Easy Sausage Strata

09/05: Love, love, love this recipe! It was so eay to make, even when I had to change it to accomodate 100 people! I made several: a few following the recipe exactly; a few with ham and swiss cheese; a few with sausage, caramelized onions, and mushrooms; and one with spinach and the caramelized mushrooms and onions. I made them all ahead of time and let them sit in my refrigerator (always helps to have a second one!) and although transporting them wasn't easy, cooking them was! I had to extend the time in a commercial oven because of the number I had, but other than that, they were a hit! I cooked up some sausage links on the side and also had a tray of caramelized onions and mushrooms if people wanted any on the side. For something quick, hot, and tasty -- you cannot go wrong with this recipe! 5/3/09: If at possible, I think I might have even improved on this recipe, a family favorite at our house. I was making this last night and discovered I was short on eggs. What to do? I searched fridge and found ricotta cheese. Followed the recipe exactly using Jimmy Dean Hot & Spicy sausage, some rosemary foccacia bread that had started to get a little stale, which I cubed, 4 eggs, and 1/2 cup of the ricotta cheese. Everything else was the same. I let it sit overnight in the fridge and cooked it in the morning. A total hit and my husband said he couldn't believe how creamy it was. Nice change, but true to the original.

This was VERY easy and very good. I used the basic recipe however I made a few changes. Instead of Italian sausage I used Pepper Jack Turkey sausage that I chopped. I also used pre sliced French bread (it was not thick sliced) and didn't cube it. I lined a 9x13 dish w/the bread, topped w/the chopped sausage and sauteed green onions and 1/2 of the egg mix then another layer of bread and finished w/the rest of the egg mix and topped with cheese. The slices gave it a very pretty, uniform look and it ended up being like a stuffed, savory french toast - YUM! It was all gone but one piece that I ate later! I can recommend this recipe.

Wonderful morning comfort food! Made two versions for Christmas morning ... sausage & chedder and ham & swiss. The ham/swiss was the overwhelming favorite! The sausage & cheddar was good but tasted a lot like pizza. Only modification I made to the recipe was using slightly more bread (husband's preference). Making it again tomorrow, this time with bacon & a mix of cheddar & jack cheeses since that's what I have on hand. Easy way to use up day-old bread.

I wanted to make this breakfast dish because I fondly remember one of my friends' mothers making it --this recipe did not disappoint. I made it exactly as the recipe was written, and did not find that it was too salty or runny, as some reviewers reported. It was exactly what I hoped for: a very filling, comforting dish.

we made this recipe for a New Year's treat and, a treat it was! followed the recipe as was EXCEPT instead of the bread slices, cubed...we used Marzetti Garlic & Butter flavored Caesar Croutons & it was delicious! this is definitely a keeper and oh, so easy! the other difference; we used an 8 x 8 baking dish instead of the 7 x 11...was perfect!

Very good. I suggest adding sauteed onions, subbing seasoning salt for salt, adding pepper. Also, hubby likes the addition of mushrooms and peppers. To accomplish that I split the mixture up to two 8x8 pans. Thank you.

Very easy and delicious recipe. I used whole slices of bread instead of cubing them, and substituted turkey ham.

Really easy to make and tasted great, but I thought it was a tad salty - not sure if it depends on the sausage you use or if it always tastes like this. My husband loved it and didn't mind the salty flavor at all.

Nice recipe! I added onions and mushrooms and all my guests loved it.

Great recipe. Can substitute with bacon and add spinach for a little different taste.

Mom made this for Christmas Eve dinner for years before she died, my brother made it this year and all the kids/grandkids raced for the pan. People on this site crack me up by saying "this recipe is great! I added, deleted, changed, etc." and then tell us how good theirs was. Why can't you just make it and rate it? When you change everything it isn't the same recipe, people!

