Take it easy on yourself by making this breakfast casserole the night before, then bake it in the morning while you get ready! A true crowd pleaser, this breakfast bake is perfect for holiday breakfasts or when you have guests!
This Easy Breakfast Casserole is such a great holiday breakfast idea, and SO delicious! We love make-ahead breakfasts that the whole family will enjoy, like my Maple Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns, and Overnight French Toast Bake. This is one of my Breakfast recipes you’ll definitely want in your collection!
For some people, Christmas dinner is the main event on Christmas, but in our family, it’s breakfast Christmas morning! Since we’ve had kids, my parents and brother make the trek over to our house early in the morning.
We all sit down around our table (as many as can fit anyway), mugs of steaming coffee in our hands, and eat a hearty, stick to your ribs, breakfast that will last us through the many hours of gift opening to come.
We have a tradition in our family that on Christmas, everyone gets a gift, but we only open them one at a time, which is nice, because then you’re guaranteed to be able to watch your loved one open that gift you’re so excited to give them!
It also means that it takes us a lot longer to get through all the presents lol. So we definitely need that hearty breakfast to fuel us up!
Several years ago, on the first Christmas morning at our house, I served this overnight breakfast casserole… it was a TOTAL hit! There are rarely any leftovers, and usually we’re all scrambling to grab the last piece.
We usually just call it “the breakfast casserole”, but technically, it’s a strata since the base of the dish is cubed pieces of bread and they soak overnight in a spiced up egg custard.
CAN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE BE MADE AHEAD?
Yes, in fact, it’s best when it IS made ahead of time! You can make this breakfast casserole up to 8-12 hours ahead of time. My favorite way is to make it on Christmas Eve after dinner, then let it chill overnight and bake it Christmas morning! You want it to sit in the refrigerator so the custard really soaks up into the bread and all the flavors come together.
WHAT CAN YOU PUT IN A BREAKFAST CASSEROLE?
Just about anything! I’ve seen breakfast casseroles made with tater tots, hashbrowns, croissants, etc. I love my breakfast casserole loaded with sausage, bacon, and plenty of cheese!
I consider this recipe to be more of a method, and not necessarily a hard fast recipe. Meaning, you can add (or subtract) ingredients to customize it to your tastes! Here’s a few options…
Customization options for this casserole:
- Add sautéed onions (since our little ones have an onion aversion, I leave them out, but they’re delicious!)
- Play with the herbs and add your favorites
- Use chorizo instead of sausage and sprinkle with cilantro to add some Mexican flair
- Switch up the cheeses, or use all cheddar
- Use some torn croissants or cubed up bagels instead of Italian or French bread
I love using both the sausage and the bacon here, as we’re huge breakfast meats fans around here, but feel free to use one or the other if you’d rather not use both.
CAN YOU FREEZE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE?
Yep! After you assemble the casserole, instead of covering it and refrigerating, place it in the freezer instead. Breakfast casseroles can be frozen for up to 2 months, then just thaw overnight and bake as directed.
I hope you guys give this overnight breakfast casserole a try… it’s perfect for not only holiday breakfasts, but for weekend breakfasts as well!
We like to serve ours with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkling of fresh parsley and chives!
SHOP THE RECIPE:
- Enameled Cast Iron Casserole Dish – I love the even baking in this dish, plus the easy cleanup!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 lb sage or breakfast sausage
- 8-10 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 8 large eggs
- 2 2/3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground dry mustard
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 12 oz Italian bread, cubed into 1/2" pieces
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- minced fresh parsley, for garnish
- chopped fresh chives, for garnish
- dollop sour cream, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown and crumble sausage until cooked. Drain and set aside.
- Use a bread knife to cube Italian bread into 1/2" pieces, then set aside. Combine shredded cheddar and Gruyere cheeses, then set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, salt, dry mustard, dried parsley, black pepper and paprika. Whisk until combined.
- Add cubed bread pieces to bottom of 3 quart oven safe pot, or 9x13" baking pan. Top with crumbled sausage, bacon, and 3/4 of the cheeses. Pour egg custard over the top, using a wooden spoon to gently push any un-soaked bread down into the custard. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheeses.
- Cover pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove from refrigerator, uncover, and let sit at room temperature while oven preheats to 350 degrees F. Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Serve hot, topped with garnishes if desired.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
sed says
delicious, filling and looked wonderful. Really nice to just pop in the oven in the morning. Guests loved it1
Julie Rushe says
Just made this and it is fabulous!! Best strata recipe I found…got rave reviews!! Love the two meats, cheeses and the Italian really made this!!!
Elaine says
This recipe sounds so delicious, and I would love to make it, but my baking dish is 10 x 14. Can you please tell me how to adjust the ingredient portions? I don’t want to have a shallow strata; want it to be high and gorgeous, the way it would be in a 9 x 13 pan. Thank you so much for any help you may be able to provide.
The Chunky Chef says
Is it 10×14 on the inside? Or is that the measurements of the top/outside? Honestly, those are so similar, I wouldn’t change anything if it were me. Those would be pretty minute adjustments, so if you wanted to try and adjust, I would just be a little heavy handed with my measurements.
elaine says
Amanda, thank you for your advice. As you suggested, I increased the ingredients (by 20%) to accommodate my big (and deep!) 10 x 14 baking pan. I also loved your tip of trying some add-ons: in this case, a sauteed onion, a sauteed red pepper, a sauteed jalapeno, and a well drained pack of chopped spinach. Well, it was a HUGE hit! Super gorgeous and heaven on a plate. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe — so fun to make! I will be trying many of your other recipes in the future.
