A Breakfast Casserole – in cake form! All the morning essentials present – bacon, eggs, milk, bread and cheese – it’s a breakfast strata that tastes like a cross between quiche, omelette and savoury French toast with cheesy custardy insides, and a golden crusty surface.
Excellent way to make use of leftover bread. Make it now or leave it overnight, then just pop it in the oven the next day!
Breakfast Casserole – Strata Cake!
Being completely upfront – this is not a real dish as such, it’s just something I made up on a whim back when I first published it over 5 years ago as a way to make breakfast for a group without frying up individual bacon and eggs for everyone.
It’s essentially a breakfast casserole or a savoury bread and butter pudding, made with bread soaked in eggs and milk, scattered with cheese and bacon, then baked until golden on the surface, custardy and cheesy on the inside.
And rather than baking it the traditional way in a casserole dish, I’ve used a cake pan – so you also get golden sides and the fun factor of being able to serve slices of it like cake!
Something different – but you know it’s going to be tasty – right?! I like the way you sort of get “swirls” throughout the “cake”, which are really just the crust of the baguette I chopped up to make this breakfast “cake”!
What you need for this breakfast cake
Here’s all you need to make this breakfast strata – bread, eggs, bacon, cheese and milk. All the breakfast essentials!
Absolutely any bread is fine – I like long breadsticks / baguette-type because you get more “swirls” on the inside because there’s a higher crust to crumb ratio. You can also easily switch bacon for ham.
Also, bonus if it’s stale bread because it holds its form better once soaked in the egg mixture. However fresh works just fine too. The bread used in the recipe video and photos is fresh.
How to make this Breakfast Strata
It’s so easy you can do it even when you’re still half asleep. Though to make your mornings even more relaxing, mix it up the night before then just pop it in the oven the next morning!
Slice / tear bread into 2.5cm / 1″ pieces. Leave the crust on unless you’re using a really thick-crusted bread. Nobody wants super-thick, chewy crust inside when it’s supposed to be soft and custardy!
7 cups bread – You need 7 cups of bread in total, just lightly pushed down to fill the cup. I can’t give you a weight because different breads differ in weight for the same volume. Cup measurements are the best way I can describe it!
Whisk together the eggs and milk;
Soak bread – Mix the bread in until it’s totally soaked through with egg mixture, then stir through most of the cooked bacon and cheese (hold some back for sprinkling);
Pour into cake pan – Pour the mixture in a very well-buttered non-stick cake pan. A springform pan is the handiest but a cake pan without a loose base is fine too because the strata cake holds together well enough to turn it out. If you know your cake pan is prone to being sticky, line it with parchment paper because eggs are the ultimate food glue and added cheese makes it like superglue!
Bake 45 minutes – Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes, then remove cover and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the top is golden and crusty. Check with a skewer inserted into the centre to ensure no raw egg mixture is on it. Let it stand for a few minutes to stabilise then remove the cake pan sides (if you used a springform pan) or turn it out carefully.
The smell when this is baking is mouth-watering! It smells like a Quiche Lorraine, and though admittedly it looks a lot more rustic than a quiche, it is a whole lot less effort to put together!!
Customisation options
A very appealing feature of this recipe is that it’s highly customisable. I’ve gone with the breakfast staple of bacon here, but there’s plenty of other options – including adding things like chicken to make it lunch or even dinner worthy:
Ham in place of the bacon – a great way to use up leftover Christmas ham (skip the bacon-crisping step).
Garlic butter roasted mushrooms would be particular great and also fitting for breakfast. Halve or quarter so they incorporate better (whole will be too large);
Any chargrilled or roasted vegetables (follow directions in this Roasted Vegetables Pasta Salad recipe);
Feta or goat’s cheese – crumbled;
Chicken – cooked, chopped or shredded. Even leftover flavoured chicken eg from tacos or a chicken that was marinated like my Everyday Chicken Marinade;
Smoked fish – the oilier the better, so it won’t dry out. Think flaked smoked mackerel, herring/kippers or hot-smoked trout. Regular cold-smoked salmon would also work – it’ll cook in the strata because it’s thin and become “hot-smoked” – delicious!
Spinach – Make my garlic sauteed spinach, chop roughly and distribute before baking.
Breakfast sausages – Remove skin, break into small pieces, pan-fry as per bacon.
Olives, sun dried tomatoes and other antipasto-type things.
To serve, slice it up just like cake. If you’re the civilised sort, eat it with a fork but it holds together well enough to just eat it with your hands. 😉Excellent food for on the go! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Cheese & Bacon Breakfast Strata Cake (Breakfast Casserole!)
