This sausage and egg breakfast strata has lots of savoury flavour from sausage and cheese, which contrasts beautifully with tart, sweet cranberry. It’s a delicious breakfast casserole, perfect for a holiday brunch!
I don’t know about you, but I love brunch. I mean, what exactly is brunch? As Jerry Seinfeld once said ‘So what’s the deal with brunch? I mean if it’s a combination of breakfast and lunch, how come there’s no lupper or no linner?”
I don’t know, Jerry, I just don’t know (’cause we’re on a first name basis over here. Ha!) All I know is that people go cray cray over brunch.
Growing up, I don’t recall brunch being a thing. Now, it’s like all the cool kids go for brunch.
And you could totally wait up to an hour at popular spots. No thanks. I think I’ll stay home in my pajamas with all the coffee, please and thank you.
I love meals that are easy, hearty, comforting and you could drink a billion cups of coffee whilst waiting for it to cook. Know what I mean?
Enter this super tasty sausage and egg casserole; so perfect for Christmas morning brunch. It would be awesome to make and take over to a friend’s house for a brunch potluck!
What is Strata?
Strata is a layered casserole dish usually involving bread, eggs, and cheese. You can pretty much add in whatever you like to make it yours. Though, today I’m sharing a sausage and egg strata recipe.
Basically, think bread pudding, only on the savoury side of things.
Similar breakfast or brunch dishes would be quiche or frittata.
Quiche, however, usually has a pastry base with an egg filling (kinda like a breakfast pie). Frittata is typically eggs (and whatever toppings) baked in a pan with no pastry base or bread.
For this easy breakfast bake, sausage, bread, milk, eggs, cheese and a few other players come together in perfect foodie harmony for a delicious egg casserole that’s gonna knock your socks off.
Aside from cooking the sausage and quickly wilting the spinach, everything comes together in one dish and into the oven it goes. Easy!
How to Remove Sausage from Casings
You will want to remove the sausage from their casing prior to cooking them. What you are left with is a mixture akin to ground beef or pork, texture-wise.
Fry it up nice and crispy and it’s perfect in this strata casserole dish. How do you remove the sausage from their casings?
- Cut up through the centre of sausage with scissors.
- Gently peel off casing and remove sausage meat.
- Use in this recipe!
How to Make Breakfast Strata
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Place bread cubes in 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish that has been greased with baking spray or butter.
- Add cooked crumbled sausage and cranberries.
- In a bowl, whisk together egg, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Combine with cooked spinach and cheese and pour over the bread mixture. Press down to encourage the bread to soak up the egg/milk mixture.
- Top with additional cheddar cheese. Let sit 20 to 30 minutes so the bread absorbs more liquid. Then, bake for about 50 minutes and enjoy!
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Should It Be Covered While Baking?
Yes, it should. Though, after 30 minutes uncover and continue baking until cooked through, cheese is melted and bubbly brown.
Other Helpful Tips
Make sure your bread is ‘day old’ or slightly stale. If your bread is too fresh, it won’t suck up the milk/egg mixture as well. If using fresh bread, though, you can easily dry it out. Place bread cubes on a baking sheet in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 10 minutes and then proceed with the recipe.
Ensure that after cooking the sausage, the grease is drained well. You don’t want that added grease to your strata recipe. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
After cooking spinach, squeeze out excess moisture so it doesn’t make your strata super wet. Use a clean tea towel or fine mesh sieve.
The cranberries add a festive pop of colour and tartness, which contrasts lovely against the savoury sausage and cheese. However, if you aren’t a fan, you can omit, but I highly recommend them. Plus, the green from the spinach and red from the cranberries makes this dish super festive!
I topped this breakfast strata with crispy sage, but that’s totally optional.
Recipe Variations
I’ve also made this with croissants for an even richer flavour (or you can use a mixture of bread and croissants). Just make sure that it is ‘day old’ or dried out a little.
Italian sausage was used here, but maple breakfast sausage works lovely too!
Rather not use spinach? Try kale or Swiss chard (just cook a little longer before adding to the casserole).
For the cheese component, cheddar was used. Mozzarella, Gouda or Havarti are yummy as well.
Make It A Meal!
