Breakfast

Bacon and Cheese Strata

4.45 from 25 votes
Treat your mom to a Bacon and Cheese Strata for Mother's Day Brunch. Filled with cheese and bacon or favorite ingredients your mom will love this recipe.

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Hi Bold Bakers!

Breakfast it the most important meal of the day, especially when it’s BOLD!

This Bacon and Cheese Breakfast Strata takes that idea to an entirely new level. My breakfast strata is like a savory bread pudding piled high with gooey tangy cheddar, crispy bacon, and topped of with fresh herbs. Held together by a rich eggy custard, this strata takes all the best parts of breakfast: the egg, bacon and toast, and transforms it into one of the boldest breakfasts you’ve ever had!

What is a strata?

Similar in flavor to a quiche, a strata is a savory bread pudding, and just like bread pudding, my breakfast strata starts with good bread and an egg custard.

I like to use slightly stale crusty bread as this really helps to absorb the custard, creating a lovely soft spongy texture to the strata after baking. The egg custard mixture is where things get exciting, though, as I not only add the traditional cream — but I add lots of cheese, cooked bacon, and green onion. All of this both flavors the strata and holds it together.

[ Savory needs sweet! How about my No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls? ]

After soaking and baking, the result is a gorgeous savory looking pie perfect for slicing and feeding a big crowd. Whoever you share this with will surely be coming back for seconds and thirds!

 

Can a strata be made ahead?

Since the custard need to time to soak into the bread and marry with all the other flavors, this is a great option for a make ahead breakfast. You can assemble the strata a night in advance and allow it to soak and set up in the fridge. This makes this a great make-ahead breakfast. Instead of worrying about fussy scrambled eggs or omelets I highly suggest you give this a try for your next special brunch occasion!

 

What can I add to my strata?

Just like any other bread pudding, this savory strata is a blank canvas for all of your favorite breakfast flavors. I like to experiment with other leftovers i have in my fridge and encourage you to do the same! From fresh spinach and cooked sausage to diced tomatoes and bell peppers, it’s endless when it comes to adding to this recipe!

Want More Options For Breakfast?

Watch The Recipe Video!

Bacon and Cheese Strata

4.45 from 25 votes
This Bacon and Cheese Breakfast Strata goes bold by being piled high with gooey tangy cheddar, crispy bacon, and topped of with fresh herbs.
Author: Gemma Stafford
Servings: 8
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
soaking time 1 hour
Total Time 55 minutes
This Bacon and Cheese Breakfast Strata goes bold by being piled high with gooey tangy cheddar, crispy bacon, and topped of with fresh herbs.
Author: Gemma Stafford
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • cup (10oz/300ml) milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 7 cups (14oz/420g) baguette (preferably slightly stale)
  • 10 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
  • 2 cups (6oz/170g) grated cheddar cheese
  • Parsley , finely chopped for garnish

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
  • Slice the baguette into 1 inch (2 cm ) cubes. 
  • Place the bread in the bowl followed by the cheese and cooked bacon. Mix together making sure all the bread gets coated. Set aside in the fridge for an hour or until all the egg is soaked into the bread. (I leave mine overnight in the fridge for really good soakage)
  • To Cook: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)
  • Grease a 8 inch springform cake pan. Pour the bread mixture into the cake tin, pat down the bread cubes to compress and scatter over a little more bacon and cheese if you have it. Cover with foil.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until firm to touch in the middle.
  • Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing the springform and cutting into slices to serve. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
  • Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Recipe Notes

Nutrition Facts
Bacon and Cheese Strata
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 216 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Monounsaturated Fat 5g
Cholesterol 147mg49%
Sodium 479mg21%
Potassium 150mg4%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 14g28%
Vitamin A 500IU10%
Vitamin C 0.8mg1%
Calcium 230mg23%
Iron 0.7mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

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SHEREE PIFELETI
SHEREE PIFELETI
3 years ago

1st time making it and it turned out amazing! Was a total hit for Mother’s Day brunch. Such an easy to follow recipe and I look forward to making it with different fillings in the future

TeacupChan
5 years ago

Do you want to become your mother’s favorite child? Well, if you make this for her, she’ll be the one buying you the #1 child mug. When my mom and I watched this video together, we both instantly turned to my dad (the chef of the house) in unison and demanded him to make this. And if he wasn’t going to make it–I declared as I stood up from the couch (probably in a superhero pose)–that I will make it myself! Eggs…. bread… cheese… and bacon!? How could this recipe be any less than delicious! With some help from my… Read more »

Alfie
5 years ago

Pretty element of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to
say that I acquire actually loved account your blog posts.

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jam202002
5 years ago

Hi Gemma,

I tried this recipe last night. We don’t have baguette and bacon so instead we have an Arabic bread left so i replaced the baguette with Arabic bread (flat round bread) then since i wasn’t able to buy beef bacon, i used chicken luncheon meat. i added onion powder and garlic powder to taste along with salt and pepper. i was planning to add coriander instead of parsley as that’s what is available in the fridge and in the end i forgot the coriander. it thus tastes good and hubby likes it. thanks for this.

Liz
Liz
6 years ago

What type of bread were you using in the video?

Thanks!
Liz

Terry
Terry
4 months ago

Sorry, Gemma, but confusion reigns supreme! In the video, you’re adding the majority of the chopped parsley directly into the strata. In the recipe card, it’s just a garnish, and in the narrative, you used green onions instead. The video has us using a parchment lined 9″ springform pan – the recipe card says an 8″ greased pan. And although using a larger pan in the video, the bake time was longer, which seems counterintuitive, as a llarger, thinner “batter” should require LESS bake time, right? So…could I safely use the instructions from the video, with the ingredient quantities from… Read more »

Anne
Anne
10 months ago

Love it be and all your easy to follow recipes too. Thank you, from Fermanagh

Rukhama
Rukhama
1 year ago

Hi
What can we use instead of bacon?
And can we also use croissants instead of bagget? Thanks

Rob
Rob
1 year ago

I am going to modify the recipe. I am going to substitute the bacon with shredded chicken, substitute the cheddar cheese with Swiss cheese and the parsley with a bit of tarragon…wish me luck

Binaifer
4 years ago

Hi Gemma,

I love all your recipes and they have never let me down. I just wanted to check if I can substitute boiled chicken for bacon to make it a healthier?

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About Us

Meet Gemma

About Us

Meet Gemma

Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, a cookbook author, and the creator of Bigger Bolder Baking. I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere with my trusted and tested recipes and baking tips. You may have seen one of my 500+ videos on YouTube & TikTok or as a guest judge on Nailed It! on Netflix or the Best Baker in America on Food Network. No matter your skills, my Bold Baking Team & I want to be your #1 go-to baking authority.

 

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