Breakfast Strata

Savory and warming, my breakfast strata is a terrific make-ahead option loaded with lots of mouthwatering morsels to tickle the taste buds. Prepared with cubes of French loaf combined with caramelized onions, spinach, mushrooms, turkey bacon and Gruyere cheese in a seasoned egg custard, this recipe bakes up deeply golden with lots of crisp edges and a delightfully pillowy texture!

The perfect make-ahead brekky or brunch

Whenever we plan on having family over for the weekend, or my hubby and I just want a fuss-free weekend morning that's extra leisurely and ultra cozy, I love turning to a recipe that's make-ahead and ready-to-bake when we're ready-to-eat.

While we adore the sweet goodies like my brioche French toast casserole, my cinnamon roll casserole, or even my pillowy pumpkin cinnamon rolls, we also love a good savory casserole such as a strata, to bring some comfort to a lazy morning.

My breakfast strata is the perfect brekky or even brunch option, brimming with cubes of French bread, spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onions, turkey bacon and Gruyere cheese. It's light yet substantial, with lots of pillowy texture in the center plus some crisp edges, and all the wonderful flavors and aromas of a savory breakfast.

This breakfast strata is the ideal recipe to prepare the day before then bake off fresh the next morning to serve a small crowd, making bellies feel extra comfy-cozy!

My recipe for breakfast strata

If you are unfamiliar with a breakfast strata, or have never enjoyed one, I like to describe it as a savory bread pudding.

It makes use of (ideally) day-old bread that's crusty and chewy, such as a French loaf, cut into cubes and combined with a seasoned egg custard plus other tasty bells and whistles of one's choice.

Typically, a strata will include some veggies, plus some cheese, and some herbs and seasoning.

Because I'm going in a breakfast direction with this one, I opt for caramelized onions for earthy flavor, along with sautéed mushrooms for heartiness, plus spinach, crisp turkey bacon (though regular bacon is terrific here as well), and cheese.

I use grated Gruyere cheese as part of the strata ingredients. I also add a sprinkle of herbes de Provence and a kiss of Dijon mustard into my egg custard before pouring that over top of everything in the baking dish.

A strata can really benefit from being assembled the day before and sitting overnight in the fridge. It helps those savory flavors really soak in and penetrate every nook and cranny.

Then, baking it off the next morning is all that's left to do, which really makes this a perfect fuss-free recipe when one has guests over, or craves a slow-paced, hands-off morning!

Here's a glance at my breakfast strata recipe:

(or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I cube up a day-old French loaf and add half of the cubes to my baking dish, setting aside the remaining cubes for a moment.
2. Next, I caramelize my onions, then sauté my mushrooms and my spinach. I set all the veggies aside to cool slightly.
3. Once cooled, I scatter half of my onions/mushrooms/spinach over the bread cubes in the baking dish, sprinkle over half of my turkey bacon, and half of the cheese (I do this so that there is flavor and ingredients throughout the entire strata, rather than just on top).
4. Then, I add the rest of my bread cubes, and scatter the remainder of my onions/mushrooms/spinach over top, as well as my turkey bacon.
5. I whisk up the egg custard, slowly pour that over the bread cubes and ingredients in the baking dish to allow things to soak up, and then top with the rest of the cheese.
6. If making ahead (ideally), I wrap the baking dish in foil and place the strata into the fridge overnight. When ready to enjoy, I allow it to come to room temp for a couple of hours.
7. Finally, I bake the breakfast strata until deeply golden brown and puffed, sprinkle with chives to garnish, and serve while hot.

Recipe

Breakfast Strata

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

This breakfast strata is an ideal make-ahead recipe, featuring turkey bacon, spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese!

