Breakfast Casserole – Want to start your day with a hearty, crowd-pleasing meal? This layered casserole is easier to make than you think! Fluffy bread soaked in a savory milk and egg mixture is topped with crispy bacon and melty cheese, then baked to golden perfection.
I’ll show you how to whip up this comforting breakfast with ease. Whether it’s for a holiday brunch or a lazy weekend morning, this casserole is a simple yet satisfying way to feed a crowd and keep everyone coming back for seconds!
Breakfast Strata Casserole
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Leftovers are one of my favorite ways to create new dishes without extra effort, and this Breakfast Casserole is a great example.
Got leftover ham from a holiday dinner? Put it to good use in this simple recipe!
I’ve got plenty of ideas for transforming leftovers into something special, like turkey wraps, turkey shepherd’s pie, or even pumpkin chili.
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Why It's Yummy
- It's a clever recipe for reusing day-old bread or vegetable scraps and leftovers.
- Overall, the breakfast egg casserole hits all the marks - fast prep, make-ahead potential, fridge cleanup, customizable, and kid-friendly nutrition. No wonder it's such a popular breakfast dish.
🥚 Make Next: Spicy Scrambled Eggs
Ingredients
- Cheese - Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella, Havarti, Fontina. Gruyere. For extra flavor add parmesan, crumbled feta, goat, or cotija cheese for garnish when the breakfast casserole is ready.
- Bacon - or ham, ground chicken, turkey or chopped breakfast sausage without casing.
- Bread - Baguette, challah, ciabatta, sourdough, buns, and most of the gluten-free options will work here too.
- Milk - makes the casserole rich and creamy. The fat in whole milk binds with the egg proteins to give a custard-like consistency that can't be achieved with non-fat or low-fat milk.
- Vegetables - mix & match! Bell peppers, spinach, kale, mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, onions. To prevent sogginess, pre-cook/saute the veggies lightly on the stove before hand.
If you use crusty day-old bread you’ll have a mix of soft and textured bites, crispy edges, cheesy pockets, and plenty of crunchy bacon in every bite.
You don’t necessarily have to leave the bread soaking in the mixture overnight, 1-2 hours is enough.
How To Make Breakfast Casserole
STEP 1: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk/cream, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Set egg mixture aside.
STEP 2: Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy.
Drain on paper towels.
STEP 3: Add to egg mixture, reserving 2-3 tablespoons bacon for garnish.
STEP 4: Stir bread, green onions, and cheese (reserve about ½ cup for later) into egg mixture.
STEP 5: Refrigerate 1+ hour until bread absorbs liquid. Let come to room temperature before baking.
STEP 6: After 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180°C) and grease a casserole dish with butter.
- Related: Fried cabbage with bacon
Transfer soaked bread-egg mixture to prepared dish. Top with reserved cheese and bacon. Bake covered 20-25 mins.
STEP 7: Uncover and bake 15 mins more until set (test with toothpick) and top is crispy golden brown.
After removing from the oven, let the strata sit for 15-20 minutes.
SERVE! For garnish add parsley, green onions and more bacon on top.
- Want something sweet for breakfast? Try these easy cranberry overnight oats.
Tips
- To check doneness, insert a knife in the center. If it comes out clean, the breakfast casserole is ready. Be careful not to overcook or the dish will dry out.
- Day-old or stale bread with a firm texture will work best for breakfast casserole. French bread like baguette, Italian Ciabatta, sourdough or whole grain are all great options here. If the bread is too fresh and overly soft the casserole will turn too soggy too fast.
- Older bread will work too, but make sure to soak at least 3 hours in the egg mixture, for even better results leave it overnight.
- For baking - place a tray in the bottom of the oven or under the casserole as some juices may leak out of the casserole while it's baking. It will also depend on your baking dish, ideally 9 (9x13) or 8 inch (I used 8x11) will fit the strata but I’ve used smaller ones too.
- Grate the cheese from a block - Pre-shredded cheese may not melt well due to added preservatives. Shred fresh mozzarella for improved melting; it takes a bit more prep time but yields better results.
- Every oven is different, and I the breakfast casserole starts to become too brown, cover it with aluminum foil until the end of baking time.
How To Serve Breakfast Casserole
- cucumber salad or tomato basil mozzarella salad
- Fruit salad: watermelon salad or strawberry cucumber salad
- Muffins: cornbread jalapeno muffins or oatmeal zucchini muffins
- Hashbrowns
- Scones
- smoothies
- granola + yogurt
- banana bread
- zucchini bread
- baked apples
Variations
- Instead of bacon - sausage, mini pepperoni, chorizo, kielbasa, ham, pulled chicken (rotisserie, slow cooker bbq chicken), ground beef, salmon or leftover pork chops or ribs. The meat options should be cooked before adding to the casserole.
- Just like in frittata, you can add spinach and cherry tomatoes.
- For more flavors - add 1-2 tablespoons of green or red pesto to the egg mixture.
- Mediterranean - artichoke, plum or sun-dried tomatoes, olives, onions (red or white), feta and crumbles and ruccola leaves on top for garnish.
- Dairy free - milk can be substituted with plant-based milk and cheese as well.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- To Store. 4-5 days refrigerated in an airtight container.
- To Freeze, allow strata to cool completely first. Wrap in foil then place in an airtight container or freezer bag, store for 2-3 months.
- To Reheat, rewarm the breakfast bake in oven at 300F for 10-20 minutes until warmed through and crispy. You can also reheat individual slices in the air fryer at 350F for 5-10 minutes.
