Sausage Breakfast Strata
Add time (and extra sleep!) back into your mornings with this Overnight Breakfast Sausage Strata Recipe! A deliciously hearty breakfast casserole that comes together FAST and lets the fridge and oven do the rest of the work.
It’s a hearty breakfast bread pudding loaded with cozy flavors and great for a lazy weekend or to bring to brunch with friends! I’ve included detailed instructions, step-by-step photos, and a video to walk you through the recipe!
This Breakfast Strata With Sausage Is So Easy!
What if I told you that you can sleep in AND have a delicious breakfast in the morning? You’d be all in, right? Meet the breakfast dish that makes those dreams come true with this Sausage Strata Recipe!
And no, you won’t be sacrificing flavor to do so! Instead, this breakfast dish is LOADED with flavor that may even have you crawling out of bed early in anticipation of devouring it!
I got this recipe from a friend; she called it sausage bread pudding, and I absolutely loved it the first time I had it. I’ve made it several times since and improved the original recipe with maple syrup, thyme, garlic, and extra butter. It’s now a holiday breakfast staple in our home – even my 3-year-old gobbles it up!
Simply take 15 minutes to prep the dish the night before and then slide it into the oven to bake off the next morning!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: The ground breakfast sausage and pure maple syrup fill the dish with familiar flavors of breakfast while chunks of bread, melty cheese, and a beaten egg mixture finish the strata off.
Texture: Tender chunks of bread, soft egg, and crumbles of bacon fill this casserole with yummy texture!
Ease: 3/10
Pros: You can make this the night before for a super easy breakfast that just slides into the oven in the morning!
Cons: The soak time should be at least 2 hours if not overnight for best flavor and texture.
Would I Make This Again? Yes, not only do I turn to this Strata for an easy weekend morning, but this is also a holiday staple for us!
Breakfast Strata Recipe Ingredients
- Sandwich bread
- Ground breakfast sausage
- 100% Pure maple syrup
- Salted butter
- Fresh thyme
- Yellow onion
- Garlic paste
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Large eggs
- Half & half
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
How To Make Breakfast Strata With Sausage
- Step 1: Remove the crust from the sandwich bread and cut each slice into cubes. Then, transfer the bread cubes into a large mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Step 2: Cook the ground breakfast sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour the 100% pure maple syrup over the cooked sausage in the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Step 3: Transfer the syrup-coated sausage to the large mixing bowl with the bread.
- Step 4: Reduce the heat and sauté the sprigs of fresh thyme and chopped yellow onion with butter in the same skillet. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Step 5: Stir in the garlic paste and cook for an additional minute. Then, discard the sprigs of thyme.
- Step 6: Transfer the mixture from the skillet into the bowl of bread and sausage.
- Step 7: Add shredded cheddar cheese and chopped fresh parsley. Stir the strata mixture together to thoroughly combine.
- Step 8: Transfer the bread and sausage mixture into a greased baking pan, spreading the mixture out so it evenly covers the pan.
- Step 9: Beat together the eggs, half & half, sea salt, and ground black pepper together in a new bowl.
- Step 10: Pour the egg mixture over the bread and sausage mixture in the pan.
- Step 11: Cover the pan and transfer it to the fridge to chill for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
- Step 12: Once chilled, place the strata into the oven to bake until it’s slightly puffed up and the top has begun to turn golden brown.
- Step 13: Slice, serve, and enjoy the breakfast strata with sausage!
Rebecca’s Tips
- To keep the balance of this strata recipe, it’s important to note that at least 27 ounces of sandwich bread is needed. I love making mine with King’s Hawaiian Bread; however you can use regular white bread if you’d like.
- It is best to use freshly shredded cheese, but you can use pre-shredded if preferred. I love this rotary shredder – it shreds cheese so fast and makes for extra gooeyness!
- You can find garlic paste in the produce department near the herbs or make your own.
- This breakfast strata should soak for at least two hours or preferably overnight for the best flavor and texture! I wouldn’t soak it in the fridge for more than 48 hours.
- A strata can be prepped a day ahead of time. Ideally, this breakfast strata recipe would be made in the afternoon or early evening and then popped in the fridge to bake off the next morning
Breakfast Strata Substitutions & Variations
- If you have unsalted butter on hand instead of salted butter, then go ahead and use that instead.
- You can replace 100% pure maple syrup with regular store-bought syrup if you prefer.
- Tailor this casserole to your taste buds in terms of vegetables, meat, and cheese. Feel free to add in other sauteed vegetables such as peppers, spinach, kale, or mushrooms.
- Though we love this strata with Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sausage you can also make it with turkey breakfast sausage. You can even mix in diced ham and chopped bacon for a meatier variety!
How To Serve With Breakfast Bread Pudding
This breakfast bread pudding is best served warm with a drizzle of 100% pure maple syrup!
You can also complement the strata and serve it with sides such as a bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt topped with granola, and of course, a mug filled with your favorite coffee or tea.
If you’re serving breakfast bread pudding at brunch, you could make other delicious breakfast options for friends and family to choose from as well! Cinnamon rolls, Bloody Marys, Everything Breakfast Cookies, or even another savory option such as my delicious Biscuit and Gravy Casserole!