Category: Breakfast
Cuisine: American

Yield: Serves 10

Nutrition info: 510 calories (per serving)

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (16 ounces) French loaf, cubed (day-old is best here)
• Olive oil
• 1 large white or yellow onion, sliced
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
• 5-ounce bag baby spinach (about 4 packed cups)
• 15 slices pre-cooked turkey bacon (3-ounce package), chopped
• 1 ¾ cups grated Gruyere cheese
• 10 large whole eggs
• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• Minced chives or chopped parsley, for garnish

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. Lightly mist a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, to prepare.
3. Place half of the cubed bread into your baking dish, setting aside the rest for a moment.
4. Next, place a large skillet over medium heat, and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the sliced onion along with a good pinch of salt and pepper, and cook the sliced onion for about 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and caramelized. Spoon into a bowl to hold and cool to room temperature.
5. Next, into the same skillet, add a touch more oil (about 1 to 2 tablespoons), and add in the sliced mushrooms, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté those until golden, for about 7 to 8 minutes.
6. Once the mushrooms are golden and their liquid is released, stir in the garlic until aromatic, then add in the spinach, cooking for another 2 minutes or so, just until wilted. Spoon the mushroom/garlic/spinach mixture into a bowl, and allow to cool to room temperature.
7. Once the caramelized onions and mushrooms/spinach mixture has cooled, scatter about half of each of the onions and the mushroom/spinach mixture over top of the cubed bread in the baking dish.
8. Next, scatter in about half of the chopped turkey bacon as well as about half of the grated Gruyere cheese, then top that with the remaining cubed bread.
9. Repeat the process of scattering over top of the cubed bread the remaining caramelized onions, the mushroom/spinach mixture, and the rest of the chopped turkey bacon (wait to add the cheese for a moment).
10. Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Dijon mustard, herbes de Provence, granulated onion, plus 1 teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper until well blended, and slowly pour this custard over top of the bread cubes in the baking dish, allowing the custard to soak into the bread and other ingredients, gently pressing down.
11. Top the strata with the remaining cheese, cover tightly with foil, and allow the strata to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight, if preparing ahead (this is ideal).
12. When ready to bake, if the strata has been in the fridge overnight, bring it out and allow it to sit at room temp for 1 to 2 hours to take the chill off, before preheating the oven to 350°. If it has only rested in the fridge a couple hours, then go ahead and preheat the oven to 350° straight away.
13. Place the breakfast strata into the oven, covered, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover the strata and bake an additional 30 minutes, until puffed and deeply golden brown.
14. Allow the strata to rest for about 5 to 10 minutes once out of the oven, then sprinkle with minced chives or chopped parsley to garnish, and serve hot.

Tips & Tidbits for my breakfast strata recipe:

• Day old French loaf for best texture: Using a crusty, chewy French loaf (or other rustic loaf) is best for a strata. And a day old loaf is best, as the drier bread will absorb the custard and flavors of the other ingredients better. If your bread is fresh, then a quick trick is to cube it, spread the cubes onto a sheet pan in a single layer, and allow them to sit out, uncovered, for a couple hours to dry them out a bit before proceeding.
• Prepare this strata the day before for an easy brekky or brunch: The thing about a strata is that it actually tastes best when prepared the day before you plan to bake and serve it. That will allow the flavors to deepen and those bread cubes to soak up all that seasoned custard. It also makes for exceptionally quick and easy breakfast prep, especially when you're serving more guests! So my advice is to prep the day before, for the easiest and best results. Or, allow the strata to rest in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before baking.
• Pre-cooked turkey bacon, or regular bacon, for smoky flavor: I'm opting for pre-cooked turkey bacon here. But if you prefer traditional bacon, feel free to use that. I like using pre-cooked strips because it saves time, and all I have to do is chop them up. But you can crisp up uncooked bacon fresh, if you prefer.
• Savory bells and whistles for texture: The combination of caramelized onions, mushrooms and spinach is one that we love in our household, but feel free to get creative! You can sprinkle in sun-dried tomatoes or fresh, halved cherry tomatoes if you desire, or even use a different kind of mushroom. Feel free to substitute cheddar, Jack, Gouda or mozzarella cheese as well.

Craving more cozy breakfast recipes like this one? Check out my recipe for Breakfast Potato Casserole, Baked Egg Cups, Breakfast Frittata, Morning Glory Muffins, Oatmeal Bake with Mixed Berries, Potato Cakes, or even my recipe for Brioche French Toast Casserole!