This dish should be called "Drive Your Mother-in-Law Crazy". My MiL never willingly compliments anyone else's cooking as she believes she's the only one who knows how. I prepared this for an in-laws get together breakfast and my brother-in-laws and their wives, hubby, father-in-law, and nephews couldn't stop raving. I saw my MIL's face pucker in pain when my hubby's brothers (all three of them) asked for the recipe. My hubby warned me I may want to watch my back for now on. By the way, I changed nothing in the recipe. It's definitely a keeper.

This is a fantastic recipe, but needs a few modifications to be 5 stars. I highly suggest adding some veggies with the sausage. We prefer sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions, and a coarsely chopped and seeded tomato for some color on the top layer. If using a deeper dish, I suggest layering your ingredients over the bread base: layer 1/2 sausage, mushroom & onion mixture, 1/2 cheese, then 1/2 of the egg mix. Repeat ending with your remaining egg mixture. Our favorite veggie version includes sautéed spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onions and a 2:1 mixture of gruyere and fresh shredded parmesan cheese instead of cheddar. I also reduce my milk in this recipe slightly, to avoid soggy strata bottoms/middles. I use an extra large (15x10x2") Pyrex dish, which requires 10 - 12 eggs but only 2 1/2 cups of milk. This is a great recipe and we make a variation for every brunch!

I've starting making this in large cup muffin tins, makes it easily personalisable for picky eaters.

I have been making this recipe for years, and it's always gobbled up! I double all ingredients EXCEPT sausage and salt for a 9x13 disposable foil pan and bake about 1.5 hours at 325.

Absolutely delicious and very easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly and got raves from my hubby. I froze some for future quick breakfasts. I'm happy to report that this does freeze well and doesn't get mushy when defrosted and microwaved. I'd happily recommend this recipe to anyone looking for something a little different for breakfast. :0)

Great starter recipe! I added red and green bell pepper and onion to the sausage. I also added a bit of cayenne pepper, garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper to the egg-milk mixture. I used old french bread which held up nicely. Lastly, I only had a 9X13 pan-it cooked perfectly for 40 minutes. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

I make this all the time except I use frozen home fries in place of the bread. I put the taters on the bottom then the sausage and then I pour the egg, onion and green pepper mixture on top cover that with cheese and bake. Dlish!!!!

I made several of these for a huge holiday brunch. I used sausage in two of them, ham in two, and a smaller vegetarian version. They were the hit of the party! Very simple to make and very tasty, too! I will be using this recipe again.

I made this the night before for out of town guests and they LOVED IT!!!! They all wanted the recipe!

I call this the Christmas casserole because I've served it for several years on Christmas morning. I follow this recipe exactly. The first few times I made it, I used a 9x13 dish, but last year I used a new dish much closer to the 7x11 specified here. The difference was amazing! In the 9x13, the strata was thin and seemed rather dry after baking (but still delicious). In the smaller dish, the strata was deeper and turned out much "creamier." My husband thought I had changed the recipe because he said it was so much better!

Fabulous!! I scaled the recipe to serve 12 and baked in 9X12 pan for the same amount of time listed in the recipe & it was perfect! You might want to cut back on the salt a little bit if using leftover ham. I also substituted 1/2 of the cheddar with swiss. Even the kids liked it. A real keeper!

I give this 5 stars since I've made it before. What gets me are the ones who "rate" the recipes telling how they changed it. Even worse are the ones who haven't even tried a recipe and dissed it!

After being treated to this dish a few times by a very generous co-worker bringing it in to celebrate various events, I finally made one myself and DARN IT, it is SO EASY and delicious. Jimmy Dean has a bag of pre-cooked, pre-crumbled sausage bits which cuts down on the preparation even more so (and cuts down on the dishes!). I didn't even cube the bread, I just layered it on the bottom, no difference! Next time I'm definitely trying nicely seasoned croutons (Texas Toast brand are AMAZING!) and maybe changing up the meat/cheese combo. Thank you LISAJANI for this one! =D

Wicked easy and the whole family loves it. You must make the night before or it doesn't set well. Perfect to take to church!

