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!!!
This looks so good! Ordinarily, I don’t like bacon in my food, but this may be the exception. My regular oven is broken; do you think that this recipe would work in a countertop convection/toaster oven?
Hi Kathy! That’s a bugger! I know this wouldn’t work in my toaster oven because I can’t change the strength of the heat so the top would burn before the middle cooks. But if you can change the temperature in yours, then I think it will work! It needs 25 minutes in the oven in order to cook in the middle. I think it might work better to have a thinner “cake” so it cooks through?
Also, do you think Canadian Bacon would work? I like it better than regular bacon.
YES it will work! I’m jealous, it is hard / expensive to get Canadian bacon in Australia 🙂
Hi Nagi, lovely looking strata you have there. Bacon eggs and cheese what could be more perfect for any time of the day. happy Easter to you
Thank you! And Happy Easter to you too Tania!! 🙂 Though wet and dreary as it is. Miserable weather!!
Have a wonderful Easter, Nagi!
This is one of my favourite recipes of yours, I think (well, for now … probably the next one you post will be my fave, too!)
I just love how super super super easy it is, and how it’s all puffed up and golden at the edges. Love , love , love and pinning x10!
Thanks Helen!! This is such a “cheat” breakfast but it’s so yummy!! The puffy cheesy golden goodness….it’s GOLD!! 🙂
Oh this is beautiful! Perfect for brunch! What a great idea!
Thanks so much Sarah!
You’re SO clever and creative! I totally love this breakfast.
Aw, thank you Sue! 🙂 I love it too 🙂 Had it this morning again!
I can see this being made for dinner sometime very soon. So easy to mix in almost any other ingredient you have. I’m thinking gorgonzola would be a fine match in this beauty, as well!
* Eye roll * Trust you to fancy it up with gorgonzola. I dare you to keep it plain. Cook like ordinary folk!
Brilliant idea, I’d have never thought of this! Easy, delicious and beautiful, what more is there, really?
High school maths: Bacon + egg + cheese = delish. 😉
I love this idea!! I am a make ahead breakfast girl and have several on my blog, but never thought to put it in a cake pan like this. Genius!! You can bet the next one I make I will be trying in a cake pan now so I can be all fancy dancy like you
Hi Bobbi! Ooh, I should have popped over to YOUR blog for make ahead breakfast ideas! Checking it out now!
Sign me up. This looks worth getting out of bed for!
But no rush Helen. It is a long weekend after all!
Nagi, this looks delicious. Your photos remind me of the Yorkshire pudding my mother used to make. I’m looking forward to trying this. And I don’t want to forget to thank you for including the nutrition information in the recipe when it prints. I’ve been going back and adding it to my saved PDF copies of your recipes, so for me this is a really great change.
Susan – Happy Easter! I LOVE Yorkshire pudding. This is much simpler to make! 😉 I did not even think about including the nutrition in the PDF of the recipe. I will make sure to do so from now on. Actually for this one, I made a mistake and had the wrong photo in the recipe!
OH WOW! I’ve never seen anything like this! I want a house full of guests now! Nah, I will just make it anyway, for me and my hubs! So really good!
Thanks Shinee! I turned it into a cake to make up for not posting an Easter DESSERT cake!! 😉
Nagi…yet another brilliant BRILLIANT recipe! It’s funny I always called mine bread puddings…but the strata CAKE sounds divine 🙂 Pinned 🙂 Happy Easter to you friend 🙂
Ha! I never know what to call these type of recipes :0 In Australia we call them Savory Bread Puddings!
Hard to beat a good strata – Nagi – and this one looks spectacular!
Thanks so much Rachel!! Happy Easter to you! Looking forward to seeing what you knock up 😉
This is looks so appetizing and delicious! Can I have a piece? 🙂
Why, isn’t that your plate I put the slice on? 😉
Hi Nagi! I must admit I’ve never been a breakfast person. However, we often have breakfast for dinner. I started doing that when my kids were young, especially in the wintertime. I believe this is on the dinner menu very soon!
Hi Dorothy – you know what? My parents are Japanese so I was raised on “dinner for breakfast”….so I think nothing of switching around meals! I often have toast for dinner and bolognaise for breakfast. My mother constantly reminds me that’s so much better for my metabolism i.e. eating pasta for breakfast rather than just before I go to bed. Very true! So does that mean I should have dessert for breakfast….?
I made your slice again yesterday using chocolate biscuits instead of Graham Crackers for the base. Delicious!
Hey Nagi! Whenever (which is often) I make cakes I do eat breakfast! I also have the habit of taking a few bites if I wake up in the middle of the night – my husband always says “I think a mouse (meaning me) got into this last night” 🙂
Dorothy, as they say, WHY would there be a light in the fridge if not for midnight snacks?? I was at a friends house last night for dinner, she had the most incredible pie. I took some home and had some for breakfast!!! 🙂
Hi Nagi! You and I think alike! If we lived together it would be whoever gets to the frig gets it! 🙂
You don’t want to take me on when it comes to FOOD!! He he he!
How did you make something THIS gorgeous out of so few ingredients. You are seriously amazing, Nagi. This is a real stunner for Easter brunch or any meal for that matter!
* Snort * As IF you wouldn’t have knocked up something even better!! Honestly, with those 5 ingredients, there are SO many things you can make and anything will be delicious!! 🙂 Happy Easter to you Marissa! I do hope you are taking some time out 🙂