This Casserole Has Been Nick Jonas's Favorite Since He Was Five

In my family, casseroles make up a big part of our mealtime rotation. It just wouldn’t be the holidays without Grandma’s famous broccoli and cheese casserole and I would be totally lost without her green bean casserole as an emergency backup.

When it’s not the holidays, I can count on a hearty casserole dish to push the ol’ nostalgia button for me any day of the week. Nothing beats a home cooked meal, especially one from the genius of a dear family member. So when I discovered Nick Jonas’s mealtime safety blanket is his mother’s chile cheese egg casserole, I immediately had to give it a try. 

Nick Jonas’s Favorite Casserole

Denise Miller-Jonas has been whipping up this special egg casserole ever since Nick was five years old. After moving out, if the star wants a little taste of home, chile cheese egg casserole is his go-to. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to prep and has a total cooking time of 50 minutes to an hour.

To start, preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a stick of butter inside of a 9x13-inch baking dish and put it in the oven until the butter is melted. When ready, remove the dish from the oven, spoon out half of the butter into a bowl and set both aside.

Using a large mixing bowl, beat 12 eggs until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour, a tablespoon of baking powder, four (four-ounce) cans of diced green chiles, a pound combined of shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and four cups of cottage cheese. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste, then give the mixture a good stir until all of the ingredients are incorporated and a well-mixed gooey slop stands before you.

Pour the mixture into the buttery baking dish, making sure it’s evenly dispersed, then pour the remaining butter over the top. Bake the casserole for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. When a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool before serving.

What I Love About This Chile Cheese Egg Casserole

Beyond its fluffy, soufflé-like consistency, this simple casserole produces wonderful bursts of cheese within every bite and just the right amount of heat from the diced chiles. The best part? It doesn’t take much work to put it together and it's an excellent starting point for someone looking to experiment and make it their own.

I personally mixed cheddar cheese with mozzarella, and even went as far as to create a nice top layer of shredded cheddar before baking. Bits of bacon, chunks of breakfast sausage, and loads of green and red peppers are all going inside if I’m really looking to up the ante on breakfast. What really brought this casserole home for me was a little bit of jalapeño hot sauce on top and a side of crispy tater tots.

Tips for Making This Chile Cheese Egg Casserole

Denise’s recipe calls for the addition of mascarpone cheese. However, being that such an ingredient can be difficult to find in some grocery stores, I opted to leave it out. I instead substituted it with 1/2 cup of heavy cream, which is more readily available in stores.

The original recipe also calls for 10 eggs and two egg whites. I went ahead and nixed the egg whites altogether, opting for 12 whole eggs in total. Egg whites traditionally add structure to a recipe, but flour does the same thing in this case.

If you’re making Nick’s childhood casserole at home, remember that the ingredient quantities are curated with a 9x13-inch baking dish in mind. The results will be enough to share, and in my case, my roommates met me with audible grunts and satisfied groans of approval upon sampling. I stored the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This allowed me to enjoy leftovers for the following two to three days until the casserole was all gone.