This was a big hit for a baby shower I cooked for. I made one with sausage, sauted onions, and cheddar, one with ham and mozz cheese, and one with hamburger (cooked with taco seasoning) and cheddar. I topped the taco one with black olives and had a dish of salsa available for topping individual servings. Lots of compliments!

I use turkey or chicken sausage because I don't eat pork and it was fantastic. One time I used a chicken sausage that was made with apples and OH MY! Heaven! Thanks for the great "easy" recipe!

I made this for Easter brunch today. Happy Easter everyone! This was a huge hit! I made it the night before, I used a half a large loaf of French bread, , from Market Basket's Bakery for the bread, had it sliced, then tore into pieces. I used the pork Sausage and took it out of the casings and scrambled before adding it. I tasted the sausage after it was cooked and it was very salty so I omitted the salt in the recipe, after reading other reviewers saying it could be too salty. I was worried that it might be too salty but it tasted great! The only other change I made was I added sauteed mushrooms I highly recommend this recipe.

Sorry to the poster but this is the most pedestrian recipe that I have tried. I can't even imagine how so many rated this highly. Yes it is easy to assemble and can be done the night before. It will also work to keep the masses out of your kitchen in the morning when you are cooking but that is where the benefits end. I did not care for the texture of the eggs. It is kind of bubbly from the moisture in the milk boiling. The bread gives this a kind of gummy texture, like french toast that isn't browned, and it tastes about the same. Not sure that the mustard adds anything, it is lost in the strength of the sausage & cheese. Maybe if you used cream, left the bread out, and put buttered bread crumbs on top to brow. On second thought, I think I will stick to Quiche.

This was way too salty, and I even used broccoli instead of sausage. If I had used sausage, I don't know if I would have been able to eat it. Otherwise the recipe worked well and was easy, so I'd suggest using half the amount of salt.

My husband actually made this one morning. I liked it . I want to try the apple raisen one next=)

This is a simple and delicious recipe. I was nervous to make this for a Bridal Shower without having tried it out first, but I had no reason to worry! I received so many compliments on it and several requests for the recipe. I made this in a 9 x 13 pan so I increased the recipe to fit that. The only thing I did differently was use whole slices of bread instead of cubing them. Once it was put together, I covered it in plastic wrap and pushed down on it to make sure everything was fully submerged. I didn't add or omit any of the ingredients and I don't think I will next time. It was that good.

This was REALLY good with the modification from another review - add about 1/2 cup ricotta cheese to make it rich and creamy. Also put in a smaller pan for thicker casserole and definitely reduce or delete the salt! Also fantastic with some green chiles - up to 1/2 cup, depending on their heat! The Sunday school class loved it!

Perhaps this was just not to our tastes, but no one in our family liked this at all. I just could not face eating it again. I'm not sure why because my family eats all of the ingredients in this recipe regularly, but put together? No one was a fan. I made this as a trial run for our Easter brunch and I'm very glad I tried this before serving it to a large group. Sorry.

Yum, yum, yum! Tweaked the recipe just a bit. Doubled the recipe. Instead of pork sausage, I substituted turkey sausage. Also added carmelized onions and mushrooms. It did take over 1:15 to cook..but it was worth the wait. So light and fluffy. This was perfect for brunch!

We have been making this recipe every Christmas for the past 10 years. In the morning, we put it in the oven and then open presents. Breakfast is ready when we're done opening gifts. We add two more eggs and 2 more slices of bread when using a 9 x 13 pan.

I love this recipe! To the person that is concerned about the bread tasting soggy, don't worry. If you didn't know the recipe contained bread, you wouldn't know it from the taste. You can add your own additional ingredients to this, like sauteed onions, hash browns and red peppers. Delicious!

I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. I used Trader Joes white-wheat bread and baked uncovered. Thank you!