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Breakfast Casserole Recipe
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INGREDIENTS
- 7 large eggs
- ¾ of a whole baguette or sourdough (gluten free if needed), about 6-7 cups, sliced into 1-2 inch thick pieces, see notes
- 10-12 ounce bacon, diced
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, Herbs de Provence
- 1 ¼ cups milk (full cream or low fat), or heavy cream for custard like texture
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 ⅓ cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 2-3 tablespoon green onion, chopped
- butter for greasing the casserole
- olive oil for cooking
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk/cream, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Set egg mixture aside.
- Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Add to egg mixture, reserving 2-3 tablespoons bacon for garnish.
- Stir bread, green onions, and cheese (reserve about ½ cup for later) into egg mixture. Refrigerate 1+ hour until bread absorbs liquid.
- After 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180°C) and grease a casserole dish with butter.
- Transfer soaked bread-egg mixture to prepared dish. Top with reserved cheese and bacon. Bake covered 20-25 mins. Uncover and bake 15 mins more until set (test with toothpick) and top is crispy golden brown.
- After removing from the oven, let the strata sit for 15-20 minutes. For serving, add parsley, green onions and more bacon on top. We love shredded parmesan too. Enjoy!
VIDEO
NOTES
- Baguette sizes vary, when cut into pieces my bread made about 6-7 cups.
- To check doneness, insert a knife in the center. If it comes out clean, the strata is ready. Be careful not to overcook or the dish will dry out.
- Day-old or stale bread with a firm texture will work best for breakfast casserole. French bread like baguette, Italian Ciabatta, sourdough or whole grain are all great options here. If the bread is too fresh and overly soft the casserole will turn too soggy too fast.
- If you only have fresh bread … in this case leave the bread to dry out. First, cut or tear the bread into the size pieces you need. Then spread the pieces on a baking sheet and let them sit uncovered at room temperature for a few hours or up to overnight. As the bread sits, the surface will become dried and hardened from evaporation.
- To Store. Leftover strata keeps 4-5 days refrigerated in an airtight container. To reheat, bake at 300F for 10-20 minutes until warmed through. You can also reheat individual slices in the air fryer at 350F for 5-10 minutes.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
FAQs
Frittata is more of an omelet with different ingredients, without the bread. It is often prepared in a skillet or cake pan.
Strata is a breakfast casserole too, and made with soaking the bread in the milk and egg mixture overnight (preferably). It is then baked in a casserole dish and is thicker and fluffier than a frittata dish.
Cooking time varies based on thickness. Check doneness by jiggling - it should be set, not jiggly. A clean toothpick also indicates doneness.
Letting the bread soak for at least 1 hour (ideally 1-2 hours) before baking allows full absorption so the strata won't turn out to be soggy.
This breakfast strata can easily be made gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free bread, and this is what I used as well.
Dry, crusty bread chunks are the secret to a chewy, chunky casserole texture. The crusty cubes soak up liquid, preventing a spongey, dense dish. Homemade sourdough or crusty artisan bread works best.
The key is using really crisp, dry bread - never soft sandwich slices. With ultra-crisp chunks throughout, your casserole will have incredible staying power and texture.
This recipe is inspired by Recipe Tin Eats - Cheese & Bacon strata cake.
TimBrooks
hey, just made this casserole this morning and it was a hit with the family. threw in some extra cheese cause who doesn’t love cheese, right? also, used a mix of sausage and bacon. can't go wrong with more protein. anyone else try mixing up the meats? would love to hear what worked for others.
Susan Q
Julia, this breakfast casserole recipe looks fantastic and seems easy enough for a weekend treat! I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more vegetables into my family's diet. Could you suggest any specific veggies that would go well in this casserole without altering the cooking time too much? Thanks in advance!
kate
Thank you for this yummy breakfast casserole recipe. It was delicious and the leftovers were great re-heated. I didn't have time to do the air-fryer method so I just used the microwave to reheat my piece and it was totally fine.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
sounds awesome, glad you enjoyed Kate, thank you!
Gina Abernathy
I made this breakfast strata for dinner last night and it was a total winner with the family. Everyone loved it!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Gina!
Sisley
What a way to start the day! I love a breakfast casserole and adding bacon like this was yummy!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Sisley!
Ned
Everything is better with bacon! This was so amazing, I can't wait to make it again. Thank you!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Ned!
Dina and Bruce
Made for the family! Thumbs up all the way around!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Dina and Bruce!
Robin
I used dried out Baguettes and soaked them overnight. I didn't add the cheese, bacon or chives until this morning, because I don't like mushy bacon either. It appeared dry to me (probably because the Baguettes were dried out) so I added 4 more eggs over the top. Put the toppings on after taking the foil off to help crunchy it up.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Interesting! I soak the mixture for just one hour, with medium-old bread. Some baguettes vary indeed, and it is good advice to soak them separately until softened enough. My casserole was pretty juicy after baking!
Deb
Recipe sounds easy and delicious! Approximately how many cups of bread would equal one baguette cut into cubes?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
great question, I will have to measure it out soon. But an average length about 26-30 cm I thin would be 4 cups?
Lyn
What a great make ahead breakfast idea!! I haven't made a strata before, but thinking now that I will need to try it out!
Julia
thank you, hope you'll love this one!
Marge
Made this casserole yesterday but in different dish and it was so good and so fluffy!
Soaked the bread for 5 hours only. Delicious!!
Julia
Thank you Marge, so glad that you liked it!
Karyn Roesler
Never bacon…hate mushy bacon…just a personal opinion. Ham or breakfast sausage, but again…the sausage gets mushy and I like links that have a crispy outside…I know…I’m difficult! Other than that I will try this because it looks delicious! Just with ham! Thank you
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
absolutely! Ham is a great substitute. Another thing with bacon is to perhaps choose the thickest bacon and cut it into larger pieces or leave whole strips inside. But I haven't tried it this way yet:)