I noticed I had a lot of random food in the fridge that I needed to use up. Eggs (well, not so random, I always have those), kale, black beans, chorizo, and half a loaf of homemade sourdough bread that was starting to go stale. Since I’m a huge fan of finding ways to reuse food (and avoid food waste) I decided to throw it all together in a casserole dish and make breakfast out of it. Then, voilà! Breakfast strata appeared.

I’ve always liked the idea of breakfast strata, and I admit, I’m shocked this was the first time I’ve ever attempted making it. You see, I’m a huge fan of eggs and toast in the morning. It’s one of my favorite meals of all time—especially if I can make avocado toast out of it. So I figured a dish where the eggs and the bread cooked together would obviously satisfy my taste buds. I just never had a good loaf of bread to attempt it with. But now that I’m making sourdough bread—and other goodies—on the regular, I figured it was the perfect opportunity.

Breakfast strata is certainly one of those easy fridge “dump” meals. Despite the fact that I put kale, black beans, and chorizo in my fridge, you really could put anything you want in it. As long as it has eggs, milk, cheese, and bread, you’re good to go.

Here are some other ideas to throw in your own breakfast strata.

Breakfast strata filling ideas

Don’t want kale, black beans, and chorizo? Try a combination of these instead—especially if you already have them in your fridge!

• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Zucchini
• Summer squash
• Eggplant
• Mushrooms
• Brussels sprouts
• Bacon
• Pork sausage
• Chicken sausage
• Ham

You kind of get the idea. Try any combination of vegetables and protein. Or, if you’re a vegetarian, skip on the extra protein (or try soy chorizo!) in your strata.

Print Recipe

Breakfast Strata

Have lots of leftovers in your fridge, and a stale loaf of bread? Throw it in a casserole dish and make an egg strata!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Breakfast

Keyword: breakfast, breakfast strata, egg recipes, egg strata

Servings: 12 servings

Equipment

• Casserole dish
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 9 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 links chorizo about 1/2 pound
• Butter
• 3 cups bread cut in cubes
• 1 cup kale
• 1/4 cup black beans drained
• 3/4 cup shredded taco cheese

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk.
• Open up the chorizo links. Break apart the meat and cook it in a small skillet for about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Run a cold stick of butter along the interior of the casserole dish to grease it.
• Sprinkle the bread, kale, black beans, cooked chorizo, and black beans into the casserole dish.
• Pour in the egg mixture into the casserole dish.
• Sprinkle the top of the uncooked strata with the shredded taco cheese. Make sure it is evenly distributed throughout the strata.
• Cover the casserole dish with a piece of aluminum foil and bake it for 30 minutes.
• Remove the aluminum foil and cook it for another 10 minutes.
• Serve with salsa or hot sauce, if desired.

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