Ingredients
- 300g / 10 oz bacon , diced (or ham)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk (full cream or low fat)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 7 cups (packed) any plain bread (I use baguettes) , cut into 2 cm / 1 inch cubes (preferably slightly stale, Note 1)
- 2 cups cheese , shredded (Note 2)
Optional garnish
- parsley , finely chopped (garnish – optional)
Instructions
- Cook bacon: Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. (Use a bit of oil if not using non-stick). Add all but 2 tbsp of bacon (reserve some for topping just before baking), cook until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
- Whisk eggs and milk: Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl (or container, if leaving overnight).
- Soak bread: Add the bread, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and the cooked bacon to the egg mixture. Mix well. Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (until all the egg is soaked into the bread) or overnight.
To Cook:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Grease cake tin: Generously grease a 20cm/8" springform cake tin with butter (cake pan without loose sides also ok, also see Note 3 re: leakage risk).
- Fill: Pour the bread mixture into the cake tin, pat down to compress. Scatter with reserved uncooked bacon and remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Cover loosely with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for a further 15 – 20 minutes until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (no raw egg).
- Rest & slice: Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing the springform or turning out. Garnish with parsley if using. Cut into slices to serve. Be civil and eat it on a plate with a fork, or just use your hands!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published April 2015, updated October 2020 with brand new photos, video and process steps. Tidied up recipe writing but no change to recipe!
Life of Dozer
The clatter of spaghetti dropping on the floor and he was in the kitchen in a flash…..
Well, I WAS going to give them a wash and use them anyway, but he got to them first!!!
Can you make this in a cast iron skillet?
HI Carol! Yup, anything that will go in the oven is fine 🙂
Can you mix this together and then freeze it?
Hi Nancy, I haven’t tried that but instinctively I think it may cause it to come out watery 🙂
I freeze after it bakes and is cooled completely, placing in zip lock bags for individual servings. I then reheat in a 350′ oven until warmed through. Delicious. I have made it many, many times and I also use the sausage crumbles in the frozen foods section.
Sounds fantastic! What a great idea!!!
Made this for Friday morning brunch… this was fantastic! Thank you for this easy recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Yvette, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Wow this is such a frugal, amazing idea!Exceptional work Nagi.And the best part is that this is so versatile, we can add sun dried tomato, feta cubes, dill…the possibilities are endless!
Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Panos and Mirella
You are absolutely right!!
This was SO yummy, l had leftover rolls and stale bread to use up and after googling, stumbled across your website. I omitted the bacon for a vegetarian version and added chives and chopped sundried tomato. SO yum!
Is it sorta dry when u take it out of plastic bag? Should I add another egg
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gabbie, thank you for letting me know! N x
I wonder if you could use sausage instead of bacon.
Yesssssss!!!!
Can I bake this ahead of time.. for next day? Can it then be warmed in microwave? Would it be just as good
Love your work!
Hi Jo! It will still be tasty but definitely tastier if reheated in the oven (or made fresh – definitely the best!)
For some reason my bread crust was non existent when it was finished and mine didn’t turn out as fluffy? Any suggestions? It tasted good so I suppose that’s what counts lol
Hi Kathryn – how odd! So it wasn’t crusty AND it wasn’t fluffy?? Hmm, I’m thinking one of the measurements were quite a bit out?? Or – does our oven run weak?
Thank you for the suggestions! I will have to try again! This time I’ll have to snap a picture 😀
I was looking at various recipes using leftover bread — had already made several bread pudding like recipes and still had a fair amount left of the Challahs (braided breads), one made with traditional ingredients (sweet) and the other made partially with whole wheat and multi kinds of seeds.
Your recipe caught my attention, but even if I would eat bacon, the fat level in this recipe wasn’t going to work. Due to health reasons, I have to eat a fat free (or as near as possible) diet.
However, your recipe intrigued me, and I used it as a basis to make a low fat version. I’m sure it’s not as good as yours, nothing beats the whole fat version of foods, but I found this a good start.
Here’s what I did (and my notes about the result):
10 slices (2/3 of 7 oz package) Treehouse Tempeh, Smoky Maple Bacon
1.5 c Nulaid ReddiEgg (egg whites only)
1-1/3 c fat free Darigold milk
1/2 t salt, 1/8 t pepper
approx 5 c cubed/oven dried left over bread (sliced bread into rather larger chunks and then dried in 350F oven for about 10 minutes, turning over once after 5 minutes; next time I may lightly spray with olive oil and lightly season with coordinating flavors, such as garlic before baking — making it more like croutons)
scant 1/4 c Parma! Vegan Parmesan Alternative, Garlicky Green (estimated amount; used about 1/2″ from a new bottle)
4 medium crimini mushrooms, sliced very thin
1/2 large red pepper, sliced thin and crosscut about 3/8″ long
In non-stick skillet, using non-stick spray as needed, browned Tempeh. Repeated with mushrooms and bell pepper.
