Quick Summary: A Swiss chard and sausage casserole: layers of crusty bread, sweet Italian sausage, sautéed chard, and smoked gouda soaked in egg custard overnight, then baked until puffy and golden. Prep: 30 min Cook: 50 min | Rest: 10 min | Serves 10
Jump to: RECIPE | What is Strata | Ingredients | Make Ahead Tips | Modify to Low Carb | | Cooking Chard | FAQ
Strata is basically an egg casserole with varied fillings and a creamy custard base. It is often likened to a bread pudding. This breakfast strata is filled with swiss chard and sausage and topped with a smoked gouda cheese.
It is perfect for serving a crowd at brunch or as a stress-free make-ahead dish for holiday breakfasts.
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What is Strata?
A strata is an egg-and-bread casserole, somewhere between a frittata and a savory bread pudding. The egg and dairy custard soaks into the bread overnight, and the whole thing bakes up puffy and soufflé-like the next morning.
The wonderful part of a strata is that it can be assembled the night before, and then baked in a hands-off way the next morning. This makes it perfect for holiday brunches or a special breakfast or brunch.
My family loves the strata for brunch paired with leftover Swedish Potato Casserole (Jansson’s Temptation).
Ingredients and Substitutions
The recipe below is made with Swiss chard, sweet Italian sausage, smoked gouda, and smoked paprika. I use the smoked paprika I sell at the St. Paul Farmers Market; if you’re outside Minnesota, this smoked paprika works well.
The fillings for a strata can be extremely flexible and it is easy to customize. Here are a few popular substitutions:
For the Bread
I used a half of a baguette that was a few days old. Rye bread is a nice substitute.
Really, any crusty bread works. Just know that it should have a fairly hard crust as it does sit in the egg custard overnight to soften. Too soft of a bread might end up being a fairly soggy strata.
For the filling
The world is your oyster with regards to the filling. Here are a few popular substitutions:
- Spinach or kale for the swiss chard.
- Bacon, spicy andouille, chorizo, or salmon for the sausage.
- No meat at all for a vegetarian option.
- Add butternut squash instead of the sausage.
- Cheese can vary from a creamy ricotta, to a goat cheese, to parmesan. I added the smoked gouda cheese because I was using smoked paprika for the spice and was going for a smoky flavor.
- Spices and spice blends should complement the type of filling you are going for.
Make-Ahead Tips for Breakfast Strata
The best part about a strata is that it can be made the night before serving. Pour the egg custard over the bread and filling, wrap it up tightly, and store in the refrigerator overnight. Bake in the morning for a stress-free breakfast.
If you want to make it the same day, it really only needs a few hours for the bread to soften. This will depend, of course, on how crusty your bread is.
Another similar breakfast dish that is made in a skillet without the bread is this low carb chorizo and egg skillet bake.
If it’s the swiss chard you’re liking, this breakfast low carb dish of swiss chard with nested eggs is popular and easy.
I keep the strata in regular rotation during the holidays alongside a few other favorites. You can browse all of my cold-weather comfort food recipes for more dishes that work for holiday entertaining.
Modify to Low Carb?
At about 14 grams of carbs per serving, this strata is moderate, and almost all of that comes from the bread.
You could easily decrease the amount of bread cubes or take them out all together. If you remove the bread from the recipe, you will essentially have a low carb egg casserole, but it won’t be a definitive ”strata”. It will, however, still be delicious.
How to Cook Swiss Chard So It’s Not Bitter
Cook the stems first and the leaves last. The stems are sweeter but tougher, so I sauté them with the onion until soft, then add the torn leaves with a splash of water just until they wilt. Salt, a little fat from the sausage, and Dijon mustard all soften chard’s earthy edge, and younger leaves are milder than big mature ones.
Swiss chard is something I grow annually at Heathglen Farm. It’s my favorite green, but I don’t grown enough to take to market, just enough to supply the family and a few friends.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The purpose of letting it rest is to soften the bread. So if your bread had really hard crusts you might want to let it sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours or more. If the bread is not that hard, a couple of hours is fine. The strata is often made for busy holiday breakfasts so sitting overnight allows an easier, stress-free morning.
Yes. Assemble the strata, wrap tightly, and freeze unbaked for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed the next morning. Add an extra 10 minutes of bake time if it’s still cold in the center.
Not as written, because of the bread. You can reduce or eliminate the bread cubes for a lower carb version. Without bread it becomes more of an egg casserole than a true strata, but it still tastes great.
Absolutely. Swap the sausage for bacon, chorizo, or smoked salmon. Use spinach or kale instead of swiss chard. Try different cheeses like gruyère, fontina, or parmesan. Just keep the egg custard ratio the same.
Bread. An egg bake or egg casserole is mostly eggs and fillings, while a strata layers in crusty bread that soaks up the custard overnight and bakes up puffy, like a savory bread pudding.
For a holiday brunch, my family pairs it with leftover Swedish potato casserole (Jansson’s Temptation). Fresh fruit and a pot of strong tea round it out.
Swiss Chard Casserole with Sausage (Strata)
Equipment
- baking dish 9” x 13”
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 1 onion chopped
- 12 ounces swiss chard
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 eggs
- 1 ½ cups milk whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 ounces crusty bread (about 1/2 baguette)
- 4 ounces smoked gouda cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the ground sausage, breaking it up with a spatula until browned and cooked through (160°F). Using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove sausage to a plate, leaving the oil and drippings in the pan.2 tablespoons oil, 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- Chop the chard stems into small pieces and add chopped onion and chard stems to the skillet. Sauté for about 5-10 minutes until softened.Tear or chop swiss chard leaves into about 2” pieces and add to the skillet with the water when the onions and stems are softened.Add Dijon mustard, paprika and salt to skillet and cook the chard leaves down, stirring it all together as it cooks. Cook until leaves are softened (about 5 min).1 onion, 12 ounces swiss chard, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Make the custard: whisk together the eggs, milk and cream.8 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk , 1 cup heavy cream
- Cut the crusty bread into 1/2” pieces.Assembly: Into a 9 x 13 baking dish, layer 1/2 of the sausage, top that with 1/2 of the swiss chard mixture, and then layer all of the bread cubes. Then add the rest of the sausage and top it with the rest of the swiss chard mixture.6 ounces crusty bread (about 1/2 baguette)
- Pour the custard mix over the whole thing, pressing down to make sure bread cubes are covered. Sprinkle the cheese over everything and cover with plastic wrap or another cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.4 ounces smoked gouda cheese
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove strata from the refrigerator and bake, uncovered, from 30-40 minutes, checking to see when crust is golden brown.Bake until the center is set and a knife comes out clean (160°F). Let it rest 10 minutes before cutting.
Video
Notes
- Spinach or kale for the swiss chard.
- Bacon, spicy andouille, chorizo, or salmon for the sausage.
- No meat at all for a vegetarian option.
- Add butternut squash instead of the sausage.
- Cheese can vary from a creamy ricotta, to a goat cheese, to parmesan. I added the smoked gouda because I was using smoked paprika for the spice and was going for a smoky flavor.
- Spices and spice blends should complement the type of filling you are going for.