Mushroom and Bacon Strata

MUSHROOM AND BACON STRATA😍

When your family is coming over at 10 am for Easter, you don’t want to wake up at 8 to start cooking. This brunch dish takes less than 10 minutes to prep the night before and can just be popped in the oven the morning of. The result is a cheesy, savory brunch perfect for a crowd 😋

What I love about this recipe is it’s super customizable depending on your preferences - substitute bacon for asparagus and some goat cheese to make it vegetarian or bulk up on veggies and meat for a filling, savory dinner option, totally up to you!

Serves 5-6 people

Ingredients:

For the Mushroom and Bacon Strata:

• 1 loaf day old bread*

• 1 16 oz package thick cut bacon

• 1 8 oz container sliced mushrooms

• 2 cloves minced garlic

• 8 eggs

• 1 cup half and half

• 1 ½ cups 2% (or use all half and half)

• 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, divided

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• Pinch of salt and pepper

*If you’re like me and didn’t prep ahead enough to have day old bread, you can bake fresh bread in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes until slightly crunchy. Also, you can use any kind of bread, I usually use french bread.

Directions:

For the Mushroom and Bacon Strata:

• Start by cutting your loaf of bread into cubes. If it’s not day old bread, bake it at this step.

• Get a cast iron nice and hot and cook off the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon onto some paper towels to drain off excess grease and crumble into bite sized pieces. Reserve about 2 tbsps bacon fat in the pan.

• In the bacon fat, add in mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 2 min on high with a pinch of salt and pepper.

• In a large bowl, whisk together milk and eggs and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix in about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

• In a 9x13” casserole dish, add in your bread cubes, bacon, and mushrooms and mix until well combined.

• Pour in your egg mixture and mix well, pushing down to ensure all the bread is submerged in the liquid.

• Top with the rest of your cheddar cheese and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

• In the morning, take your casserole dish out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap while your oven preheats to 350 degrees.

• Bake your strata in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until you can insert a knife and it comes out clean. Enjoy😋😋