Keith says
This stuff rocks. I add a yellow pepper, shallots, and mix up the cheeses. Great recipe. Must be , all I can see is the top of 5 people’s heads! Outstanding!
Don says
I made this last Christmas and it was a huge hit! I can’t remember if I brown the bacon as well as the sausage?
The Chunky Chef says
So glad it was a hit! Yes, I usually cook the bacon first, then drain off most but not all of the bacon grease, then use the residual grease to brown the sausage 🙂
Don says
I came upon your website this morning and I’m really intrigue by this recipe. Both my wife and I are big bacon and sausage lovers, as well as hash-browns, eggs and cheese.. Thank you for making such recipes available. We’re looking forward to trying it and will let you know the results. Thanks again.
Kendall says
So easy and delicious! Was a hit at with my team at work for Friday breakfast.
Patricia says
Has any tried cooking then reheating?
Grandson is being baptized and want to be able to eat right after? Thought about cooking it early then adding the remaining cheese and melt it then. Any suggestions appreciated
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not tested baking it ahead of time, but I think it would work well. I would bake it as directed, then cool, cover and refrigerate. I’d reheat at 350 until hot 🙂
Jacalyn Margittay says
In reading all the recipes I see they say 8 hours or overnight. So I’m trying it for 5 hours. We shall see! Using croissants and just had 2% milk so I added some sour cream. Didn’t have dry mustard so I used Chinese mustard. It’s an experiment all around! Fingers crossed!
Jay says
Hello, The Strata looks delicious, can’t wait to try it! I want to do a practice run and make this dish for this upcoming weekend. Dose the bread pieces need to be put on large rimmed baking sheets and baked in the oven until slightly golden brown, about 15 minutes or unbaked?
Also, in your opinion would adding hash browns or cubed potatoes in combination with the bread be too much?
Thank you in advance for your reply
The Chunky Chef says
You can toast the bread pieces if you want, but it isn’t necessary. I think adding some potatoes would be good, but I would use less bread, so the proportions stay similar 🙂
Sheri says
Can i make this with hashbrowns instead of bread?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested using hashbrowns, but I do know a few other readers have done so successfully 🙂
Elvis says
Sounds great and I plan to make this for Mother’s day. I have a question in regards to pot size. Would a slightly larger pot change cook time (3.6 qt in my case)? Would texture or anything else be affected (other than thickness of course)? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Elvis, that shouldn’t change anything, and I’d say the cook time will be about the same 🙂
Page says
Does this have to sit overnight or can it be made same day?
The Chunky Chef says
This recipe was developed to be an overnight recipe, so without sitting in the refrigerator, the bread won’t soak up the liquid and you’ll end up with a soggy dish.
Lynne Conway says
If I wanted to halve the recipe since there are only 2 of us, would a 9 inch square pan be big enough?
The Chunky Chef says
That should work well 🙂
CRH says
I’m interested in making these for a family bringing home a new baby in a few weeks…would it work to make these in muffin tins instead of a large pan? Would they freeze okay?
The Chunky Chef says
I think making these in muffins tins would be amazing, and they should freeze well 🙂
Brittany says
How many cups of bread approximately? Excited to make this for Valentines Day brunch!
The Chunky Chef says
I would say anywhere from 8-10 cups, depending on how it’s cubed and the type of bread. A typical loaf of bread is 16 oz, so you’ll want to use about 12 oz. Hope you love it!
Lucy R says
Thanks for asking this question. Measurements like this make me crazy when using cups makes much more sense.
The Chunky Chef says
It would make sense, but if I just put the amount in cups, most folks wouldn’t know how much bread to purchase 🙂
Dawn says
This recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it. I have a question though. I have an 11-year-old who has Celiac Disease so I can’t use the Italian bread the recipe calls for. I was thinking about using tater tots or hash browns instead, like you suggested above. If I were to do that, would I bake the potatoes first or just put them in the dish frozen and let them bake when the casserole bakes? Thank you for your help. I would try it with gluten free bread, but I’m just afraid that it will turn out too mushy.
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t officially tested using potatoes, but I think they would be okay to be put in frozen 🙂
Nancy says
This may be the BEST MOST Delicious breakfast casserole I’ve ever tasted and made several times now!! Don’t overcook it! And don’t Over Warm it in the oven waiting for people to get ready to eat it. Did that the first time and it dried out. My fault. Won’t happen again! LOVE this recipe!!
jenny says
Have you made it with a milk alternative before? I am trying to accommodate dairy free guests and don’t think whole milk would be too kind to serve them!
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only made this recipe as written, as we don’t have anyone who is dairy free in my family, so I can’t say for certain what milk alternative would work the best.
Courtney says
I made this using extra creamy oat milk and no cheese, and it was delicious.
Rebecca says
This recipe is perfect just as it is! I made two of these casseroles in 9 x 13 glass dishes for Christmas Eve morning and they couldn’t have been a bigger hit! I served a nice fruit salad on the side. I am definately hanging on to this recipe! I wouldn’t change one thing. I think I will make this for the next time my teenage son’s friends plan to come to dinner. They would love it!
Tress Padron says
I offered this as a Take and Bake on our Holiday Order Form at our restaurant. We sampled it and got great feedback. A lot of people from where I’m from in Texas have never heard of a Stata. We sold 3, hopefully more next year. The seasonings is on point. So delish!!