Breakfast foods are some of our favorite foods and our Sausage Strata recipe is hard to beat! This super simple strata is so comforting, delicious and can feed between 8 and 10 people! Our strata is also a favorite because you can make it the night before and just pop it in the oven before you’re ready to serve it!
We make this recipe whenever we have overnight guests over, but especially when during the holidays. It’s one of the best Christmas morning breakfasts you could ask for!
What is a Strata?
A strata is a layered egg casserole, usually involving layers of bread with some sort of filling between the layers. It’s most popular as a brunch dish and is similar to a bread pudding, but more often made savory (like our recipe today!).
How to Make Our Sausage Strata Recipe
Ingredients
Process
- Place a large skillet over heat. Add oil and brown sausage, breaking it up as it cooks.Transfer sausage to bowl and set aside.
- Add more oil to skillet and sauté onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add spinach and continue to sauté until spinach wilts.
- Pour onion mixture into bowl with sausage and set aside.
- Grease baking dish with butter.
- In a liquid measuring cup whisk together eggs and cream until completely combined. Generously season with salt and pepper.
- Add half bread pieces into the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer.
- Top with half the sausage, spinach and onion mixture.
- Pour half the egg and cream mixture over strata and sprinkle with half shredded cheese.
- Repeat previous step until everything has been used and baking dish is full. Top dish with half green onions.
- Tightly cover strata with foil and refrigerate overnight (or at least one hour).
- Preheat oven. Bake covered strata in oven. Uncover and continue to bake until the top has browned and slightly crisped at the edges and the center has just set. Cool strata for several minutes, top with remaining green onion and serve.
Tools You Will Need
- cutting board
- knife
- large skillet/sauté pan
- wooden spoon
- mixing bowl
- liquid measuring cup
- cheese grater
- 9″x 13″ baking dish
Variations
We love recipes like this Sausage Strata because there are endless flavor possibilities! Below we have some different ingredients that would taste delicious in our strata!
- Different cheeses to use: fontina, gruyere, comte, havarti, gouda
- Protein alternatives: crumbled bacon, diced ham, turkey breakfast sausage, diced and sautéed tofu
- Vegetables to add: sautéed mushrooms, kale, bell peppers, asparagus
Tips and Tricks for Sausage Strata Success
- We recommend using a hardier bread like sour dough or a crusty Italian loaf. Since the strata sits overnight, you want to use a hearty bread so the casserole maintains some body and bite to it. If using a softer bread like brioche, only allow the strata to sit for up to 3 hours in the refrigerator to avoid a soggy final product.
- Whole milk can be used instead of cream, but it should be whole milk. Anything less than will produce too much water while baking and may cause the strata to be soggy with excess liquid pooled at the bottom.
- Stick to great melting cheeses to help meld everything together. The options we listed above all melt very well.
Make Ahead and Freezing Our Sausage Strata Recipe
Make Ahead
Our recipe can be (and is encouraged) to be made the night before, tightly covered with foil and refrigerated. This allows the egg and cream mixture to soak into the bread, so when it bakes you end up with soft, custard-like pieces of bread loaded with flavor. This also makes this dish perfect for holidays, overnight guests and busy brunches.
Freezing
A whole strata can be frozen, after it’s baked. Just allow the strata to cool completely. Tightly cover with 2 layers of foil, completely wrapping the dish and place in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, remove one layer of foil and bake (covered and frozen) for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the strata has heated through.
Leftovers can be frozen in individual portions, wrapped in foil and then stored in an airtight container for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, leftover portions can be unwrapped, placed onto a microwave safe plate, covered with a damp paper towel and heated for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave).
More Tasty Breakfast Recipes You Will Love
Sausage Strata
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil, divided
- 16 ounces breakfast sausage
- ½ diced yellow onion
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 4 ounces baby spinach
- 8 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided
- 22 ounces Italian loaf, torn into pieces
- 8 ounces shredded white cheddar cheese
- 2 sliced green onions, divided
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and brown sausage, breaking it up as it cooks, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer sausage to bowl and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to skillet and sauté onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add spinach and continue to sauté until spinach wilts, 2 minutes.