Though this sausage egg strata recipe is super hearty all on its own, if you want to make things even more substantial, pair with:
- Skillet Potatoes
- Hot Chocolate
- Blueberry Bread Pudding
- Or you may enjoy these other delicious brunch ideas.
Hope you love this breakfast strata as much as we do!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you. Hope your bellies are full, your heart is happy and you share lots of laughter and good times with family and friends over the next couple of weeks.
If you make this easy breakfast casserole, be sure to leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed!
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Breakfast Strata with Sausage (breakfast casserole)
Ingredients
- 1 pound sausage , removed from casings (about 4 sausage)
- 3 ounces baby spinach (about 3 handfuls)
- ½ teaspoon salt , divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ ground nutmeg
- 8 ounces bread cubes ('day old'. I used french bread. About 10 loose cups)
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups low fat milk (I used 1% milk fat or use regular)
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese , shredded and divided (about 2 cups)
- ¾ cups cranberries (frozen or fresh)
- baking spray or butter (to grease baking dish)
- Crispy sage leaves (garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium heat and cook crumbled sausage, stirring every so often, for about 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Drain fat. Transfer sausage to a plate and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for use shortly.
- Add spinach to pan with ¼ teaspoon of salt and nutmeg and cook, stirring often, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan, squeeze out excess moisture, and roughly chop. Set aside.
- Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish. Add bread cubes. Top with crumbled cooked sausage and cranberries.
- Whisk eggs in a bowl. Add milk to eggs, along with remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and black pepper. Add spinach and 1 cup of cheese to egg mixture. Stir to combine.
- Pour over bread cube mixture. Press down with your hand so the bread absorbs the egg mixture. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese. Let sit 20 to 30 minutes before baking.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove aluminum foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Garnish (if desired) with crispy sage leaves. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure your bread is ‘day old’ or slightly stale. If your bread is too fresh, it won’t suck up the milk/egg mixture as well. How to dry out bread? Place on a baking sheet in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 10 minutes and then proceed with recipe.
- Ensure that after cooking the sausage, the grease is drained well. You don’t want that added grease to your strata recipe. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
- After cooking spinach, squeeze out excess moisture so it doesn’t make your strata super wet. Use a clean tea towel or fine mesh sieve.
- The cranberries add a festive pop of colour and tartness, which contrasts lovely against the savoury sausage and cheese. However, if you aren’t a fan, you can omit.
Nutrition (ESTIMATE ONLY)
Nutrition estimate (if provided) is based on 1 Serving.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are guidelines only.
Terri
Dawn, I totally agree! Brunch is glorious and I would rather stay in my PJ’s and make it myself! This looks so fabulous and I love the idea of cranberries and sausage together – wow!
Girl Heart Food
Right?? So much better! Thank you Terri 🙂
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Wow, Dawn! I can totally see your recipe for Sausage Cranberry Breakfast Strata becoming the next classic Christmas Morning must-make dish! The combination of ingredients that you have used is indeed festive and very beautiful to look at. Many thanks for sharing – it is a delightful dish! I am pinning on several of my Pinterest boards.
Girl Heart Food
Yay! So happy to hear that! Thanks so much, Denise – appreciate it 🙂
Elaine
Love that festive red and green! And I know that this recipe will work just as well with gluten-free bread, too. Pinned!
Girl Heart Food
It sure will! Thanks Elaine 🙂
Jessica
So many great tips for making this Strata! Plus, I have leftover cranberries from the holidays so definitely will try this out one weekend! Happy New Year!
Joyce
Looks like an amazing breakfast! I love how you added cranberries to it! Yum!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Joyce! They really add a nice pop of flavour and colour 🙂
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
You can never go wrong with cranberries! I don’t use them nearly enough in savory preparations though. This sounds fabulous and since I still have cranberries in the fridge I think I’ll have to try it :). Hope you had a great Christmas, Dawn!
Girl Heart Food
I agree! Thanks Kelsie! Hope you love it 🙂 Merry Christmas to you too, my friend!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
Never thought to put cranberries in a strata and it is a great idea. I hope Christmas was everything you wanted it to be.
Girl Heart Food
So yummy! Thanks Karen 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Katie Crenshaw | A Fork's Tale
Wow! Have never thought of combining cranberries with sausage. That is brilliant. This strata looks scrumptious. It is perfect for entertaining. I am going to make this for my family soon.
