| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 9 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast or Italian sausage, removed from casing
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 14 to 16 slices (1/2-inch thick) French/Italian bread, left out overnight or toasted
- 12 ounces Gruyere, shredded
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 12 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper
- 3 cups broccoli florets with about 1 1/2 inches of stalk remaining
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
- In a skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, crumbling it with a spoon, until mostly brown but still a little pink, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel; reserve the sausage fat separately.
- Butter both sides of the bread with the butter. Arrange half of the bread in 1 layer in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with half the sausage, followed by half the Gruyere. Repeat with another layer of the remaining bread, sausage and cheese.
- In a bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, 2 teaspoons of the salt and some pepper. Pour the mixture over the layers of bread, sausage and cheese. Cover in plastic wrap and weigh down the strata with a couple sacks of rice/beans in a zipper top bag to compress it. Refrigerate overnight.
- The morning of baking, remove the plastic wrap and weights. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Toss the broccoli with the reserved sausage fat, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Dot the top of the strata with the broccoli florets so the broccoli tops are still visible (to look like trees) but the stalks are submerged in the custard. Bake until the edges pull away from the dish and the center is puffed, about 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Right before serving, sprinkle with the Parmesan to mimic snow on trees.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 526 |
| Total Fat | 38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 16 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 28 g |
| Cholesterol | 279 mg |
| Sodium | 919 mg |
Reviews
I make this every year for the holidays and it is always a favorite. My daughter is lactose intolerant so we have used oat milk half and half, vegan smoked provolone and vegan smoked Gouda and it turned out just as good!
Tasty and filling!! After reading the reviews I doubled the sausage and jazzed up the eggs with just a couple of dashes of dry mustard, thyme & red pepper flakes. Next time I am going to add sauteed veggies to the layers.
This had too much cheese and not enough flavor. If I made it again I’d add dry mustard and thyme to the egg mixture, cut down on the cheese, and either add more sausage or roasted peppers.
I’ve made this twice in the last mont both times turned our amazing!!! First time I followed the recipe to the T second time I took some liberties…I doubled the sausage (used the Jimmy Dean maple flavor) and I added about 1/4 cup pure maple syrup to the egg and half and half mix and used brioche bread (so its sweeter) I kept the cheese the same had to bake it just a little longer (I also forgot to toast the bread the second time but it still came out really great). This turned out fantastic everyone loved it for Christmas breakfast!!! It gives it the sweet and savory flavor! Enjoy!
I have made this 3 times now. I use shredded provolone, mozzarella, and fresh parm. I also sprinkle everything bagel seasoning on the buttered bread. So good.
I made this the day after I saw it on the show. I used brioche bread and smoked Gouda – I could eat this once a week. Everyone who had some just loved it. I will certainly be making it again.
Excellent! This will be a new tradition to make each Christmas! It was simple, yet tasted so decadent.
Addictive
Sooooo good. The cheese was perfect. We really liked the buttery taste. Will be making again at Christmas.
Turned out great. Everyone gobbled it up. Love that you make the night before so in the morning you just pop it in the oven. Did substitute Swiss for the Gruyere as it was more economical. Will be making again for sure!