WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker Southwest Breakfast Casserole
I've definitely become smitten with slow cooker breakfast casseroles since beginning my Weight Watchers friendly crock pot cooking adventure.
I love to make them on the weekend to enjoy for a late breakfast and then portion them out for a quick reheat during the week.
Slow Cooker Southwest Breakfast Casserole
Many, like this slow cooker southwest breakfast casserole, work equally well for breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper.
Last Friday night, I put this southwest breakfast casserole together and then popped it in the fridge before heading to bed.
When I got up early Saturday morning to let Francie out, I took the ceramic insert out of the fridge, put it in the slow cooker, flipped the switch to LOW and went back to bed for a couple more hours.
By 10:00AM it was ready to eat.
And I've enjoyed the leftovers this week both for breakfast and lunch.
How to Make Slow Cooker Southwest Breakfast Casserole
Vegetarian, and packed with shredded potatoes, corn, black beans and red bell pepper, this colorful southwest breakfast casserole was already pretty healthy.
To make this casserole a little more Weight Watchers friendly (by reducing the fat and calories a bit), I:
- substituted fat-free evaporated milk for half-and-half, and
- used reduced-fat cheese instead of full fat and decreased the amount to 1-½ from 2 cups
I prefer whole eggs.
But if you wanted to lighten this slow cooker casserole even further, you could use all egg whites, egg beaters or a combination of whole eggs and egg whites.
This becomes Simply Filling when you use fat-free cheese, something I'm unwilling to do.
I'd prefer to use a couple indulgence points for reduced-fat cheese instead.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole?
According to my calculations, each serving of this casserole has about 268 calories and:
8 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
7 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?
If you like this southwestern inspired slow cooker breakfast casserole, be sure to check out some of my other easy Weight Watchers friendly breakfast recipes including Leftovers for Breakfast Slow Cooker Casserole, Slow Cooker Spaghetti Frittata, Crock Pot Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal, Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole and Lightened Up Slow Cooker Easy Egg & Sausage Puff
Slow Cooker Southwest Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1-½ cups shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 8 eggs
- 1 can (12 ounces) fat-free evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-Quart.
- Grease the inside of your slow cooker insert.
- In a large bowl, combine the black beans, bell pepper, onion, potatoes, corn, cheese and cilantro. Stir well and then dump in the slow cooker.
- In the same bowl beat together the eggs, milk, salt and cayenne pepper. Pour mixture over the potato mixture in the slow cooker.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When you're ready to cook the casserole, transfer the insert to the slow cooker base.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 5 hours, or until eggs are set and the edges are browned.
- Uncover, being careful not to let the condensation in the lid drip back into the slow cooker. Turn off the slow cooker and let the casserole sit, uncovered, for 15 minutes before serving.
- Cut into wedges.
Recipe Notes
- substituted fat-free evaporated milk for half-and-half, and
- used reduced-fat cheese instead of full fat and decreased the amount to 1-½ from 2 cups
Source: adapted from Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes (The Best of Bridge)
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Watch this video to see how easy it is to make your own slow cooker breakfast casserole at home:
More Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Hashbrown, Spinach & Ham Casserole
- Slow Cooker Greek Egg Casserole
- Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
- Slow Cooker PB & J Quinoa
- Apples & Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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julia
Hi, I’m a student at Boston University and we are developing a new cookware which you may be interested in. We would like to listen to some opinions from our potential consumers. I would be greatly appreciated it if you could take a few minutes to help our team fill out this survey! Thank you
Susie
Trying to make this, but don't know when to add the cheese. Please help.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Susie,
Sorry about that. Add the cheese with the bean, potato, corn and cilantro cilantro mixture. I've updated the recipe.
Susie
Thanks, that's what I did based on the order of ingredients.
Barb
Can you substitute beans and corn for something else.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Barb, Of course you can substitute beans and corn for whatever suits your fancy! Recipes are just a guide. As written, the corn and beans provide about 2-1/2 cups of volume so feel free to substitute 2-1/2 cups of other cooked ingredients - ham, chicken, sausage, bacon, zucchini, spinach, chopped drained tomatoes, etc - would all work. Hope this helps!
Karen Gossett
I wanted to make it in the oven what temperature what I said it out and how long would I cook it. Also can you freeze it
Martha McKinnon
Hi Karen, I'd bake it at 350 degrees. Not sure how long though. I'm guessing about 45 minutes. Until set. Hope this helps. Warmly, Martha
Melissa
This sounds great, Martha! Plan to make with diced leftover thanksgiving turkey. Do you believe this can be cut up and frozen so slices can be reheated for on to go breakfasts for the following week?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Melissa, Though I haven't tried freezing it, I do think it would work well. Hope this helps. Warmly, Martha
Kris
I followed the exact instructions and this came out raw. I wonder what I might have done wrong. A lot of effort for nothing though, disappointed.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Kris, it's really hard to know what might have gone wrong. It may be that your slow cooker cooks at a much lower rate than mine. ~Martha