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Katie! It’s quite tasty, if I do say so 😉 Enjoy! XO
Milena
I am loving the idea of this strata! Showing it to Chris to make because I’ll be on gift opening duty:) But would looove a big plate of it handed to me as I am sipping on my third cup of coffee:) Merry Christmas!
Girl Heart Food
Yay! Thanks Milena! Hope you guys love it as much as we do 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Ben|Havocinthekitchen
Brunch isn’t a common thing in our house, but I think we do practice it around holidays (Although I just call it All-Day-Breakfast haha). I haven’t tried a strata yet (Although I’ve been seeing beautiful ideas for a couple of years), but I love this recipe! I love the combination of sweet&savoury, so this strata loaded with sausage, cheese, and tart berries sounds amazing to me. Please ask Santa to bring it to me:) Happy holidays!
Girl Heart Food
Lol! I’ll put in a good word for ya with Santa 😉 Thanks Ben! Happy Holiday to you too!
Mike
I’m absolutely noting this recipe, Dawn!! 🙂
Girl Heart Food
Yay! Thanks Mike! Enjoy 🙂
Matt - The Bluenosers
I LOVE breakfast stratas, I’m trying desperately to convince the other decision maker in the house to let me have one for Christmas breakfast. I love the flavours here with the cranberry, spinach and sausage. Great idea!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Matt! It’s a delicious one 😉 Hope you get a chance to try it soon!
Kelly | Foodtasia
Dawn, this Breakfast Strata looks so delicious! Casseroles are so perfect for a relaxing brunch or a busy holiday. I make the same mistake every year, I get so busy cooking the big meal that we don’t have much to eat all day until dinner. This casserole is definitely the solution. My kids would love it!
Girl Heart Food
Right?? Thanks Kelly! I sure hope so 😉 Happy Holidays, my friend!
Valentina
I absolutely adore brunch! Whenever there’s time for brunch, somehow I become relaxed. After all, it’s a lazy, long meal. This recipe is such a great blend of flavors. Love the cranberry bursts of color and I bet every bite gets a little bit of everything.
Girl Heart Food
I agree! Love it too! Thanks Valentina 🙂 Happy Holidays!
Mimi
This is really brilliant! I love the combination of with sausage with the cranberries, and then you get to include eggs and cheese! I think this would also work well with some leftover cranberry sauce or chutney, but the cranberries are really pretty red bursts of color!
Girl Heart Food
I bet it would! Thanks Mimi! Happy Holidays 🙂
Kevin
What a festive dish for brunch and to add cranberries to this, genius! Perfect for Christmas morning!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Kevin! Merry Christmas to ya 🙂
Haylie Abele
YUM! Wow, Dawn! This looks so mouthwatering. I love the savory salty sausage and cheese combined with the cranberry. So good! Hope you have an amazing Christmas!!
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Haylie! It’s quite delicious 😉 Merry Christmas to you too!!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Such a pretty dish and so perfect to wake up to on Christmas morning! Have a wonderful Christmas, Dawn!
Girl Heart Food
I think so too 😉 Thanks Jennifer! Merry Christmas, my friend 🙂
David @ Spiced
I understand where Jerry is coming from here, but I’ve gotta say that brunch is one of my favorite meals! We don’t do brunch too often, but Christmas Day is one of those times. I love the sound of this strata, Dawn. It’s right up my alley! If we don’t make it for Christmas, then we might have to get it going for New Year’s Day. I’ve gotta have some delicious brunch food to keep me going for all of the college football bowl games that day! 🙂 Cheers, my friend!
Girl Heart Food
Sounds like a plan 😉 Thanks David! Love me some brunch too 🙂 Happy Holidays to you and your family, my friend!
Marissa
Bookmarked this for Christmas morning!! Love the savory sweet deliciousness going on here!! Happy, happy holidays, my beautiful friend!!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
I’ve been obsessively adding cranberries to all of my recipes lately, so I love that you added them to this savoury dish! The pop of colour is lovely, and the tartness is definitely a nice pairing with the sausage! I hope you have a fabulous Christmas and New Year’s Dawn and enjoy lots of time in your PJs while brunching and drinking lots of coffee!