Brunch-Perfect Sausage Strata Recipe

Whether you'll be hosting family for a long weekend or you have a holiday work brunch to plan for, there's nothing better than sharing a big breakfast centered around a special recipe. This sausage strata is the perfect mix of eggs, sausage, bread, and cheese, all served up as a delicious crowd-pleasing, casserole-like meal. "I love that the prep time on this is pretty short, so you get a really great breakfast or brunch that seems really impressive with very little effort," says recipe developer Jessica Morone of Jess Loves Baking. 

That said, while the prep time is limited, the dish does need to chill for about eight hours, so it's important to plan ahead if you want to eat it in the morning. "You could prepare this the day or night before a weekend brunch or a holiday breakfast or anytime you want it, really," Morone says. 

To that end, she also says it's a great option for meal preppers — since it makes 12 servings, you can make it on the weekend to enjoy as your breakfast throughout the week.

The essential ingredients in any strata are eggs, bread, and milk or cream, which work together to create the "base" of the casserole. The rest of the ingredients lend changes to the overall flavor. This strata requires sausage, shallots, eggs, whole milk, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, Gruyère cheese, cheddar cheese, dried parsley, and cubed Italian or French bread. 

Get started by greasing a casserole pan and setting it aside. Heat a large skillet to medium and add the sausage. Cook the sausage until it's no longer pink, then remove it from the pan and set it aside, leaving the grease in the pan. 

Using the sausage grease as the oil, add the chopped shallots to the skillet and cook them on low heat until they're golden. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove the shallots from the pan and add them to the dish with the sausage and set them aside.

Grab a large bowl and mix the eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper together. Use a whisk and make sure the ingredients are well-combined, as this will be the base, along with the bread, for your strata. 

Next up, add the cheeses, parsley, sausage, and shallots to the same bowl, and mix well. Finally, drop the cubed bread into the bowl and stir until it's been completely soaked in the egg and milk mixture. 

You may be wondering if it's wise to mix freshly cooked, hot sausage with eggs and cheese, but Morone says there's no issue. "By the time you've cooked the shallots and mixed up the other ingredients, the sausage will be closer to room temperature than hot. I haven't had an issue with anything being too hot when you add it to the egg/cheese mixture, so you don't need to take additional time to wait before assembling," she says. 

The rest of the prep work is pretty much a cakewalk from here on out. All you need to do is pour the soaked bread, sausage, and cheese into the pan you prepared earlier and cover it with foil. Pop it in the fridge to chill, allowing for at least 8 hours. That said, this is a recipe you can make ahead, so feel free to leave it soaking for up to a full day. "The strata is chilled in the fridge for so long to allow time for the bread to absorb most of the liquid from the egg/milk mixture," Morone explains. 

When you're about ready to bake your strata, preheat the oven to 350 F. Take the strata straight from the fridge and put it into the oven, cooking it for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center looks set. 

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cook to further set for 10 minutes before you cut and serve. And again, this is a great recipe for meal prepping. "You can store this covered in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Just reheat portions of it in the microwave when you want it," Morone says. 

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There's quite a bit of room for customization with this sausage strata recipe. For starters, while Morone uses classic pork breakfast sausage, you aren't limited to this option. "You can use any kind of sausage. I just used regular pork sausage, but I'm a big fan of turkey and chicken sausages," Morone says. "You can get different flavors for this strata by using different kinds of sausage." You can also switch up the type of meat you use entirely, by either incorporating other breakfast favorites like bacon or chorizo into the mix.

You can also use different types of cheeses, depending on preference or what you have on hand. It's best to stick with those that will get nice and melty, so most types of cheddar, provolone, Swiss, muenster, or shredded mozzarella would all be viable options. Finally, you could consider adding some sort of topping to the casserole for a little textural contrast. Cheese is always a great topper, but something like crushed potato chips would add some extra salty richness along with plenty of delightful crunchiness.

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