Easier than a quiche or frittata, this beautifully golden make-ahead casserole frees you up to enjoy visiting with brunch guests. Some stratas are heavy on bread, but this one is more like a crustless quiche. Based on my my mother-in-law’s egg, sausage and cheese strata, this meatless version is loved by vegetarians and omnivores alike.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh spinach (or 10 ounces frozen; whole or chopped)
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper for seasoning spinach
- 3 slices bread, cubed (can use more for thicker casserole; this amount will give you a more custardy texture)
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 9 eggs
- 3 cups milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder, mixed with 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Directions
- Spinach prep: If using fresh spinach, wash spinach leaves in a colander and shake well to remove excess water. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach leaves and cook briefly, just until leaves are wilted. Drain out excess liquid. If using frozen spinach, thaw completely and squeeze out excess water (it’s blanched before freezing, so you don’t have to cook it). Season spinach with a good shake of salt and pepper.
- In large bowl, beat eggs with salt, pepper and ground mustard.
- Add milk; mix well.
- Butter a 9″x11″ (3-quart) baking dish.
- Add bread cubes evenly in baking dish.
- Arrange spinach evenly over bread cubes.
- Sprinkle cheddar and feta over spinach.
- Pour egg mixture into baking dish. Poke down any floating bread cubes to make sure egg mixture gets absorbed.
- Cover baking dish and refrigerate overnight (or a few hours).
- Remove strata from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake strata for 50-60 minutes, until browned on top, not jiggly in the center, and knife inserted in center comes out clean (if in doubt, bake a few minutes longer). Let stand 10 minutes before serving. The strata will be puffy when it comes out of the oven and settles down as it cools.
Serves 6-8 adults.
Notes
- Optional add in step 1: 1/2 cup onion and/or 1-2 cloves garlic; cook in skillet with olive oil until softened, then add spinach.
- Substitutions: Feel free to substitute other cheeses (you could also add more than 2 cups total if you like, but I wouldn’t recommend less). Don’t stress about the specific amount of spinach, a little more or less is fine too. If you don’t have mustard powder, it’s fine to leave it out.
- Like quiche and frittata, this egg dish takes well to all kinds of meat or vegetable fillings, so feel free to get creative. The important thing is to make sure vegetables are cooked/sauteed first, and that any meat that requires precooking, eg bacon or sausage, is browned and drained first.
Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.