Mixed all ingredients and placed in non-stick sprayed glass casserole dish (Pyrex storage, 9″ x 7″ x 2.5″, 11 c / 2.5). Refrigerated over night.Next day, pressed bread into liquid insuring all soaking egg/milk mixture. Refrigerated about another hour (which may not have been necessary but I wasn’t ready to cook).
Preheated oven to 375F.
Cooked 25 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered. Let sit about 10 minutes.
Texture was lovely, but taste was a little bland. Needs more seasoning, but uncertain what.
Next time I will use entire bell pepper — the sweetness was a nice balance to the Tempeh bacon flavor. Could probably also use onion, celery and any other vegetables. Might need more cooking time to accommodate additional moisture from vegetables.
Made 12 small or 9 large servings.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your recipe Jeanne! It sounds absolutely DELICIOUS – and healthy too!
Left out: I preheated oven to 375F but lowered to 350F after putting strata in the oven.
Brunch perfection! Thank you so much for this – we all loved it and I didn’t have to make a single adjustment to your recipe. Came out of the oven looking like something for a gourmet magazine shoot. Thank you!
Thanks for trying my recipe Jessica! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for coming back to let me know! N x
Beautiful! Made it tonight, so easy, looked and tasted amazing. Thank-you. This will become one of our faves.
Oooh! So glad you enjoyed it Beth, thanks so much for coming back to let me know! N x
Perfect…thank you!
Ooh, you tried it Chanta??? 🙂
I’m curious to find out how this would be with perhaps a sourdough bread or English muffins with just the eggs and ham and purhaps some asparagus, then serve it up with some hollandaise sauce. I guess there’s only one way to find out. Thanks for the great recipe Nagi! I’ll be sure to try it, after the Pad See Ew of course. 😉
Oooh! That sounds lovely Maggie! I love making this with sourdough because I love sourdough so I seem to always have bits left 🙂 But it probably isn’t too everyone’s taste, that bit of tang? English muffins would be fantastic!! Dolling it up with hollandaise sounds incredible. 🙂
I can’t wait to make this tomorrow!!
Oooh! I hope you did try and LOVE this!!! 🙂 N x
Hi there, this recepy looks delicious! I come from the Netherlands, and unfortunately we don’t use cups. Do you have the ingredients in gram or something for me? Maybe the bread in how many slices? I can’t wait to make this! (: Love Larissa
Hi Larissa! About 40cm baguette will give about 7 cups. Hope that helps!
Can this be made in a 9 X 13 pan? Would it need to be doubled for that size of pan? I would like to freeze it to take camping the next week end. Would you freeze it after you bake it?
Hi Linda! definitely double the recipe 🙂 Yes I wold freeze it after baking. Lovely to warm up chunks of it wrapped in foil over the camp fire!
Ok I’m obsessed with this recipe ? I made it over the weekend with breakfast sausage, onion & cheddar jack everyone loved it . I kept thinking of combinations I love …so today I made it with mushroom, sweet onions & fontina cheese things I had in the fridge. neither time did I have enough bacon . So I guess I’ll just have to make it again❤️
YEE HA! I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed this Dee!!! Love the variation you did – and you’ve prompted me to want to share another variation of this some time soon!!!
I must have done something wrong because my bacon on top was still uncooked. So I went back to recipe n it said uncooked bacon. I had to put mine under broiler to cook. Hopefully it will taste awesome.
Oh dear Nancy! It sounds like your oven is a bit under?? The bacon should definitely have cooked in the cook time for this! 🙂
I will have to check but after putting it under broiler n letting it sit IT WAS AWESOME !!!??????
?? SO GLAD!! N x ❤️
This looks so delicious!! I would love to try it out but unfortunately I can’t have any milk protein/dairy!! Any suggestions for alternatives or if I can just leave the cheese and milk out? Ta!
Hi Tess! Sorry to say milk is necessary in this and I am not sure if non dairy subs will work. Sorry!
This looks wonderful. I’m a bit concerned about the cholesterol and sodium. Do you have any suggestions for a way I could modify the recipe without sacrificing the taste? Many thanks.
Hi Gail! You could use low fat cheese and leave out or reduce the salt if you wish? Same with bacon – low fat, or use Turkey bacon! 🙂
Can I use whole wheat bread instead of French?
You sure can Katie!