- Pour onion mixture into bowl with sausage and set aside.
- Grease 9"x13" baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter.
- In a liquid measuring cup whisk together eggs and cream until completely combined. Generously season with salt and pepper.
- Add half bread pieces into the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer. Top with half the sausage, spinach and onion mixture. Pour half the egg and cream mixture over strata and sprinkle with half shredded cheese.
- Repeat previous step until everything has been used and baking dish is full. Top dish with half green onions.
- Tightly cover strata with foil and refrigerate overnight (or at least one hour).
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Bake covered strata in oven for 30 minutes. Uncover, dot top with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and continue to bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the top has browned and slightly crisped at the edges and the center has just set.
- Cool strata for 10 to 15 minutes, top with remaining green onion and serve.
NOTES
- We recommend using a hardier bread like sour dough or a crusty Italian loaf. Since the strata sits overnight, you want to use a hearty bread so the casserole maintains some body and bite to it. If using a softer bread like brioche, only allow the strata to sit for up to 3 hours in the refrigerator to avoid a soggy final product.
- Whole milk can be used instead of cream, but it should be whole milk. Anything less than will produce too much water while baking and may cause the strata to be soggy with excess liquid pooled at the bottom.
- Stick to great melting cheeses to help meld everything together. The options we listed above all melt very well.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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Really nice! I got day old wheat baguettes for 50 cents each and made a great base for a delicious and cost effective meal
Can I double the recipe and cook it in a larger vessel?
Yes! The baking time will need to be adjusted
Delicious! I used Challah and went with the whole milk option. I also doubled the chopped onion. Will definitely make it again!
I love this recipe! So delish. I also added gruyere :) Do you think it would be too soggy to prep 2 days before? Considering par baking it or just cooking the ingredients and assembling day before.
What happens with the second 2 Tbs of butter?
Hi! It gets dotted on top of the strata as the foil is removed. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect that!
This is delicious and simple to make. Perfect for Christmas morning. I think adding the salt and pepper first to the onion mixture and then to the cream and eggs really adds flavor. 22 oz of torn bread was too much for my 9×13″ baking dish, so I’ll reduce to 20 oz next time. I used Gruyère and it was excellent. This will be my go-to strata recipe from now on.
I’m in the process of making this but have noticed the recipe calls for 4 TBL unsalted butter yet in the directions you only mention using 2 to butter the baking dish. Just calling attention to editing unless I the other 2 TBL were accidentally omitted.
Great recipe. Perfect for our work breakfast potluck. Substituted Italian sausage for breakfast sausage. I ended up with 2 extra TB of butter. I used 2 TB for pan. Did I miss a step?
What happens to the other 2 tbsp butter?
I just made this for my son’s 2nd birthday brunch and it was such a hit! Everyone loved it, and it looked beautiful in the pan, and served up wonderfully. Savoury and filling – and a real treat. It cooked in the stated amount of time (which I find never happens with casserole recipes). The only tweak I made to cooking was I broiled it at the end for 3 minutes to really brown up the top so it looks like the photos above.
Perfect group breakfast meal! Super easy and delicious – we all enjoyed this yummy morning delight!
Made it last night and baked/enjoying it this morning!! Sooooo delicious!!!
I’m making this for Easter brunch and wondering if I could assemble it the day before and bake Easter morning? I’ve seen other overnight breakfast casserole recipes and would like your thoughts. Thanks!
Yes! This is great for that!
This looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try it. Would it work if I just put it in the oven at 375 instead of the grill? Would baking time be the same?
Totally! You might need to bake it in the oven for just a few minutes more, but should work just fine
This is such a great brunch option and love serving it in the cast iron – super cute!
This looks good – I like the idea of “baking” it on the grill. What’s your best guess as to how much bread you used if measured in cups? I keep a huge bag of frozen, cubed breads to use when I find recipes like this. Whenever I have the “butts” of homemade bread, leftover hamburger buns, Kings Hawaiian rolls, etc. they get cubed and added to the bag. Would love to apply them to this recipe. Thanks!
hm, I’d say I used anywhere from 7 to 9 cups, loosely packed