Because all the preparation is done the night before, this strata reduces the stress of morning. You can adjust the amount of mushrooms, onions, and green peppers to suit the preferences of the people who will be eating this dish.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Additional Time: | 12 hrs |
| Total Time: | 13 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 9 slices bread, torn into bite size pieces
- ½ cup diced fresh mushrooms
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 16 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cups cubed cooked ham
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer half of the torn bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the mushrooms and green bell pepper evenly over the bread layer. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Top with remaining bread pieces, then layer with the onion and ham. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Whisk together eggs and milk; pour over the entire pan. Cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bake covered for 35 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until top is evenly brown.
- You may substitute cooked bacon or sausage for the ham, if you prefer.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 496 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 269 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 1073 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 32 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This was amazing! Perfectly cooked, flavorful, easy to adapt. I used onion and mushroom and sausage between the layers, everyone loved it! A keeper that I will make for many years to come
I’ve made many stratas and I really didn’t care for this one. Even though I cooked it 5 minutes longer than called for, it seemed too wet with an not great consistency. It tasted okay, but not stellar. Perhaps the mushrooms made it more wet, though I used only 3 mushrooms in the dish. If I ever made it again, I’d try it without the mushrooms. Though I probably won’t.
I make this as my leftovers strata. I follow the basic recipe and substitute in whatever leftovers I have that would work. I also have done this day of and not made it the day before and let it rest. I just never think that far in advance. I can attest that it works day of as well. Can’t wait to actually prepare a day ahead and see the difference. Also, I used croutons instead of bread and added some tater tots and it was great!
Great recipe. I have used different ingredients depending on what I had on hand and it always turns out great.
My family loved this! I’ll surely make it again.
Really good! I added sautéed onion, green pepper, garlic and mushrooms plus a drained can of diced tomatoes. I used 10 eggs in addition to the 2 cups whole milk. To the egg/milk mixture I added 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder,onion powder,seasoned salt,black pepper. A 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and a large dash of red pepper flakes. I doubled the meat, cheese and bread and baked an hour covered at 350*. I think it’s a good basic recipe that you could add almost anything to!
Very good basic and easy recipe. I made this for Christmas brunch and it was gone within a few minutes. Only thing I would change is add less milk as mine was a bit more runny that I preferred.
I made this for a work potluck and decided the ingredients were missing a few things, so, I used Ham, Bacon, Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, Green Onion, Cheddar, and Colby Jack. I cooked the bacon first, also gave the onion Bell Pepper and Mushrooms a quick saute’ just to get a little flavor from them and soften them. I made it as stated with eggs and milk and bread and let it all sit over night, cooked it in the morning and took it to work 40 minutes away, it was still warm when I got to work and the potluck was still an hour away. No problem, this dish was gone way faster than I expected, the only change I would make next time is cutting the milk down 1/4 to 1/2 cup, it wound up a little runny but awesome recipe and I’ll be making it again for sure, thank you for sharing!!!!
I’ve made this recipe as is, and it’s delicious! I’ve also used Italian cold cuts (hot capicola, prosciutto, mortadella), with Italian cheeses and Italian spices. Fresh basil makes a nice touch. It’s a hit wth my Italian in-laws and my hubby is always requesting it! I do use organic 1/2 and 1/2 for the liquid). For the bread, I use Italian bread or rolls that are too crusty to use! It’s a great way to use your leftovers. Get creative!!!
WOW! My entire family raved about this dish. In between mouthfuls, all I heard was “DELICIOUS!”. The only change I made was substituting the green peppers for red peppers. Also, I had ham that was already sliced. So, I rolled up a few slices at a time and cut them up into small round. To me, it didn’t make a difference and they had no idea the ham was supposed to be diced. I loved seeing their faces when I told them it was made with almond milk! . I’ll definitely make this again – and again, and again, and again…
This dish was a big hit at my MOPS meeting
A favorite recipe because it is layered. So if someone doesn’t like peppers then just put it on one side. Same with onions, mushrooms or ham.
This is my go-to recipe, and it’s amazing every time. The only thing change is not adding the peppers, as I did them overwhelming. Sharp white cheddar gives it tons of flavored. Thank you sharing!
I did use this as a base recipe, but made lots of changes. I recommend making the custard how you like your French Toast. For me that means with a splash of vanilla a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon. Instead of just ham, I use ham, bacon and breakfast sausage. I don’t skimp on the meat. While the casserole is in the oven I brown hash browns, you can use frozen, but if you go with fresh, be sure to wring the raw potatoes in a dish towel to get most of the water out. Make enough potatoes to cover the entire dish 1/4 inch thick and season the hash browns with salt and pepper. 5 minutes before the casserole is done, spread the potatoes over the dish and sprinkle some more cheddar cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes. No one will go away hungry!!!
I saw this recipe and it is almost identical to my favorite breakfast strata, only difference…I also add spinach and 1 cup of cream. I noticed a lot of people said it was bland. I don’t agree. Salt and (freshly coarse ground pepper) in the right amounts should do the trick. Also, for those who like spicy… I always have a bottle of (La Victoria’s Salsa Brava) Hot Sauce, on the table, for those who like it spicy…and that’s most of us. This is an excellent recipe!
This recipe met so-so reviews with my family. I made the recipe as written and agree with other reviewers that it needs additional bake time as well as possibly higher oven temperature. Next time I would sauté the onion and pepper before adding to the strata. I would also pour half the egg/milk mixture at the middle of layering and add remainder at the end. It needs some spice. I think some thyme leaves or maybe some cayenne pepper to boost the flavor.
very good
I used leftover croissants and hot dog buns. leftover cooked bacon instead of ham and spinach instead of peppers. I seasoned with garlic salt, cayenne, and fresh cracked pepper. I didn’t make this ahead of time but I did have to bake longer. Not sure if that had something to do with the bake time. If you have extra croissants. Use them for this. They added amazing flavor! Next time Id like to use spicy sausage and make the night before as the recipe instructs. Still turned out well, though.
Seemed really mushy because of the bread, next time I might try it with potatoes.
This was a big hit with my family for Christmas breakfast. I made it with smoked Gouda and cheddar cheese. And used French rolls for the bread. It had plenty flavor and good texture. Will make this one again.
very easy & great