This make-ahead egg and bread casserole is perfect for special occasion brunch/breakfast! Traditionally made with cubed bread, however this Strata recipe calls for soft, buttery croissant pieces instead. Using eggs, milk, spices, spinach, feta and gruyere cheese this is an all in one breakfast that will have your family/guest begging for more!
I first heard of Strata while watching one of my TOP 5 Favorite Christmas movies, “The Family Stone”. In the movie the ever fabulous, SJP makes a strata for her contribution to the Christmas morning breakfast everyone is planning during her first visit to her fiance’s parents home . Of course, movie mayhem ensues in the scene with the strata and she (poor thing) ends up dropping the baking pan and spilling raw eggs all over herself and the kitchen! Total nightmare! It’s actually a really good movie, give it a watch if you haven’t seen it..
And although SJP’s strata met a very unfortunate fate, her character had the right idea. Strata is a PERFECT breakfast for a special occasion, holidays, or anytime you are hosting brunch. In fact, I have made this recipe for Croissant Strata with Spinach, Feta and Gruyere on Christmas morning several times! And heres why:
The Incredible Edible Egg
Ahhhhh, eggs…. one of the most nutritious ways to start the day. But when cooking for a large crowd it can be a little tricky to make eggs to order. And even more difficult, keep warm without drying out! With strata, eggs are the front runner of the dish but without all the muss and fuss of making in the moment.
Fully Loaded!
Strata is like the Renaissance Man, it’s got the whole shebang in one baked breakfast casserole. You got your eggs (as aforementioned), bread, veggies, cheese, and meat if you so desire. It’s like a one pot wonder! Serve with some fruit, yogurt and coffee and you’ve got yourself a complete breakfast!
Have it Your Way!
A strata is SO EASY to customize! Want to add some meat? Add it! Got some bell peppers you want to use? Toss it in! You don’t have gruyere cheese? Use a different kind! Don’t have croissants? Use a baguette! It’s all good.. add whichever ingredients you like, or have on hand. It’s not rocket science, it’s strata!
But first, coffee!
I have not had many people accuse me of being a morning person! A breakfast that only requires me to to take out of fridge and bake in the oven, is just the pace that I like to be running on. Especially on Christmas! You (and I ) deserve to sit back and watch the kids open presents, not worry about what you have to cook to feed everyone. Make ahead and bake morning of breakfasts, like strata, are the answer to the holiday morning madness.
So now that I have your attention, here’s how to make it..
How to Make Croissant Strata with Spinach, Feta and Gruyere:
Cut croissants into about 2 inch cubes and lightly toast in the oven. If your bread is a little on the stale side, you don’t need to do this step. These croissants were same day fresh and I needed to dry them out a little bit, so they would have more hold and texture when baked into the egg mixture.
Next make the egg custard by mixing eggs, milk, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil or butter. Saute’ shallots until translucent, season spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper,. Then take it off heat and allow to cool slightly.
Next, shred the cheeses and prepare 9×13 baking dish by greasing with about 1 tbsp of butter or olive oil. Now that all the components are ready to go, it’s time to assemble.
Layer ½ of toasted croissants on bottom of pan. Add ½ of spinach mixture, and sprinkle ½ of cheese over top, add ½ of egg/milk mixture to pan. Repeat layering process- croissant, spinach, cheese, egg.
Gently press on bread to make sure it is soaking in egg
That’s it! Now cover with aluminum foil and keep in fridge overnight or at least 2 hours. When ready to bake, remove from fridge and let sit out at room temp for 30 minutes before baking. Taking the chill off will let the breakfast casserole bake more evenly.
In a preheated 350 F degree oven, bake covered for the first 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake an additional 20-30 minutes. You will know it’s done when the center doesn’t jiggle when shaken, the strata is browned on the sides and has a puffy center that doesn’t jiggle when shaken.
Remove from oven at let it sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
If you like this recipe try some of my other breakfast recipes:
BAKED CROISSANT FRENCH TOAST WITH CINNAMON BRANDY APPLES
LEMON RICOTTA BELGIAN WAFFLES
Croissant Strata with Spinach, Feta and Gruyere
Ingredients
- 8.5 oz croissants cut into cubes 3 or 4, depending on size
- 10 eggs
- 2 cup milk
- 1 tsp dijion mustard
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper plus more to taste
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil or butter divided
- 12 oz bag frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeeze of excess water
- 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
- 1 cup feta crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly toast croissant cubes for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside
- In mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne and dijon mustard. Whisk to throughly combine. Set aside. Prepare cheeses and set aside.
