This Overnight Sausage and Egg Strata is the perfect make ahead Christmas breakfast recipe. Pour an egg custard over cubed bread and crumbled sausage. Top it with lots of shredded cheddar cheese and place in the fridge overnight. Bake it in the morning while you open presents and sip your coffee.
If you are looking for another hearty breakfast casserole, try this tater tot breakfast casserole or croissant breakfast casserole.
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Quick Look: Overnight Sausage and Egg Strata
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 👩🍳 Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 🕖 Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 🥚 Servings: 9 servings
- ⚡️ Calories: 372 calories per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Prep ahead, chill overnight and bake in the morning!
- 🛒 Main Ingredients: bread, eggs, milk, breakfast sausage and cheese
- ⭐️ Difficulty: Easy! Just give yourself 15-20 minutes to prep this the night before you serve it.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Prep ahead – keep Christmas morning calm with this easy make ahead breakfast. Prep the egg strata the day before and then bake it while you enjoy coffee and open gifts.
- Great for kids! – my toddlers loved the texture of this breakfast casserole. It’s almost like a savory french toast! The cubed bread soaks up the egg mixture, the sausage add tons of flavor, and the melty cheese on top makes the whole thing irresistable.
- Customize you your taste preference – Add sauteed veggies, use plant based sausage or change up the cheese to change the taste of this breakfast strata to fit your needs!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at the ingredients you need to make this delicious make ahead breakfast. For a full list of ingredients and amounts please head to the full recipe.
- Italian or Sourdough Bread: a fresh cubed bread is key to making this recipe. I like to grab an Italian or sourdough loaf from the bakery department at my local grocery store.
- Eggs and milk: Make a simple egg custard with eggs, milk and a few seasonings. The bread soaks up this mixture overnight and creates a perfect soft texture.
- Breakfast sausage: I like to use a seasoned pork breakfast sausage to add lots of flavor to this Christmas breakfast casserole. You can use plain ground pork, but be sure to season it while browning.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: I like to use freshly grated cheddar cheese to make an extra creamy, cheese topping for this breakfast casserole.
To make this recipe vegetarian, omit the sausage crumbles or replace them with a plant based meat crumble. Add veggies like sauteed bell peppers, onions, or spinach to add extra flavor and nutrients to this strata.
If you are looking for more delicious holiday brunch recipes, try these honey butter biscuits or spinach feta sun dried tomato quiche.
How to make an Overnight Sausage and Egg Strata
Step 1: Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add ground sausage to the pan. Brown and break into crumbles.
Step 2: Pour eggs, milk, salt, garlic powder and black pepper into a mixing bowl and whisk until completely combined.
Step 3: Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and pour the cubed bread into the pan. Pour the crumbled sausage mixture onto the bread.
Step 4: Pour egg mixture into the casserole and top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Step 5: Cover the casserole dish and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Step 6: The next morning, bake covered for 45 minutes. Then, bake uncovered for additional 15 minutes.
Mad’s Expert Tips for a delicious Egg Strata 🍞
- Use a bakery style loaf of bread – a hearty, bakery style loaf of bread is the perfect texture for combining the egg custard and bread cubes. The final texture is soft and satisfying without being mushy.
- Freshly grate the cheese – for a super cheesy and creamy top I like to grate a block of sharp cheddar cheese by hand instead of using pre-grated cheese.
- Top with fresh herbs – for an extra boost of flavor, sprinkle fresh herbs like chives or chopped parsley all over the top of the casserole as soon as it is finished baking.
Prepare a festive Christmas coffee bar for your family to enjoy while the strata bakes. Make this sugar cookie latte syrup and caramel brulee latte syrup to serve with hot or iced coffee!
Recipe FAQs
What’s the difference between a frittata and a strata?
A frittata is usually made in a skillet on the stovetop with eggs, vegetables, cheese and sometimes meat. The skillet is placed in the oven to finishing cooking. A strata is made in a casserole dish and is baked in the oven. The key feature of a strata is the combination of bread and egg custard to make a soft and fluffy texture.
What is the best bread for strata?
I like to use a hearty bread with a crisp crust especially when I am letting the egg strata soak overnight. A bakery style Italian or sourdough loaf of bread is best for this strata recipe. It gets nice and soft when baked in the egg custard, but not too soft that it is mushy.
Other Hearty Breakfast Casserole recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Overnight Sausage and Egg Strata
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground breakfast sausage
- 12 eggs
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 loaf of italian or sourdough bread 12oz cut into bite sized cubes
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- * Prepare this egg strata the night before you plan to bake it.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add ground sausage to the pan. Brown and break into crumbles.
- While the sausage is cooking, pour eggs, milk, salt, garlic powder and black pepper into a mixing bowl and whisk until completely combined.
- When the sausage is finished cooking, remove from heat and use a paper towel to absorb any excess grease in the pan.
- Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and pour the cubed bread into the pan. Pour the crumbled sausage mixture onto the bread followed by the egg mixture.
- Top the casserole with an even layer of sharp cheddar cheese and cover the casserole dish with foil.
- Place in the fridge overnight.
- When you are ready to bake, remove the casserole from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350F. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Top with fresh herbs like parsley or chives and serve warm
Recipe Notes
- Use a bakery style loaf of bread – a hearty, bakery style loaf of bread is the perfect texture for combining the egg custard and bread cubes. The final texture is soft and satisfying without being mushy.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, omit the sausage crumbles or replace them with a plant based meat crumble
- Add veggies like sauteed bell peppers, onions, or spinach to add extra flavor and nutrients to this strata.
- Freshly grate the cheese – for a super cheesy and creamy top I like to grate a block of sharp cheddar cheese by hand instead of using pre-grated cheese.
- Top with fresh herbs – for an extra boost of flavor, sprinkle fresh herbs like chives or chopped parsley all over the top of the casserole as soon as it is finished baking.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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