Red Pepper and Sausage Breakfast Strata

Breakfast has never been so easy with this Red Pepper and Sausage Breakfast Strata. Make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning. It is the perfect breakfast or brunch recipe for a special occasion or for a busy week ahead.

It is always good to have a go-to recipe or two in your roster for special occasions. Something that looks fancy and complicated but really isn’t. Something that will really wow your family or special guests.

Well, this sausage breakfast strata recipe is just the thing for a special breakfast or brunch! Simple ingredients are made special in this easy to make breakfast casserole that can be prepared the night before, then simply popped in the oven and ready in under an hour!

This red pepper and sausage strata recipe with sausage and red pepper is just another one of my favorite ways to eat eggs along with these Denver Egg Bites and Baked Ham and Cheese Egg Cups.

What Makes This The best strata recipe?

• Easy to Prepare in Advance: You can make this recipe for strata the night before and just bake it in the morning, making breakfast a breeze.
• Looks Fancy, but Simple to Make: It seems like a fancy dish, but the recipe is straightforward, so you can impress your family or guests without stressing out.
• Great Combo of Flavors: The Italian sausage, Fontina cheese, red pepper, and onions create a tasty mix of savory and a bit of sweetness.
• Make it Your Own: You can change things up by using different bread, cheese, or sausage to match what you like.
• Perfect for Making Ahead: This recipe makes 8 servings, so it’s great for meal prep or feeding a crowd.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Eggs – A dozen large eggs. They work to hold this breakfast casserole together.
• Crusty bread – I find Ciabatta or French Bread is the best to use because they both have a thicker exterior and soft hearty interior that hold up well to being soaked in liquid without falling apart. The bread should be cut into bite-sized cubes and dried either by letting sit out for a few hours or baking in an oven on low heat for about 10-15 minutes.
• Milk – You can use any type of dairy milk or unflavored almond milk, soy milk, or your favorite dairy-free variety.
• Fontina cheese – This is an Italian cheese that goes perfectly with the Italian sausage.
• Mild Italian sausage – The spices in the Italian sausage are a great way to simply season the entire dish!
• Red pepper – Compliments the Italian sausage and Fontina cheese perfectly.
• Onions – I prefer to use yellow onions when cooking and they are the most common but you can also substitute with Vidalia onions as well which will add a slightly sweeter flavor.

Substitutions and Variations

I love this combination of flavors in this sausage breakfast strata, but there are tons of ways to make it your own. Here are some ideas:

• Bread Swap: Substitute Ciabatta or French bread with your favorite crusty bread.
• Cheese Variations: Experiment with different cheeses like Gouda, Provolone, Emmental, and Gruyère.
• Sausage Choices: Use your preferred sausage – mild, medium, spicy, or even breakfast sausage or chorizo.
• Vegetable Substitutes: Swap red peppers with green peppers, spinach, kale, mushrooms, or a combination for added variety. You can also add diced tomatoes, zucchini, or olives for added texture and flavor. Mix in sun-dried tomatoes for a tangy twist.
• Herb Infusion: Enhance the flavor with fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or chives.
• Spice It Up: Adjust the heat level by adding crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce. You can even include diced jalapeños for an extra kick.
• Change Up The Meat: Try using different meats like bacon, ham, or turkey sausage.
• Sweet and Savory Blend: Add a touch of sweetness by incorporating caramelized onions or even fruit like diced apples or dried cranberries.

Making A Red Pepper and Sausage Breakfast strata

1. Start with cubing a crusty Italian or French bread into bite-sized pieces. For this recipe, I have used 6 cups of cubed bread for a 9 X 11 deep casserole dish. I have filled the dish to the top with fresh bread cubes to measure the amount needed.
2. To dry the bread in the oven, preheat the oven to 250 F. Cube the bread and place on the baking sheet evenly leaving some space between the pieces for the heat to circulate. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until bread is dried. You do not want the bread to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

3. Remove the outside casings from 2 Italian sausages. Place in a pan over medium-high heat and cook the sausage until it is no longer pink breaking it into small crumble-like pieces while cooking. Transfer the sausage to a bowl.
4. Then add 1/2 cup of diced onions and 1 1/2 cups of sliced red pepper and saute until both are softened and the onions are translucent. You shouldn’t need to add any oil to the pan because there will be a little fat remaining from the cooked sausage but if you do a tsp or two of olive oil will do.

5. Add the dried bread cubes, sausage, red peppers, onions as well as 2 cups of shredded Fontina cheese and mix until combined.
6. Add the bread and cheese mixture to a greased 9 X 11 casserole dish.

7. In a large bowl add 2 1/2 cups of milk and a dozen eggs. Whisk until well mixed.
8. Slowly pour the egg and milk mixture over the bread mix inside the 9 X 11 deep-sided casserole dish. It will seem impossible because the dish looks already packed but trust me. The egg mixture will pour into all the empty crevices to fill in all of the empty spots created by the dried bread cubes. The bread will also absorb some of the liquid giving this breakfast recipe a light, fluffy custardy texture that will have you swooning!
9. Then sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

10. Cover the casserole with foil and place it in the fridge overnight. This will give the bread time to soak in the egg mixture. If you are in a hurry, letting it rest for a minimum of 1 hour will do.

11. The next morning or when you are ready and the casserole has had time to soak up all that eggy goodness, preheat the oven to 350°F and then bake for 25 minutes covered with the foil still on. Then, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 25 minutes or until the center is set and no longer jiggly and the center of the casserole reaches a temperature of 160°F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tips

• Don’t skip drying the bread. Drying the bread helps to create a more solid foundation for when the liquid is added. When the bread is dried it will look a lot smaller but it will expand again when the egg and milk mixture is added. Having the bread toasted already helps to keep the bread from being too soft and falling apart in the liquid which leads to a mushy breakfast casserole.
• Casserole size. This recipe calls for a deep-sided baking dish that should be a minimum of 2.5 – 3 inches deep.
• Prepare the baking dish. Make sure to grease the dish before adding the contents to avoid sticking.

Storage

After baking any leftovers need to be put back in the fridge within 2 hours. Covered and stored in the fridge a breakfast strata will last for up to 4 days.

You can also freeze the strata recipe once it has been cooked fully and cooled but never freeze before cooking. Once cooked fully and cooled you can cover it with foil and then wrap it tightly in saran wrap or use a container with an airtight lid and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat thaw in the fridge overnight and then place back into the oven to reheat. You may want to sprinkle with some extra cheese on top to get it all melty and gooey again.

More make-ahead breakfast recipes:

• Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
• Easy Scallion Pancakes
• Easy Keto Egg Muffins
• Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Breakfast Loaves
• Strawberry Rhubarb Overnight Oats