- Heat skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil or butter. Saute' shallots until translucent. Add spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Prepare 9×13 baking dish by greasing with about 1 tbsp of butter or olive oil. Layer ½ of toasted croissants on bottom of pan. Add ½ of spinach mixture, and sprinkle ½ of cheese over top, add ½ of egg/milk mixture to pan. Repeat layering process- croissant, spinach, cheese, egg. Gently press on bread to make sure it is soaking in egg
- Cover with foil and keep in fridge overnight or at least 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, remove from fridge and let sit out at room temp for 30 minutes before baking. Meanwhile Preheat oven to 350°.
- Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 20-30 minutes. You will know it's done when the center doesn't jiggle when shaken.
- Remove from oven at let it sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
I made this dish for our Christmas morning breakfast. I did prep it the day before and let i t soak overnight. Everyone loved it, even my not egg loving picky eater. I used 16 ozs instead of 12 ozs of spinach, just because that was the size bag I had on hand it was still perfect. The combination of cheeses in this dish gave it a flavor both familiar to other greek inspired dishes, but unique and distinctive at the same time. I will definitely be making this strata again, and not just for Christmas.
I made this dish for our Christmas morning breakfast. I did prep it the day before and let i t soak overnight. Everyone loved it, even my not egg loving picky eater. I used 16 ozs instead of 12 ozs of spinach, just because that was the size bag I had on hand it was still perfect. The combination of cheeses in this dish gave it a flavor both familiar to other greek inspired dishes, but unique and distinctive at the same time. I will definitely be making this strata again, and not just for Christmas.
Thank You so much Karen!! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed! Your comment is very much appreciated!
can yousub. fresh baby spinach for frozen? if so how many ounces would be equivalent?
Yes, you could! As a general rule a 10 oz package of frozen spinach is the equivalent about a 1 pound bunch of fresh spinach. So I would use a bit over a lb. You would saute it with the shallots just as the recipe calls for, and I would also suggest draining off the extra moisture that will be present after the fresh spinach is sauted. But truly, you could use any amount you like, it would ruin the recipe if you have a little more or a little less! Thanks for your question and hope you enjoy the recipe.
This strata is excellent. Moist, flavorful…..my family raved. Only change I made was to add 1lb hot Jimmy Dean sausage in with the spinach. DELISH!!! Thank you!
that’s wonderful to hear! I’m so happy you enjoyed it AND found a way that makes it even tastier for your family! thanks for your comment!
I’m so glad you made it your own by adding sausage! Nicely done!! Thanks for using my recipe and I hope you find other recipes here on SALT SUGAR SPICE that you love as well! Your comment is appreciated!
Outstanding. I did not have any feta, but I did have boursin so I used that.
Needed a recipe to use my croissants that were two days past best by date when I got them from the store. Thought it would be fun to try a breakfast bake that soaked overnight and found this easy to do recipe. Due to medical limitations I needed to do the entire recipe in a seated position and I felt the prep on this accommodated that. I did lightly toast the croissants in the oven even though they were several days past their best by date. 2 tiny alterations Ingredients due to availability issues. Bag of frozen spinach was 10 oz not the 12 called for. Did not have Cayenne substituted equal amount of chili powder. Everything else I followed absolutely to the letter of the recipe and it was so flavorful so nice and puffed up good blend of cheeses. I very much enjoyed this recipe and was glad I had shared some with my best friend she also greatly enjoyed it. I will be making this recipe again and I look forward to trying out your other recipes. Was looking for a recipe with no meat wanted a light breakfast bake I am a carnivore nothing against meat but this had sufficient eggs and cheese and milk had plenty of protein and veggies to boot. Loved this will pass this on to my friends
I agree! Sometimes you don’t need meat! Totally preference! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and were able to make your own adjustments with what you had available! I appreciate your comment and hope you find other recipes you enjoy!
If I cut the recipe in half, would that require adjusting the cooking time?
Hi Robin!
While I am not sure exactly what the cooking time would be, I would definitely adjust the overall cook time. Try setting the timer for half the amount of time as the original recipe. And keep an eye on it. It will be puffy and stiff, not jiggly when it’s done.
I’m not a feta fan. What could I substitute for it?
Hi Linda! Pretty much any cheese you like or have on hand! Cheddar, swiss, mozzerella, fontina, parmesan… all would be great!! Enjoy your breakfast, and thank you for your comment!!
I’m sure this will be a hit for Christmas breakfast! Can I prep this as early as mid day before and refrigerate it or does it need to be late night the day before? I’m worried about letting it soak too long. Thanks!
Merry Christmas!!! Because of the perishable nature of raw eggs, I would not recommend making more than 24 hours in advance and leaving uncooked. Hope that helps!
Looks super awesome but I had to screenshot the recipe because of all of the pop-up ads. I don’t know how anybody can find the recipe or have the patience to navigate through your website with all of the ad placement. I have a cheese in my fridge right now so that’s how I stuck this out. What is happening here? It is pure chaos. I just want to cook some food lol.