Delicious! I made 3 different options. From reading the other posts I made some changes. The first was sausage I added camelized onions. I then did the next with ham, sauteed mushrooms, carmelized onions and swiss and cheddar. The third was mushroom, and 4 cheeses adding Ricotta as suggested, cheddar swiss and mozzarella. All three were great, but the sausage was the most popular. Thanks for the inspiration!

I used turkey sausage, egg beaters, fat free milk and 4 pieces of low calorie wheat with reduced fat shredded cheese..I also used crushed red pepper flakes.. Very tasty, but low calorie and fat!

Delicious AND easy! This is coming from someone who doesn't really like eggs. I make this every time I host a brunch. BUT, don't forget to read the recipe in advance! You have to remove it from the fridge 1/2 hour before you bake it, and it bakes for a good long while.

This is delicious. I used 3/4 lb of sausage (1 lb was too much). I also followed the advice of adding mushrooms and spring onions and covering with tin foil for the first 35 min. Will definitely make again.

I've made this for years. Like another said, if you didn't know this had bread in it, you would never know it was there. I have found this to be a great thing to make when I'm feeding a crowd or have overnight company. I make it the night before, put in the fridge. In the morning all I have to do is put it in the oven & make the coffee and breakfast is done! It can't be any easier than that!

I bet if you follow this recipe exactly, it would be good. Unfortunately, due to food allergies, I had to alter. I used leftover onion sandwich rolls, soy based products (milk, cheese and meat) and added broccoli. It was ok. Again, probably great with the 'real' stuff.

This is a very easy, yet satisfying breakfast or brunch dish. It is very simple to change it up by using stuffing mix instead of bread crumbs and adding additional items such as asparagus, peppers, onions, garlic, or whatever you like. I have used this basic recipe for years and changed it up many different ways...always getting rave reviews.

I have made this many times and have changed/added ingredients... I use dehydrated hash browns instead of bread and I add onion; on occasion I will use bacon instead of sausage and add chilis.... this is an excellent recipe. I work at a B & B and the guests love it... also I might add I have made and one set overnite... I put in the freezer for use at a later date.. it worked well and could not taste the difference.... enjoy

Pretty tasty and very simple. We had it for breakfast on Easter and it was great with mimosas!

I am not known for my cooking at all, but I served this at a brunch and EVERYONE LOVED it and wanted the recipe! I made 3 small alterations - I used seasonsed restaurant style croutons instead of cubing bread (cuz I'm lazy), Jimmy Dean mild and spicy sausage, and mild and sharp cheese. I will make this again and again!

For the amount of effort required, this recipe is amazing. I would like to experiment with different cheeses and meats, but will definitely try again.

My sistern-in-law made this for a family gathering - it was fabulous. We inhaled it. She used cut up honey baked ham instead of sausage. Really impressive and excellent.

I have made this recipe for a number of years. I add mushrooms, green peppers and onions to mine. I saute the vegetables first. Everyone in my family loves it. I have also found using half and half instead of milk, makes it firmer and less runny.

Added more chesee, doesn't have to soak for 8 hrs. 30 minutes is fine. Whole family loved it which is a rarity!

I used this as a base recipe. I used croutons to cover bottom of pan instead of bread..foccacia croutons from Costco. I used pepper jack cheese for cheese. 8 eggs and 1 1/4 cups milk. No salt. Very good casserole! Everyone at work loved it!

This was an easy recipe and turned out great! The only thing I would add is perhaps some mushrooms/spinach. I used sage sausage which gave it more flavor. Also, next time I would let the bread sit out a day to dry out.

okay for a one time meal. Probably will not make again.

Decent. I think it needed a little more flavor. Maybe next time I will try pepperjack cheese to spice it up a little.

Did not enjoy at all. It was a soggy, mushy mess.

thumbs up !!! bread got soggy , nxt time toast bread in oven...

When I told my family we were having strata for Christmas breakfast they were very skeptical (it's not part of the tradition). We now have a new, delicious tradition! I added sautéed mushrooms and onions to the layer of sausage, and increased the eggs to 8. I also made a second dish using vegan sausage for my vegetarian daughter. Yum!

