This spicy breakfast strata is a delicious breakfast casserole that can be made-ahead and is freezer-friendly which makes it a host's dream come true. A spicy kick from chorizo is balanced by sharp cheddar cheese and bread cubes. Always a hit with guests, this is a family brunch favorite.
There is a fancy grocery store near my office that I sometimes stop by when I need some particularly hard-to-find ingredient (read: overpriced and imported) that I will inevitably carry around in my purse all day long. (This sometimes results in disaster like that time I broke an entire bottle of kalamata olives.)
On Thursday I stopped by the fancy grocery store for Sloane's ridiculously good (and local!) chorizo and impulse-bought two U.S.-import peaches for $10. Worst carbon footprint ever, and I'm not even sorry. You won't see a peach recipe here anytime soon because, for $10 you better believe I ate those peaches straight-up with juice running down my chin.
But the chorizo was destined for this beauty. Although we've tried hard to get ourselves back into our weekend breakfast routine with pancakes or bagels or some other leisurely Saturday fare, we're still often dealing with baby-imposed distractions that result in burnt toast and cold coffee. But if you've been to our house for brunch since the girls were born (or come by any time soon...sorry to ruin the surprise all you future brunch guests), you'll know this dish. We're not high on creativity these days, but we know a good breakfast dish when we see one. And this breakfast casserole, adapted from Bon Appetit, is the real deal. We prep it a day in advance, let it soak in the fridge overnight, and toss it in the oven 30 minutes before people are due to arrive.
30 minutes before people are due to arrive, I'm also likely running around the apartment, still in my pajamas having not yet brushed my teeth, with a baby in my arms, shoving toys in random bins.
But pulling that spicy breakfast strata out of the oven in all its savory glory is like magic - ta da (!), we've totally got our act together around here. 😉
More Brunch Recipes
- Baked Banana French Toast with Pecan Crumble
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole with Sausage and Cheese {Low Carb}
- Bagel and Egg Breakfast Bake with Whipped Scallion Cream Cheese
- Egg, Brie and Arugula Breakfast Sandwich with Strawberry Glazed Bacon
- 1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing
- Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
- Frittata with Asparagus, Bacon and Goat Cheese
- Spaghetti Squash Egg Nests
- Brioche Baked Egg in a Hole
Favorite Tools
- 6-inch Global Knife
- Cutting Board
- Box Grater
- Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls
- 9x13 Emile Henri Baker
- Calphalon Nonstick Skillet
Spicy Breakfast Strata with Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Cheddar
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- 9 x 13 Baking Dish
- Nonstick Skillet
Ingredients
- 6 large Eggs
- 2 ½ cups Milk (I use 2%)
- ½ cup sliced Green Onions (about 3 stalks)
- ½ cup Whipping Cream
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 lb Chorizo, casings removed
- 1 large Red Bell Pepper, halved, seeded, cut into ½-inch wide-strips
- 1 1 lb loaf Rustic French bread, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese (loosely packed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9 x 13 baking dish. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.
- Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauté over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.
- Arrange half of bread cubes in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage-pepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge.
- Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.
Notes
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Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
OMG this looks delicious! Don't feel bad, toddler plus shooting blog photos = cold food ALL the time for me! I think my husband has just come to terms with it! 🙂
Good thing is the food is still delicious either way and this looks down right tasty.. love the chorizo addition for a little kick! Gorg photos girl!
Alexis @ Upside Down Pear
This sounds like the perfect breakfast when company over! I'm always running around at the last minute trying to clean things up. Time management seems to fly out the window when it comes to having house guests! I can't wait to try this sometime!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
I have never made something like this for breakfast before. I definitely need to recreate the recipe, looks like a perfect start to the day!
ami@naivecookcooks
Hehe i can relate to your broken olive bottle story!! And those peaches , I would have totally done the same!! No sharing even!! And this breakfast or brunch is just gorgeous!!
