Always a perennial favorite for holidays and large family gatherings, breakfast strata can be a lifesaver for any occasion when you find yourself short on time and long on appetite. It is remarkably easy to prepare, super satisfying to eat, and amazingly versatile. And it is one of those dishes that can, and should, be assembled in advance (ideally the night before)...leaving you mostly unfettered from the kitchen on the day it is baked and served. Built on a solid foundation of bread, eggs, and milk (or other liquid dairy of your choice), breakfast strata essentially provides a blank flavor canvas, which can remain as simple or be as wildly embellished as you wish. After years of tinkering with different ingredient combinations, this hearty version filled with classic flavor pairings has become the favorite in my house.
Ingredients for Breakfast Strata
- unsalted butter
- shallots
- baby spinach
- loaf of rustic bread
- eggs
- half and half
- gruyère
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- cooked ham
- dijon mustard
- freshly grated nutmeg
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Thoroughly grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of butter.
In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté shallots in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the spinach and remove the skillet from the heat. Stir the spinach into the cooked shallots for a minute or two until it has become wilted. Set the shallot and spinach mixture aside.
Spread roughly one third of the bread cubes in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Sprinkle over about one third of the spinach and shallot mixture, one third of the ham, and one third of each cheese.
Then repeat this layering process twice more with the remainder of the spinach and shallot mixture, ham, and both cheeses.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, nutmeg, and half & half until very well blended.
Then pour the egg mixture evenly over the layered ingredients in the baking dish. Using a large spoon or silicone spatula, gently press down on the surface to ensure that all of the bread begins to absorb the egg mixture.
Cover the dish tightly and place the strata in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours and up to 16. (Overnight is ideal.) When ready to bake, remove the strata from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oven to 350℉.
Bake the strata, uncovered, until it is puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, about 45 to 55 minutes.
Let the strata stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve warm.
Hint: You can also use frozen spinach here rather than fresh...just be sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible before cooking the spinach in order to avoid ending up with a watery strata.
Variations
When it comes to breakfast strata, the possibilities for variation are practically endless. So feel free to experiment. Stumped for ideas? Here are a few thoughts to get your breakfast strata creativity flowing and perhaps inspire your own favorite version...
- Bread - Crusty breads are particularly wonderful in breakfast strata, and practically any sort of artisan loaf will do (as long as it is not too dense to soak up all that egg and dairy). Your available options might include rustic Italian, sourdough, brioche, challah, or a simple French baguette, to name just a few.
- Cheese - I love the combination of gruyère and Parmigiano Reggiano, but you can use almost any type of cheese that you like here...such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, muenster, fontina, swiss, havarti, taleggio, mozzarella, feta, or even chèvre. And I frequently opt for a 50/50 mix of sharp cheddar and gruyère (about 6 to 8 ounces of each).
- Vegetables - Feel free to toss in any sort of veggie that won't release too much extra moisture...like sautéed mushrooms, leeks, asparagus, kale, scallions, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, or caramelized onions.
- Meat - A few other great options include bacon, pancetta, sausage, chorizo...just make sure that any meat you are adding is cooked before you layer it into the strata.
- Herbs and Flavorings - Not into nutmeg? Try a bit of thyme, rosemary, basil, chives, chervil, marjoram, ground cumin, ground mustard, or cayenne.
Storage
Leftover strata will keep for up to 5 days when covered tightly and refrigerated. To reheat the strata, you can either place individual servings in the microwave or simply return the entire dish to the oven for about 15 minutes at 300℉.
Top tip
If you prefer the texture of your breakfast strata to be ethereal and fluffy, rather than leaden and flat, do not be tempted skip the resting step in the refrigerator. Allowing enough time for the bread to really soak up all that liquid before you bake the strata is key to best results with this dish.
📖 Recipe
Breakfast Strata
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium shallots finely chopped
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 pound loaf of rustic bread
- 9 large eggs
- 3 cups half and half (or milk, heavy cream, or any combination of the two)
- 6 ounces gruyère shredded
- 3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano grated or finely shredded
- 2 cups cooked ham diced small
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Thoroughly grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of butter.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté shallots in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the spinach and remove the skillet from the heat. Stir the spinach into the cooked shallots for a minute or two until it has become wilted. Set the shallot and spinach mixture aside.
- Spread roughly one third of the bread cubes in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Sprinkle over about one third of the spinach and shallot mixture, one third of the ham, and one third of each cheese. Then repeat this layering process twice more with the remainder of the spinach and shallot mixture, ham, and both cheeses.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, nutmeg, and half & half until very well blended.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the layered ingredients in the baking dish. Using a large spoon or silicone spatula, gently press down on the surface to ensure that all of the bread begins to absorb the egg mixture.
- Cover the dish tightly and place the strata in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours and up to 16. (Overnight is ideal.)
- When ready to bake, remove the strata from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oven to 350℉.
- Bake the strata, uncovered, until it is puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, about 45 to 55 minutes.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Leave a Reply