Yummy! Made it for Easter morning, and everyone loved it! Will make again and try different combos. Easy and delicious!

This was pretty good- it definitely made a lot! I didn't have any dry mustard- which I found out later is a key ingredient. Do not leave out the mustard! Overall, I would make this again, but only if I'm expecting a crowd for breakfast.

So easy and tasty! Big hit at work. I made 3 11" x 7" trays to bring to the office. I used about 8 eggs for each pan, 2 1/4 cups of milk, added chopped and sautéed onions and red peppers as well as some raw spinach for color. I did use French bread, but I just tore it in pieces and covered the bottom of the pan so that it would be easy to spoon out and that worked really well. I made one that was ground sausage (ended up not using the whole pound), one with ham (only needed 1/2 pound of diced ham), and one with just veggies/cheese. I accidentally forgot the salt and mustard because I was so excited to get everything in the pans, but it still came out quite tasty. I will add those ingredients next time to compare. My 3 trays took about 1 hour 15 minutes to bake, but that could have been due to the fact that there were 3 in my oven. Will definitely be making again!

Because of how simply easy and the low amount of ingredients I gave this a 5. My family just never likes these things and I just was not at all hungry so it didn't go over well, but wasn't the recipes fault. People that love stratas would probably give it a five also.

This recipe is SOOO easy to make and I love that you can throw everything together the night before and in the morning just pop it in the oven while you're getting ready for work, etc. I will say I was unsure about the mustard in a breakfast dish. However, I couldn't hardly even taste it. I guess it just adds a tiny bit of zip. But you can definitely modify this recipe to your tastes. I think next time I will throw in some green peppers and mushrooms or onions. This is good as is, but another dimension of flavors would make it great!

AMAZING!! I left bread out over night, and made this the night before. I added bell pepper and onions, and sautéed until translucent. layer bread in the bottom, sausage, then onions and peppers, and cheese on top. Then pour egg over all! I had to cook about 15 minutes longer in a non convection oven.

Excellent breakfast/brunch idea. I have made this recipe in every size pan, doubled and tripled it, made ahead by as much as a week, and put cooked portions in the freezer for later. It is never bad.

I have made this twice within two weeks for work. I made it the first time and they loved it so much they requested it again. This is so easy and so good. I used sliced bread the first time and the second time I used french bread...so much better. I topped with crumbled bacon before I put in the oven and used sage sausage..Made it for 12 servings in a 9x13 for about 55min. Yummy!!!!!

Excellent, followed the recipe exactly-just added a few jalapenos. My whole family loves this dish.

I used leftover cream for part of the milk and added chopped APPLES and LEEKS and everyone LOVED it!!! I think I'll try the suggestion of carmelized onions next time! YUM!!!!! (Nobody noticed that I didn't have any dry mustard either)

A great, easy recipe to serve for brunch! We loved it!

This was pretty good but I found it to be a little too salty. Next time I will omit the added salt to see if it helps at all. UPDATE: I made this again without the extra salt for Christmas morning and it was much better. To be extra sinful, serve with some maple syrup on top. It cuts the salty taste and gives it a little somethin extra ;)

Fabulous! My husband's office loved this. Made a batch with ham, too. High praises from the staff.

I made this recipe for an office breakfast exactly as it was written. It was totally delicious and a huge success. Wouldn't change a thing!

Great recipe, simple, basic. I cut it down by 1/3. The quality of the ingredients can make all the difference though. We had excellent breakfast sausage and that's what really made it.

My family liked this breakfast casserole. I liked that I made it up the day ahead. The only change I made was the cheese - used co-jack as that is what I had on hand. Heated up great as leftovers the next morning. Thanks Lisajani for sharing.

made mine with center cut bacon. one thick slice of onion and 2 shallots cooked in the bacon grease then added the fresh spinach..added sharp cheddar and i buttered the top layer of bread.. love it

This recipe is excellent as is. I have made it several times. The last time I added 1/2 cup of fresh chopped onion to the sausage while it was frying and topped it with one can of Cream of Mushroom soup just before baking. Yummy!