Storage Instructions For Sausage Breakfast Strata
To store leftover sausage strata you can transfer slices into an airtight container or tightly wrap the baking dish. Leftovers should be kept in the fridge to enjoy within 3 to 4 days.
To reheat individual slices, I recommend doing so right in the microwave, you can also reheat in the oven.
How To Freeze Sausage Strata
You can also bake Sausage Strata ahead of time and then store it in the freezer to enjoy later. To do this, make and bake the recipe according to the recipe instructions.
Then, once the strata is completely cooled you can tightly wrap the baking dish, as long as it is freezer-safe, with multiple layers of aluminum foil. Individual slices of the strata can also be frozen in airtight containers.
The breakfast strata can then be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat the entire casserole from frozen, transfer the strata from the freezer into the oven at 350 degrees F and bake for about 45 minutes or until warmed completely through.
More Breakfast Recipes:
- Biscuits and Gravy Casserole – Made with refrigerated biscuits and ground breakfast sausage!
- Best Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes – The perfect stack of pancakes for the weekend!
- Twisted Bacon – The popular TikTok recipe that the internet went crazy for!
- Air Fryer Donuts – Lightly crisp on the outside yet deliciously fluffy on the inside!
- Cinnamon Muffins with Streusel Topping – A cozy batch of yummy muffins in under an hour!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let leave a review in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos, or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there.
Overnight Breakfast Strata
Ingredients
- 27 ounces sandwich bread We use King's Hawaiian Bread
- 1 pound ground breakfast sausage we use Jimmy Dean brand
- ⅓ cup 100% pure maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 yellow onion chopped, about ¾ to 1 cup
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese A ½ cup of extra shredded cheese can be added
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups half & half
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Remove the crust and cut the 27 ounces sandwich bread into 1-inch cubes; do not use the end pieces. Each slice should turn into 9 cubes. We use King's Hawaiian Bread, but you can use regular white bread; you'll need about 26 slices.
- Add the cubed bread to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add 1 pound ground breakfast sausage to a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook it through.
- Pour ⅓ cup 100% pure maple syrup over the sausage and cook for 1 to 2 additional minutes before transferring to the large mixing bowl with the bread.
- Reduce heat to medium, add 4 tablespoons salted butter, 4 sprigs fresh thyme, and the chopped 1 yellow onion, and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent about 5 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon garlic paste and cook for 1 additional minute, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't burn. Discard the sprigs of thyme.
- Transfer to the mixing bowl and add 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese and ½ cup chopped fresh parsley and stir/toss to combine.
- Transfer the bread and sausage mixture to the prepared baking dish and gently press the mixture down into the pan so it's nice and even.
- In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, beat together 6 large eggs, 2 cups half & half, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper with a fork.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture in the pan.
- Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the strata for 40 to 50 minutes until it has puffed up slightly and the top is beginning to turn golden brown.
- Slice and serve immediately. Feel free to serve with additional syrup.
Notes
- We have tested this recipe with King’s Hawaiian, Country White, and Brioche bread. All worked great.
- Feel free to make this with bacon instead of sausage.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Share your thoughts!
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I love how easy this came together! I made it for Christmas morning and it was very well received. I think next time I will use a little less maple syrup but that’s just my taste! I love the technique of coating the sausage in maple syrup – I’d never thought about that!
Would this recipe work with gluten free bread? Thank you!
I’m sure there are some gluten free breads it would work with, but some breads definitely work better than others in this recipe. I recommend letting the bread dry out a bit so that it absorbs the egg mixture better.
This is so tasty that I could eat it all day long! Thank you for the easy recipe!
The best breakfast ever! My family gobbled this up!
I love a good overnight breakfast recipe and this one is especially amazing because it has a great amount of protein in it, which I am always looking for in the morning!
Oh jeese. That was laborious when l copied your recipe into my email and reedited it.
Please let me explain – we read: 2 cups shredded cheese in the ingredients.
Then its shown again as 2 cups shredded cheese in the Instructions. I suggest you just say shredded cheese.
Also more and more bloggers keep repeating for example -> chopped fresh parsley in the Instructions Instead of only saying parsley.
We all know its chopped fresh so l wonder Why that needs to be repeated.
Its just too much to read because once in awhile the iingredient can be long.
For example:
1 pound ground breakfast sausage
What l’ve always done is go up to the ingredient list and seen what ingredient l needed.
I know why you and others do this. Its more convenient to list the ingredients in the instructions and thats fine and good but it would be nice to just say 2 tsp. parsley and the 6 sausages instead of every single word in the Ingredient list!!
I just prefer not to read the ingredients again in the instructions like most bloggers do.
Thanks for your consideration. L appreciate it.
Hi Rita, I understand where you are coming from. Still, most people cook from their phones, and having the exact measurements and ingredients repeated in the process makes it easier for those readers so they don’t have to scroll up and down to get the measurement and then the step and then the measurement, and then the step and so on. I know that it’s not everyone’s preference, but it is something many readers have been happy and thankful for. Even the Joy of Cooking Cookbook is written this way to provide clarity and ease for readers.