Strata is a savory, layered breakfast casserole made with bread, eggs, meat and vegetables. Make it the day before and bake it in the morning!
I’ve been making breakfast strata recipes in one form or another for the better part of 20 years. These layered egg casseroles are easy to make, easy to adapt to what you have on hand, perfect for meal prepping, and are the ultimate one-pan meals.
For this strata recipe, I layered crusty bread (my favorite is sourdough, but really any will do), prosciutto, roasted red peppers, chevre and parmesan cheeses, eggs and milk with some Italian seasoning tossed in for good measure.
The combination of tangy chevre, fresh spinach, roasted red pepper and a hint of saltiness from the prosciutto make this dish not only flavor packed but a colorful feast for the eyes. To make it vegetarian, simply skip the prosciutto.
If I’m hosting breakfast or brunch for my extended family and friends, I will make strata the night before and put it in the oven just before everyone arrives the next morning, but you can also make it and bake it all in one day. Strata recipes make me deeply happy because they work on my schedule. (Leftovers make great next-day lunches, too!)
Table of Contents
What is in this Strata Recipe
- Crusty bread, cubed or torn. Whatever works for you.
- Chevre and Parmesan cheese pack a creamy and salty punch
- Spinach, garlic, and roasted red peppers add flavor, color and nutrition to this dish.
- Prosciutto is totally optional, but I like the meaty bites it adds to this strata recipe.
- Scallions or chives, chopped. Either will work. Use what you have on hand.
- 8 eggs: The key to a light and fluffy strata is to whip the eggs aggressively until they are cohesive. You don’t want the whites and yolks separate.
- Whole milk. I think it adds richness, but you can use 2% as well. No worries.
- Italian seasoning. If you don’t have it, swap it for a little oregano, thyme and basil. However, I kind of love our Homemade Italian Seasoning recipe. It’s worth it for me to whip up a batch to have on hand so I don’t have to measure out individual spices every time I cook.
- Kosher salt black pepper. Salt amplifies the other flavors. If anything you make ever tastes flat, it probably just needs a little salt. Pepper gives you that slight earthy heat.
How to Make Breakfast Strata
Breakfast casseroles are easy to make, which is why they are one of the more popular brunch recipes to feed a crowd. Use what you have on hand and don’t worry too much about the combinations. For this recipe I wanted a lot of bright colors and flavors, so I opted for spinach, roasted red peppers (from a jar), a little salty prosciutto and good crusty bread.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with a little olive oil. Place it on a baking sheet.
- Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add a little extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic. Saute for about a minute then add the spinach just until wilted and the moisture is released. (If you’re short on time and you don’t mind a little more bite from the garlic, you can skip this. Just let the casserole bake for an extra 5 minutes or so to help release the extra moisture from the spinach.)
- Arrange the bread in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Layer on the cheeses, roasted red pepper, spinach and garlic, prosciutto, and scallions. Top with more bread and repeat the layering process until it’s all used up.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Pour it over the layered bread in the baking dish.
- Transfer it to the oven to bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Ways to Adapt this Strata Recipe
Among the many attributes one could associate with stratas the very best is flexibility. Get creative and use what you have when making a breakfast casserole. Here are few ideas to make this recipe your own.
- I use our Italian Seasoning blend because I love it, but if you don’t have a batch made already just use a combination of thyme, oregano and basil.
- Swap the roasted red peppers for a sliced cherry or grape tomatoes
- Leave the prosciutto out for a vegetarian option or swap it with cooked sausage, bacon or ham.
- Chevre is one of my favorite cheeses. It has a tangy flavor to it, but if you don’t have it or don’t like it, swap it for feta or mozzarella.
- Add chopped jarred artichokes if you have some laying around.
- If you don’t have whole milk, 2% will work just fine.
- You definitely want to use a sturdy crusty bread for this. If you only have tender sandwich slices around the house, hold off on making this recipe until you have a good crusty loaf. It makes all the difference.
Make it a Feast
I have a massive family. I’m one of six children so by the time we all get together with spouses and children a lot of food is needed even for casual family gatherings.
To round out my breakfast casserole main and make it a feast I will sometimes add a sweet option like this Overnight Baked French Toast, and a Smoked Salmon Platter to snack on while everyone is catching up and waiting for the food to come out of the oven. I also love to serve with with a bright winter fruit salad for a festive holiday brunch.
I always have a bevy of drink options: juice for the kids, coffee, and tea for me. I’m an avid gardener so I love how this Arabic Tea Recipe uses fresh mint. If breakfast rolls into lunch or dinner, I’ve been known to whip up a batch of sangria to finish the day out.
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Our Nocellara EVOO is the perfect choice for this strata!
This extra virgin olive oil is produced from hand-picked and cold extracted Nocellara olives, which produce an exquisite medium intensity oil. The results are aromas of freshly-picked tomatoes and vegetables, with a mildly bitter and spicy finish.
Strata (Baked Egg Breakfast Casserole)
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for greasing the baking dish
- 3 cups chopped spinach, packed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound about 6 cups crusty bread, cut into large cubes
- 4 ounces chevre cheese
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 large roasted red peppers, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 ounces prosciutto, torn to bite-size pieces
- 4 scallions or chives, chopped
- 8 eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with a little olive oil. Place it on a baking sheet.