Great recipe, I used cookie cutter's for the bread in christmas shapes, came out looking festive!

I used a round loaf of sour dough bread and cut into cubes. It added great flavor and since the bread is more dense, was not mushy!

This was very good! I used bacon instead of sausage because that is my meat of choice. I used just 1/2 teaspoon of salt and that was plenty, and added a little black pepper, also, I served it over hash browns. Family really liked it.

I used ham instead of sausage because its what I had on hand. My family loved it. I will definately use this recipe again.

I'm giving the recipe five stars even though I didn't follow it exactly. I wondered how it would come out if I didn't let it sit for eight hours before baking so I decided to bake it right after combining all the ingredients. It was good but I think it'll be better next time if I let it sit overnight. I also added onions and green bell peppers.

This recipe has become a holiday breakfast tradition in our home. It makes Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings so much nicer! I prepare the night before and all I need to do in the morning is bake it. If I were to make a change to this recipe, I might add some sauteed peppers and onions.

I used egg beaters, skim milk and 50% reduced fat cheddar cheese to make a lowfat version and my guests still raved about it. I also sauteed onions and mushrooms in olive oil to make it heart healthy.

I have been making this for over 20 years.We call it Christmas Morning Souffle because we place in oven when everyone gets up and around the Christmas tree and in 60 minutes, we are having a hot breakfast with no cooking because we made it the day before. I do use half & half instead of milk and everyone looks forward to it every Christmas!

Best strata ever . Made this christmas day for brunch and it was a huge heat . Will certainly make it again . I used half evaporated milk which gave it the richness .

I used ham instead of sausage and it was great. I also baked it in a 9x13 inch pan and it turned out fine. Very good and easy recipe!

Very good, will fix this again.

This was so easy to make. Followed recipe except added liquid mustard instead of dry. It was a big hit for brunch.

VERY GOOD, but too salty. Cut the salt in half or leave out all together.

needed to cook about 20 min longer than suggested or bread will be too soggy. Other than that my family loved it.

I made this for breakfast and it was the most bland breakfast dish I have ever had. My family did not like it at all.

This is an excellent breakfast or lunch meal. I am typically not crazy about the blandness of the bread portion of the meal so I tried adding a tsp of rubbed sage and some canned, diced green chilies to the egg mixture. Also, I found that white bread is good but sourdough french bread worked even better.

We used Italian sausage which worked great. A nice change for breakfast/brunch.

This was awesome! I also add a dash of worcestershire to add a little kick.

Easy and delicious! Taking comments from both this recipe and the Christmas Breakfast Sausage Casserole recipe, I used 12 eggs, 2# sage sausage, 2C half & half, 1 C milk, 16oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 2t mustard and 2 boxes of Marie Callendar's Garlic & Cheesse Croutons. I omitted the salt and combined everything in a large bowl. This mixture made enough to fill a 10" x 15" pan and a smaller baking dish for later! Only found it necessary to bake covered for 45 minutes and then uncover, bake for an additional 15 minutes, then sprinkle extra cheese on top for 15 minutes longer. VIOLA!

I make this often, whenever I'm planning a brunch for family/friends! I have made different versions at times, adding different veggies I had on hand, but this basic recipe is great. I always use the maple sausage and it's fantastic. I've also tried different types of cheese - use whatever you really like and it will turn out great! I've used different types of bread too, and will say I think the best was the french bread. I like it uneven, so I always cube my bread, but think it would be good if you skipped that step too. Thanks for the recipe!

This was very simple to make! tasted great the first day, but even better the next morning. I would def. add some color to the recipe. I added sauted red and green peppers to mine. Next time I plan to use a lot less sausage. overall its a great easy recipe that I will be making again.

This was so easy to make and everyone loved it.