If you want a deliciously savory brunch dish that may be made forward, flip to this Veggie Strata recipe and you’ll be so glad you probably did! This prep-ahead breakfast casserole is made with layers of sourdough bread soaked in tacky egg custard and recent sauteed greens.
My 5-Star Strata Recipe
Have I advised you I glided by the title “Brunch Spice” for a interval of my life as if I used to be the long-lost sixth Spice Lady? That’s a narrative for an additional day, however suffice it to say it was throughout this time that I baked dozens upon dozens of veggie quiches, batches of hollandaise sauce and discovered easy methods to make a imply breakfast strata!
I’ve already shared one other favourite strata recipe from that interval, we known as it Pigs within the Orchard strata (with apples and sausage) Right now’s recipe is a crowd-pleasing vegetarian breakfast casserole that may fulfill each carnivores and non-meat eaters! It’s simply what to make if you happen to want a essential course for a brunch buffet that may be prepped forward.
What’s a strata? A strata is a layered breakfast casserole made with torn or cubed stale bread, egg custard and cheese. It often has meats, bacon, ham and/or veggies added to it. The casserole is often assembled and refrigerated prematurely.
Veggie Strata Components
- Veggies: I used a mix of mushrooms, peppers and scallions (inexperienced onions). Be at liberty to improvise with one other mixture of greens when you’ve got a desire for one thing else (asparagus is in season proper now so I extremely advocate it!)
- Unsalted butter: To butter the casserole dish use a beneficiant quantity of softened butter. Then I additionally use it to sautee the veggies. You can in fact use olive oil, however butter is extra conventional for a strata recipe.
- Milk: For the egg custard use complete milk. You can additionally use skim milk with a beneficiant splash of half and half or heavy cream as an alternative (measuring 2 cups complete.)
- Eggs: Eggs are the star of any strata! That stated, one of many key suggestions I discovered about making a superb strata with the perfect texture is to make use of extra milk than eggs by quantity in your method. This offers the casserole loads of construction and pillowy elevate however continues to be creamy and never too dense.
- Seasonings: When you’ve got been a reader right here for a whilst you know I really like including Dijon to my egg dishes. Add to that some extra standard suspects: garlic powder, salt and pepper. I additionally added in a teaspoon of dried oregano. If you wish to experiment with different flavors strive swapping in one other dried herb or dried Italian seasoning as an alternative of oregano or use a teaspoon or two of recent herbs.
- Bread: You’ll want a great high quality bread. Search for a pleasant dense deli sourdough bread. You’ll want 9 ounces for this strata recipe. Should you’re questioning, a mean loaf can be 5 to six slices. As soon as it’s lower into cubes it’ll be about 6 cups
- Cheese: No strata is full with out cheese! You’ll want 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese. Be at liberty to swap in one other kind of cheese if you happen to desire.
Professional Tip: To get your timing proper, you’ll wish to pop this breakfast casserole into the oven fifty minutes to 1 hour earlier than serving the meal. It solely takes about 40 minutes to bake however then it has to sit down for an extra quarter-hour afterwards.
How To Make Veggie Breakfast Casserole
Step 1: Generously Butter A Baking Dish
Butter a 2 ½ quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon of softened unsalted butter.
Step 2: Saute Veggies
Soften 2 tablespoons butter in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add inexperienced onions, mushrooms and bell pepper and prepare dinner, stirring typically till the greens are softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 3: Let Veggies Cool
Scrape the veggies onto a plate to chill.
Step 4: Soak Bread in Egg Custard
Whisk the milk, eggs, mustard, oregano, salt, garlic powder and pepper in a medium bowl. Add within the cubed bread and a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to mix the bread with the egg custard. Let the break absorb the custard for quarter-hour or extra. (See extra beneath about easy methods to make this prematurely.)
Step 5: Preheat the Oven
Preheat your oven to 350 levels F.
Step 6: Layer Veggies into The Strata
Layer the strata by including half of the bread combination to the casserole dish. High with half of the veggies. Add the remaining bread and veggies. High with the remaining 2 ounces (1/2 cup) cheese.
Step 7: Bake Casserole
Bake till the strata casserole is puffed, golden and the egg custard is ready up, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool 10 to fifteen minutes earlier than serving.
Make Forward Directions
To Make two days forward: Put together by step 4 as much as 2 days forward. Hold the sauteed veggies in an hermetic container. The bread, egg, milk and cheese combination could be stored in a separate resealable container within the fridge. Re-stir the bread with the custard (it should take in many of the liquid and break down rather a lot.) Then assemble and bake as directed.
To Make Someday forward: Assemble the strata and canopy it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it as much as 12 hours to 1 day prematurely. Merely take away the wrap earlier than baking.
Leftovers, Freezing and Reheating
Leftovers: Cowl the casserole dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate as much as three days. Alternatively, switch single servings into smaller glass storage containers.