Ashley
I love dishes like this that can be prepped the night before! It sounds delicious!
hehe and what a cute little photography assistant you got there! 🙂
Heather Rose-Chase
Okay, I have this currently in the fridge ready to go into the oven for a breakfast themed dinner potluck this evening. My question, since I live in Shanghai and everything is metric here, is how much in volume should my 1 pound of bread end up making? Do you have an idea in cups, how much bread I should end up with after cubing it? Our local bakery here only sells tiny loaves or huge loaves, so just wondering how much is a close estimate of what you get with your "1 pound loaf" there. I'm a little worried I have too much bread. And I totally understand about the ridiculous price of imported goods! I have teenage sons who crave American breakfast cereal which runs $18 USD a box here. Which they can eat in one sitting. Sorry boys! Thanks for this recipe!
Jess
Heather - $18 for American cereal! I think that's even worse than here! There is a lot of flexibility in how much bread you use in this recipe, so as long as the dish doesn't look too dry before you put it in the oven, you should be okay. I'd say that I usually end up having about 8-10 heaping cups of cubed bread, depending on how small I cut the cubes.
Heather Rose-Chase
Hooray! The proportion I used ended up being absolutely perfect. The dish was a huge hit. I had to use evaporated milk in place of the whipping cream because all my local markets were out. It was soooo good, and I can see why you have been making it regularly! I'll certainly be putting it in my regular rotation! Thank you!
Kaye
Looks delicious but 2 cups sliced green onions, really? I can buy two small bunches for $1.00. I think I would need to buy about at least 20 bunches for two cups. It sounds like a lot to me.
Jess
Hi Kaye - you are exactly right! Thanks so much for you note. We just transcribed a number of our top recipes into a new format and what you caught was an error. It should be 1/2 cup, but three regular stalks should do the trick. We've updated the recipe with the correct measurement. Sorry for the confusion - this is one of my favorite breakfast dishes, so I hope you enjoy it too!
Mira C.
I'd like to know how many does it serve ?
Mira C.
Jess
Hi Mira - this recipe serves 8. Thanks for bringing this to my attention - there is an error in the recipe format, so the serving amount is not visible. We're working on that now!
Romy Loewen
How can I freeze this? Before or after cooking?
Cindy
Hi there! I am doubling the recipe and I am going to cook two of these at the same time for my unit of nurses working Easter (WE LOVE FOOD!).....Do I have to change the temperature or the length of cooking to do it? Baking them in the am before I leave for work. Thank you so much!! -CJ
Suze
Hi Jess and Frank! YUMMM!! We just made it through Hurricane Florence (Tropical storm when it reached NC) and although we had a generator we ran for 2-3 hours twice a day for a garage freezer, the 3 lbs. of bulk chorizo in the door was mostly thawed. Hence the search for chorizo recipes. So happy I found your version of this Bon Appetite recipe. I put this together last night and only made a few substitutions based on what I had available: 1/2 white onion instead of green onion, some jarred roasted red peppers, and I add garlic to almost everything (used 3 cloves) so not exactly the same but doubt the flavor is much different. The attendees of my 7 am meeting this morning were treated to a hot, delicious casserole! Because there were leftovers since we had a small group, the guests at the hospitality house where my office is, got leftovers. I have shared your link and the printed recipe for the non-computer-literate requesters. Truly outstanding and a keeper for sure!! Thank you!!
Jess
Suze- so glad you were able to use up some of that chorizo and liked the recipe! Stay safe!
Cassie
I just made this dish using crossiants in place of the french bread as it was marked down 50% off at my local grocery store! Because I know crossants are generally a sweeter bread, I used a 5% cream I had in the fridge I use for my coffee (making it even more cost effective not having to buy whipping cream). I was short one egg so I cut the milk by half. I also didn't have green onions. I used yellow onions. I opted for the 20 min soak method and despite all of my subs I loved this dish!! YUMO. Will make again.
Jess
Cassie - that sounds AMAZING - I'm going to have to try it with croissants. Yum!
EL Mehdi
so spicy, and tasty. I like the recipe, it goes well with a mint tea on breakfast
Megan Fox
Looks Yummy. Thanks for share a tasty recipe.
Jo
Can I use biscuit instead of bread?
Jess Smith
Yes - that would be delicious!
Kaley
Can this be made without cheese?
Jess Smith
Absolutely! Just skip the cheese - no need to make any other adjustments.