
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb potato cubed
- 4 tbsp salted butter (½ stick)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 sweet bell pepper chopped (any color but green)
- 1 lb Johnsonville Ground Italian Sausage sweet or spicy
- 5 oz fresh spinach
- 5 to 6 eggs
- 6 oz grated cheese (we used brick cheese and apple smoked cheddar - more on these later)
- 1 baguette bread
- 2 fresno pepper minced (substitute baby bell peppers)
- everything bagel seasoning
- 2 tbsp Asiago cheese freshly grated
- flat leaf parsley chopped
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the grill for medium to medium high heat with the target temp in the pan at 300-350F
- Cube the potatoes as the grill and pan come up to temp
- Add oil and butter to the pan
- Once the butter melts and the pan is back up to temp, drop in the potatoes
- When the potatoes have browned most of the way around, add the onions and peppers and season with salt and pepper
- Work the onions and peppers through and cook until they soften up a bit
- Add the Johnsonville Ground Italian Sausage and break up into bite size pieces
- Once the sausage has browned most of the way through, add the spinach
- When the spinach wilts, mix it throughout the skillet and make nests for the eggs
- Crack an egg into each nest (bonus points if you do it one handed)
- Add the cheese and place a lid on the skillet
- While the cheese is melting and eggs are firming up, slice the baguette on the bias and oil each side of the bread slices with spray oil
- Toast the bread over the fire on both sides, remove from heat and set aside
- Once the cheese has melted and the eggs have firmed up, remove the lid and top with everything bagel seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, Fresno peppers, flat leaf parsley and asiago cheese
- Serve a scoop of the breakfast skillet over or next to a crostini