Sometimes you just have to turn your guilty pleasures into guiltless pleasures. And while I haven’t had a McGriddle sandwich since way back from when they very first made their debut, I can appreciate the mix of sweet and savory in the form of a breakfast sandwich. So when I came across the idea for this McGriddle Breakfast Casserole, I knew I wanted to put my own twist on it.

This casserole is a whole wheat pancake batter base that’s sweetened up with some vanilla, a touch of brown sugar, and some syrup too. I decided to go with a vegetarian breakfast sausage rather than a traditional breakfast sausage or a turkey breakfast sausage just because it’s plant based and I also had some on hand to use up!…