- In a large skillet set over medium heat, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. When it shimmers add the garlic, saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted and most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat and turn off the burner.
- Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Layer on 1/3 of the cheeses, roasted red pepper, spinach, prosciutto, and scallions. Top with more bread and repeat the layering process until the ingredients are used up.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Pour it over the layered bread in the baking dish.
- Transfer it to the oven to bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the strata is puffed up and slightly golden on the top.
Video
Notes
- For this recipe I use about 3/4 of a large round loaf of bread.
- Use 2% instead of whole milk if that’s what you have on hand.
- Skip the prosciutto to make this vegetarian.
- If you’re not into chevre then swap it for mozzarella.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams and spices.
I made this for brunch for family and got rave reviews. Super easy, lots of delicious things in it. A++.
That’s so great to hear, Kristy! Thank you!
If you refrigerate overnight with foil on top, do you remove the foil before putting in the oven or do you keep the foil on?
Hello! You’ll want to remove the foil before putting it in the oven.
We served this at our family Christmas morning get together…everyone loved it! It’s now on the repeat menu board. Absolutely delicious!
woyld not print out! i think it is a great recipe and I made a smaller version of it for Dec 24 breakfast! I am IACP Emeritus!
Love this recipe for a crowd. It’s always a favorite at our church brunch when we have special occasions. Aluminum foil should never be used with eggs as it is toxic. At least put a layer of shrink wrap first, then alum. Foil. It works.
Hi, Barb! So glad everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for letting us know!
This recipe has quickly become a family favorite! How can I modify to make it gluten free? Could I remove the bread and reduce the milk?
Hi, Renee! I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. I’m so glad you loved the recipe. To make it gluten free you could just use gluten free bread and keep everything else the same. Or you could make it more like a crustless quiche, remove the bread and try reducing the milk to 1 1/4 cups. We haven’t tested it that way, but I think it should work. If you try it please report back and let us know.
If I’m making this the night in advance, do I put the egg mixture in at that time or do I do it in the morning right before I put it in the oven?
HI, Michele! I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. You can put the whole thing together (milk and all) the night before, cover it with foil and keep it in the fridge then just pop it in the oven in the morning! Enjoy!
All of your recipes that I have tried are so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing them! On this particular recipe, would it be a sin to eliminate the bread? I’m trying to heal my gut so eliminating gluten and dairy for a while.
Hi, Liana! I’m Summer I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. It sounds like you’re looking for an egg/breakfast recipe that’s gluten free. You could take the vegetables and meat in this recipe and make an omelette. However, if you’re the kind of person that wants to follow a recipe exactly we have this omelette recipe that’s pretty delicous or this Spinach and Feta Frittata and I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried Eggs in Purgagory but it’s amazing! Hopefully some of these will help! Good luck and please let us know if you’ve found a new favorite! You can just leave the feta/cheese out if one of the recipes calls for it.
Hello!
What kind of dairy substitute is best? Almond?
Sure, Liana! I think almond milk would work just fine here. Enjoy!
Delish! Made it with Gruyère, cherry tomatoes, and young onions. Only used 2 cups of milk because it was in a slightly smaller dish, and it was light and fluffy and full of flavor!
This looks really good and I like the idea of putting it together the night before. Unfortunately, my tummy doesn’t like cow’s milk and there’s a lot of milk in this recipe. I can tolerate goat’s milk and cheese milk cheese, but could I sub a dairy free alternative for that much milk? Also, could kale be subsituted for spinach…or even arugula?
Hi, Amy! Strata’s beautifully flexible. This recipe uses spinach, but if you’d rather use kale that’s fine. I would just wilt it first and note that kale is more bitter than spinach so it will change the taste. I wouldn’t use arugula because it doesn’t cook well like spinach or kale. I don’t have a ton of experience with non-dairy milk, but they should work the same in this recipe. Just use one that is unsweetened and a little thicker. Also, with so many swaps I would cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8×8 pan first just to test it and see if you’re still happy with the recipe after all of your changes. Good luck!
This was incredibly delicious. I left off the prosciutto to make it vegetarian and it was really, really good. I’m adapting the recipe this week to use up leftover vegetables and I’m really excited to make variations of this strata going forward! It was so nice to have breakfast made for the week.
Thanks so much, Charlotte! This is definitely a fun recipe to experiment with.
Made this exactly according to recipe with the expensive ingredients listed. It is very dry and the cheese overwhelms the spinach which you can’t taste. Not recommended
Made this for our Christmas breakfast gathering. 5-stars from around the table. Made it in a 12″ cast iron skillet and was rewarded with a crispy and flavorful crust. I added some Aleppo pepper to the sautéing spinach for some warmth. This recipe is a keeper.
Wonderful recipe! I added roasted red bell pepper ( 8oz jar). Had sausage so browned and used that instead of prosciutto. My family loved it.
Hi, Debbie! Thanks for letting us know. I’m so glad you and your family loved this recipe.
Oooo! Yum!
I like Mediterranean dishes.
They really are the best, aren’t they!?! 🙂