This Vegetarian Breakfast Strata is the perfect overnight casserole. Serves a crowd, great for entertaining, and the vegetables can be customized to your liking. Luscious egg-soaked baguette bites and cheese – you can’t pass this up!
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If you’re looking for more easy breakfast ideas for holiday entertaining, check out my Bagel Breakfast Casserole, Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal, and Kale and Feta Egg Bake.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Savory bread pudding best served on Christmas morning!
- Easy recipe the whole family will love!
- Make-ahead breakfast that does double duty as a meal prep recipe, too.
What is Strata?
Strata is a layered casserole dish mainly made with eggs, milk, bread, and cheese. They’re easy to make and very customizable! This is a great vegetarian breakfast casserole, but you can easily change some of the ingredients around to suit your tastebuds and preferences.
Recipe Ingredients
This vegetarian strata requires a handful of staple ingredients, along with some fresh vegetables that can be customized based on what you like. Here’s a quick glance at what we need:
- butter – we only need butter for the greased baking dish, but you could use olive oil here, too.
- bread – go for French baguette or any crusty bread you love. The key is to make sure the bread is slightly stale – keep reading to learn a little short cut!
- olive oil – a little bit of olive oil goes a long way when sauteing the fresh veggies.
- onions and garlic – for maximum flavor, and a nice savory punch! Red onions can also be used.
- vegetables – I used a mixture of red bell pepper, mushrooms, and kale, but feel free to have fun here. You could also try any color of bell peppers, sweet potatoes, fresh spinach, Swiss chard mixture, or zucchini.
- large eggs – to soak up all of the bread and provide a soufflé like texture!
- milk – you can use any milk of choice, with whole milk providing the richest texture, and non-dairy milk keeping this recipe a little lighter.
- salt & pepper – to enhance flavor. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for some extra spice.
- cheese – I love the strong cheese flavor of sharp white cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese, but you could use another variety as well. Goat cheese would be divine.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13 inch casserole dish
- large bowl
- whisk
Find the full detailed instructions with measurements in the recipe card below, at the end of this post.
How to Make
Making breakfast strata is very easy! It requires just a few steps, then you mix it all together and let it sit overnight (or at least for a few hours). Bake it in the morning and breakfast is served!
Here’s a quick step-by-step process:
Prepare Bread Cubes
Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with butter.
Slice day-old bread into 1” bread pieces or tear with your hands for a more rustic approach. Place in bottom of baking dish.
TIP: If bread is not stale, just slice into 1” slices and toast in oven at 300ºF for 5-8 minutes.
Sauté Vegetables
In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil, onions, and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, add bell pepper, mushrooms, and kale, cooking down for another 4-5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.
Mix Egg Custard
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.
Prepare Layered Casserole Dish
Add the skillet veggie mixture over top of the cubed bread, tossing to evenly combine. Sprinkle on ½ cup of the white cheddar cheese.
Pour egg mixture over bread and veggies, making sure all bread pieces are fully coated in mixture. Add parmesan cheese and the rest of the white cheddar cheese.
Cover & Refrigerate
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (up to 12 hours max).
Bake
Remove casserole from fridge and preheat oven to 375ºF. Re-position bread and make sure all pieces are fully coated for good measure.
Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes, until edges are golden brown and egg strata has puffed up. Cool for 5 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
Short Cut Strata
If you need to make this breakfast strata recipe in a hurry or are short on time, here are a couple tips.
- Place 1″ baguette slices on a large baking sheet and toast at 300ºF for 5-8 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (instead of overnight). This veggie breakfast casserole is best when the bread has enough time to soak up the eggs and liquid. While 8 hours is ideal, 4 hours is the minimum amount of time I’d suggest.
Variations to Try
If you’re looking for more flavor ideas, different vegetables, or even some meat options, here are some ideas:
- Sun-dried tomato, mozzarella & sausage (or vegan sausage)
- Bacon & cheddar cheese
- Chorizo, cotija & serve with fresh avocado – we call this Southwest style!
Serving Suggestions
Nothing says the holiday season more than a make-ahead breakfast recipe that can be served for family brunch. I make this for my family every Christmas morning, and I like to change up the veggies every year to keep things interesting.
But don’t stop there! A sure crowd pleaser that’s great for entertaining, make this for all of your breakfast / brunch gatherings with some fresh fruit and hot coffee.
How to Store & Reheat
This veggie breakfast strata will keep in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.
Reheat: I recommend the toaster oven for 5 minutes, or the microwave works too, about 30-45 seconds per piece. To reheat the entire casserole, place it in a preheated oven set to 325 degrees F, tented with aluminum foil, for 20-25 minutes, or until warm.
More Holiday Breakfast Recipes:
If you make this Vegetarian Breakfast Strata recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating on the blog! I love hearing from you, and it helps others learn more about the recipe too. Xx Ashley
Vegetarian Breakfast Strata
Ingredients
- butter, for greasing the pan
- 1 14 ounce day old baguette, cubed or torn
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 (8 oz) package baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small bunch kale, finely chopped, about 2” pieces (equal to about 4 cups),
- 12 large eggs
- 3 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shaved parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13 casserole dish with butter and set aside.
- Prepare bread: Slice day old baguette into 1” cubes and place in bottom of baking dish. If bread is not stale, just slice into 1” slices and toast in oven at 300ºF for 5-8 minutes.
- Prepare vegetables: In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil, onions and garlic. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bell pepper, mushrooms and kale, cooking down for another 4-5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Mix egg custard: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
- Layer in: Add the skillet veggie mixture over top of the cubed bread, tossing to evenly combine. Sprinkle on ½ cup of the white cheddar cheese. Pour egg mixture over bread and veggies, making sure all bread pieces are fully coated in mixture. Add parmesan cheese and the rest of the white cheddar cheese. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (up to 12 hours max).
- Bake: Remove casserole from fridge and preheat oven to 375ºF. Re-position bread and make sure all pieces are coated still. Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes, until edges are golden and strata has puffed up. Cool for 5 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
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