Instant Pot Garth Brooks’ Breakfast Bowl—a breakfast casserole with eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, bacon, tortellini and cheese. Make it fast in your Instant Pot or slow in your Crockpot.
Note: SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Garth Brooks’ Breakfast Bowl
This breakfast recipe idea is a spin off of Garth’s Breakfast Bowl from Trisha Yearwood’s cookbook called Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood*. Trisha says, “Garth likes to cook breakfast. It’s wonderful to sleep in and wake up to the smell of bacon cooking. Don’t be too jealous, but he always has a fresh pot of coffee made, too! He created this breakfast bowl because he wanted something really hearty. He’s the first person I ever met who puts pasta with his eggs and bacon, but it works, and it tastes great! If you’re really hungry, all the better if you’re going to eat one of these breakfast bowls. Don’t worry if you can’t finish it; Garth will come by later and ‘clean up’!”
And she’s right about the pasta and the eggs working together. I was a little skeptical when I read the recipe but I couldn’t believe how tasty tortellini was when embedded in a breakfast casserole. It is so tasty!!! Try this recipe for Christmas morning this year! You won’t be disappointed.
I made it easy on myself and used pre-cooked sausage patties and packaged bacon crumbles so this breakfast casserole really came together quickly. You can cook up raw bacon and breakfast sausage and then start with step 1 of the recipe if you prefer or if that’s what you have on hand. It will just add a few minutes to the prep time.

More Instant Pot Recipes…
Instant Pot Breakfast Burritos
Instant Pot Bacon Egg Casserole
Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Breakfast Casserole
Instant Pot Bacon Cheddar Egg Casserole

What Equipment Do I Need?
To make I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Instant Pot Garth’s Breakfast Bowl is a pot-in-pot recipe. This means that you will be cooking your casserole inside a pan that fits inside your Instant Pot liner. I actually like to use a 3 quart IP liner* inside the 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot for pot-in-pot cooking. It works very well for deep casseroles. You can use a plethora of different pans and dishes for pot-in-pot cooking. Just make sure they are oven safe. A couple of my favorite are the Fat Daddios 7 x 3 inch pan* and these stainless steel pans*. In addition, you’ll need a trivet with handles to lower the pan down into the Instant Pot. I like to use this OXO sling*.
Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?
Receive FREE daily Instant Pot recipes and tips in your email box. Sign up by filling out the gray form below. Other ways to follow: join the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group and subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share Instant Pot stuff with you weekly.
Print
Instant Pot Garth’s Breakfast Bowl
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
A breakfast casserole with eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, bacon, tortellini and cheese. Make it fast in your Instant Pot or slow in your Crockpot.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups frozen hashbrowns
- 4 pre-cooked sausage patties, broken into 4 pieces each
- 2 cups frozen cheese tortellini
- 1/3 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup half and half (or milk)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- This is a pot in pot recipe. This means that you will be cooking the breakfast casserole inside a pan that fits inside the Instant Pot liner. Spray the pot-in-pot dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the hashbrowns to the bottom of the pan. Lightly salt and pepper the hashbrowns.
- Layer the sausage patties, tortellini and bacon on top. In a small mixing bowl beat the eggs, half and half and salt and pepper together. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the bacon.
- Pour 1 cup water into the bottom of the Instant Pot (or 1.5 cups for 8 quart pot). Place the egg pan on top of a trivet with handles*. Lower the pan into the Instant Pot liner.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 25 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Sprinkle the top with cheese and let it melt. Scoop into bowls and serve. You can add a couple drops of tabasco for a little kick or spoon on some salsa on top.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the hashbrowns, sausage, tortellini and bacon.
- In a small mixing bowl beat the eggs, half and half and salt and pepper together. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the bacon.
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
- Sprinkle with cheese and let melt. Scoop into bowls and serve. You can add a couple drops of tabasco for a little kick or spoon on some salsa on top.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
For slow cooker: Would the hashbrowns be most crispy cooked on the low or the high cooking options? Also wondering if hashbrowns would be crispier if cooked in a 6 qt slow cooker for more surface area for hashbrowns vs deeper casserole in 3 qt slow cooker size? Appreciate your wise opinion. 🙂
I’d use larger 6 quart with more surface area and use the high setting.
Will do! Thank you!
Would it be ok to add things like onions, green peppers and mushrooms? Where would they go in the layers? What time adjustment would be necessary?
I’d add them in with the egg mixture. I would probably sauté the onions beforehand though or they might have a crunchy raw onion taste.
I am definitely making this! Not a fan of limp hashbrowns. Could I sub O’Brien frozen ones? Would it change the cooking time? I also don’t have the inner pot listed. But I do have a cake pan with a handle for my IP. It is just a hair under 7″ across and 3″ deep. Since I am leaving out the tort would that be big enough?
★★★★★
Yes you could sub those! And keep same time for cooking. That pan sounds perfect.
I have a pot in pot about the same size, but I’d like to keep the tortellini. Will it be big enough?
Yes that will work!
How is the tortellini not mush cooking that long? I really want to try this.
Because the pot in pot protects it
What would you change if you were using refridgerated tortellini instead? I don’t buy the frozen ones. TIA.
I’d add 5 extra minutes to pressure cooking time
No wonder Garth is a little….well….chubby.
Worth it!
Where can you purchase pot n pot from that you using?
I got it on amazon: https://amzn.to/3djcQ73
Do you get the 3-qt inner pot for a 6-qt instant pot? And do you prefer the one in the link above or the Fat Daddio one you’ve mentioned?
I use a 3 quart liner inside the 6 quart or 8 quart as pot in pot cooking. I love both the fat daddios and 3 quart liner. The 3 quart liner is much deeper.
This looks awesome! GB is my favorite. I’d love to try this any idea what would be a good sub for tortellini? My daughter and I are both celiac and can’t have them.
Oh shoot! You could leave it out completely. Should be fine.