Freezing: Stratas freeze superbly! Wrap the cooled baked strata and freeze as much as 1 month. Thaw and reheat earlier than serving. You may also freeze the assembled unbaked strata. Don’t prime with the cheese. Cowl with foil and bake the frozen strata at 325 levels for 1 hour. Take away the foil, prime with 1/2 cup cheese (2 ounces) and bake till the middle is puffed and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the strata registers 165 levels F, 30 to 40 minutes.
To Reheat the leftovers: Place a sheet of foil over the casserole dish and place in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till sizzling right through. Microwave particular person parts, loosely coated with parchment or a paper towel, for 1 minute 10 seconds on excessive warmth.
Variations To Attempt
As I discussed within the ingredient part there’s loads of room to improvise with this veggie breakfast casserole recipe. From the veggies to the cheese, you possibly can experiment and make it your personal. Listed here are some concepts to get you began:
- Greens: Use 1 1/2 cups of different cooked seasonal greens relying on what’s freshest. Go searching on the Farmers’ market and pick what appears to be like good! To maintain it easy mix veggies that prepare dinner at comparatively the identical charge. Or be certain to saute tougher veggies (like carrots or candy potato) individually from softer greens like zucchini or asparagus as a result of the previous takes a little bit longer to prepare dinner by and soften. Additionally, observe that prime water-content veggies (like tomatoes) could make your strata watery so use them sparsely. You solely have to wilt greens like spinach or chard for a minute or two earlier than layering into the strata.
- Cheese: You need to use smoked cheese or a spicy cheese like pepper jack to essentially change the flavour profile of this vegetable breakfast casserole. Parmesan would even be good as would Swiss cheese or gruyere. Should you’re in a rush, use pre-shredded cheese however observe that the highest is not going to soften as properly since bagged shredded cheese has starch added.
- Seasonings: I really like me an egg dish with a little bit pinch of nutmeg, so in fact I’ll all the time make that suggestion. You may also omit the oregano and as an alternative use recent chopped herbs like tarragon or recent basil. White pepper is all the time good with savory brunch dishes that includes egg, cheese and/or dairy. You may also add a few glugs of Tabasco too.
Extra 5-Star Veggie and Egg Brunch Recipes
Thanks a lot for studying! In case you are new right here, you might have considered trying to join my electronic mail publication to get a free weekly menu plan and the most recent recipes proper to your inbox. Should you make this recipe, please come again and depart a star ranking and overview. I might love to listen to what you thought!
Comfortable Cooking! ~Katie
Description
This Veggie Strata Breakfast Casserole recipe is the right make-ahead brunch essential course. It’s made by layering recent sauteéd greens, cheddar cheese, eggs and sourdough bread then baked till it’s puffed and golden.
- 3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, divided
- 4 scallions, sliced
- 4–ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup every diced pink and inexperienced bell pepper
- 2 cups complete milk
- 6 eggs
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon floor black pepper
- 6 slices sourdough bread, lower into cubes (about 6 cups or 9 ounces), crusts eliminated if desired
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- Butter a 2 ½ quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
- Soften the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add scallions, mushrooms and bell pepper and prepare dinner, stirring typically till the greens are softened, 8 to10 minutes.
- Scrape the veggies onto a plate to chill.
- Whisk milk, eggs, mustard, oregano, salt, garlic powder and pepper in a medium bowl. Add bread and 4 ounces (1 cup) of cheese and stir to coat the bread. Let sit quarter-hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 levels F.
- Layer strata by including half of the bread combination to the casserole dish. High with half of the veggies. Add the remaining bread and veggies. High with the remaining 2 ounces (1/2 cup) cheese.
- Bake till the strata casserole is puffed, golden and the egg custard is ready up, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool 10 to fifteen minutes earlier than serving.
Notes
Leftovers: Cowl the casserole dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate as much as three days. Alternatively, switch single servings into smaller glass storage containers.
Freezing: Stratas freeze superbly! Wrap the cooled baked strata and freeze as much as 1 month. Thaw and reheat earlier than serving. You may also freeze the assembled unbaked strata. Don’t prime with the cheese. Cowl with foil and bake the frozen strata at 325 levels for 1 hour. Take away the foil, prime with 1/2 cup cheese (2 ounces) and bake till the middle is puffed and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the strata registers 165 levels F, 30 to 40 minutes.
To Reheat the leftovers: Place a sheet of foil over the casserole dish and place in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till sizzling right through. Microwave particular person parts, loosely coated with parchment or a paper towel, for 1 minute 10 seconds on excessive warmth.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook dinner Time: 50 minutes
- Class: Brunch
- Methodology: Oven
Vitamin
- Serving Dimension: 1/6 casserole (about 1 1/4 cup)
- Energy: 398
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fats: 22 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 20 g
Concerning the Writer
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied artwork and images at Skidmore School and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been knowledgeable recipe developer since 2001 when she first began working within the take a look at kitchen at EatingWell journal. Her recipes have been featured in quite a few magazines together with Form, Health, Mother and father and a number of other Edible Communities publications amongst others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was printed in 2015. She launched Wholesome Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont together with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you’ll find her on the fitness center, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial backyard.
