My favorite Strata recipe! This delicious dish is made amongst hearty artisan way staff of life, fresh spinach as well as bell pepper, flavorful ham, bold cheddar cheese, and a rich egg custard. All together in i! What’s not to beloved?
What is a Strata?
A strata is an American brunch casserole dish made upwards of layered pieces of breadstuff, inwardness or vegetables, ofttimes cheese, too it’sec all soaked inward an egg too milk mixture. It’s oven baked until cooked through in addition to set, too then cut into squares and served warm.
It’second something like a savory French toast, alongside mix-ins!
I beloved this for a modify because a lot of breakfast foods are sweetness, or coated inward something sweetness. Like pancakes, pastries, scones, waffles, muffins, as well as French toast. But it’s great to have a more than savory selection like this strata.
It’second and then convenient that you can make this the dark before y'all want to serve it, pop it inward the oven in the morn too have an easy, hot breakfast ready to serve! An overnight casserole that’sec corking for holidays too weekends.
It as well makes a nifty dinner in addition to leftovers for tiffin likewise. So much deliciousness inwards every layered bite!
Strata Recipe Ingredients as well as Variations
- Eggs: Be sure to break the yolks when mixing.
- Milk: Preferably role whole milk for richer season.
- Heavy cream: If you take one-half and one-half on hand instead of cream, and so purpose i one/2 cups milk as well as one cup half in addition to one-half.
- Dijon mustard: This adds a faint background season. If yous don’t attention for mustard you tin omit.
- Red pepper flakes: I like the lite spice this adds simply yous can omit if preferred.
- Salt as well as pepper: Season to sense of taste.
- Butter: Olive crude would function besides.
- Yellow onion: Red onion can be substituted.
- Red bell pepper: Another colour of bell pepper would operate fine if that’sec what yous accept. Red is simply the sweetest together with adds a squeamish contrast of color.
- Spinach: Baby kale is some other dandy selection.
- Ham: 16 oz sausage cooked, or 10 slices bacon cooked would run good as well.
- Fresh parsley: i Tbsp dried parsley will work if yous don’t have fresh.
- Italian bread: French staff of life is peachy also, or fifty-fifty sourdough. Just be sure to function fairly dense bread (I like La Brea) then it doesn’t take up as well much volume in addition to holds together better.
- Sharp white cheddar: I’ve also similar to role Gruyere cheese here.
How to Make a Strata
- Prepare baking dish: Spray a 13 by ix-inch dish amongst non-stick cooking spray.
- Make custard mixture: In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cream, dijon mustard, blood-red pepper flakes and flavor amongst table salt too pepper to sense of taste. Set aside.
- Saute veggies in butter: Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet gear up over medium-high estrus. Add onion in addition to bell pepper together with saute until slightly gilded brownish and tender (alone toss occasionally), about ten minutes.
- Wilt spinach: Add inward spinach in addition to saute merely until wilted, nigh 1 minute. Remove from estrus.
- Add ham together with parsley: Toss in ham as well as parsley.
- Layer staff of life, veggies, and so cheese inward dish: Spread one-half of the bread evenly into bottom of prepared baking dish. Top evenly alongside one-half of the onion mixture. Sprinkle over half of the cheese.
- Repeat layering once more: Repeat this same layering process alongside staff of life, onion mixture too cheese once more.
- Pour egg mixture over: Whisk egg mixture again so evenly pour over summit of the strata.
- Press to submerge: Press downwardly alongside your hands evenly across elevation to submerge ingredients into the egg mixture.
- Chill: Cover as well as refrigerate at to the lowest degree one 60 minutes, or overnight.
- Heat oven, bake strata: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once preheated take away strata from the refrigerator as well as bake inwards preheated oven until eye is set, almost fifty to hr.
- Cut too serve: Let residual a few minutes earlier slicing. Serve warm.
How to Tell When it is Cooked Through
- The strata should be puffed inwards the middle as well as when a toothpick is inserted it should live costless of moisture as well as raw egg custard (moisture is fine but it shouldn’t appear uncooked).
- USDA recommends cooking strata to at least 160 degrees inwards eye for doneness.
How to Store
- Store leftovers in refrigerator within ii hours of baking.
- Cover the baking dish tightly or shop in an airtight container.
- Cooked strata tin be refrigerated 3 to iv days or frozen upwardly to iii months.
How to Reheat
- You tin can reheat private portions inwards the microwave.
- Larger portions can live reheated in preheated 350 degree oven in an oven condom dish, covered alongside foil. Cook until warmed through (bake fourth dimension will vary based on size of portions, just about xv – 30 minutes).
Helpful Tips
- Use stale staff of life that’sec preferably ii or iii days quondam. It volition absorb liquid meliorate.
- If the staff of life has a dry out crust (Artisan style) I like to twine inwards a plastic handbag overnight so it’s easier together with less messy to cut.
- Be certain to press in addition to submerge breadstuff good into egg mixture to aid soak through.
- If you like your strata alongside a little more than wet increment milk past i/four cup.
- To go far richer you tin can function one loving cup heavy cream too ane i/2 cups whole milk.
More Tasty Egg Recipes to Try
Strata
My favorite Strata recipe! This delicious dish is made alongside hearty artisan manner staff of life, fresh spinach together with bell pepper, flavorful ham too bold cheddar cheese, as well as everything is soaked inward a rich egg custard in addition to oven baked.
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- viii big eggs
- ii cups whole milk
- ane/ii loving cup heavy cream
- i Tbsp dijon mustard
- ane/two tsp cherry-red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt in addition to freshly earth dark pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter
- one i/four cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 i/iv cups chopped cherry bell pepper
- 6 oz. spinach (6 cups packed)
- two cups chopped ham
- iii Tbsp chopped parsley
- 12 oz. hearty Italian bread, or French Bread, cutting into iii/four-inch cubes (8 cups)
- 1 one/iv cups sharp white cheddar
Instructions
- Spray a xiii past nine-inch dish alongside non-stick cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cream, dijon mustard, scarlet pepper flakes too season alongside salt and pepper to sense of taste (I use well-nigh iii/four tsp salt as well as one/two tsp pepper). Set aside.
- Melt butter inwards a 12-inch skillet ready over medium-high heat.
- Add onion together with bell pepper and saute until slightly gilt dark-brown and tender (only toss occasionally), about ten minutes.
- Add in spinach and saute just until wilted, almost one infinitesimal. Remove from estrus.
- Toss inwards ham together with parsley.
- Spread one-half of the breadstuff evenly into bottom of prepared baking dish. Top evenly alongside one-half of the onion mixture. Sprinkle over one-half of the cheese.
- Repeat this same layering procedure amongst staff of life, onion mixture too cheese again.
- Whisk egg mixture once again then evenly pour over top of the strata.
- Press downward amongst your hands evenly across peak to submerge ingredients into the egg mixture.
- Cover too refrigerate at to the lowest degree one hr, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Once preheated remove strata from the fridge as well as bake in preheated oven until eye is fix, near fifty to 60 minutes.
- Let rest a few minutes earlier slicing. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
Strata
Amount Per Serving
Calories 380
Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Fat 22g34%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 209mgseventy%
Sodium 769mg33%
Potassium 479mgxiv%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 2geight%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 20gforty%
Vitamin A 3002IU60%
Vitamin C 32mg39%
Calcium 222mg22%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates solely. See total disclaimer here.