This delicious Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata is the most amazing breakfast casserole! Loaded with crusty Italian bread, eggs, cheese, and thick sliced bacon – it checks off everything you want for breakfast in one dish!
This recipe is sponsored by Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs. All opinions are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make OBB possible.
Breakfast is one of my favorite things in the world, y’all. I go to bed dreaming of warm oatmeal drizzled with maple syrup, avocado toast….and lately, this amazing Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata.
Now, y’all know that I live in the South. I can’t even tell you the amount of Bacon Egg and Cheese biscuits I have consumed in my life. I knew that I wanted to make a breakfast casserole for the holiday season, so, I just had to make it Bacon Egg and Cheese flavored. One of the best combos in the world!
I especially love breakfast during the Christmas and holiday season. Many times, you already have guests over. So, you wake up, make breakfast for everyone and sip on warm coffee as you get ready to start the day. It’s just the BEST!
Why You’re Going to Love this Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata
This Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata is the answer to all of your holiday breakfasts. It’s essentially a breakfast casserole. It has crust Italian bread (toast requirement, check!), lots of cheese (check!), thick sliced bacon (yes please!), fresh garlic (yum!), herby chopped chives (yes yes yes) and finally, EGGS!
But not just any eggs. This casserole is made with Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs! I absolutely love these eggs – they are always free of pesticides, added hormones and best of all, they come from small family farms that are dedicated to humanely treating their animals. You can absolutely tell this by the color of the golden yellow yolk. It’s amazing.
I love how the eggs remain so deliciously soft and fluffy – not rubbery at all like some baked eggs. The crust tops of the Italian bread make my world go round. The fresh garlic adds AH-MAZING flavor. The thick sliced bacon permeates throughout the entire dish…oh, and of course, it’s so dreamy cheesy delicious. You can’t have a breakfast casserole without cheese, right?! Right!
Oh, and did I mention it has both half and half AND heavy cream in it?!? These two ingredients make it so very rich and decadent. Of course you can substitute normal milk..but why would you?! It’s the holidays after all. Treat yourself!
I love how you get amazing flavor from each ingredient in every single bite. It’s the best and so easy to quickly prep and pop into the oven while your guests enjoy their first cup of coffee. Let’s get into how to make it!
Ingredients you Need for Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata:
- Pete and Gerry’s organic eggs
- Italian bread
- Thick sliced bacon
- Sharp cheddar cheese / colby jack cheese
- Half and half
- Heavy cream
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh garlic
- Chives
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata:
The first step is to cook the bacon. You can do this in an oven which is an amazing, quick and easy way to fix it where you won’t get popped! I did my bacon at 400 for about 20 minutes. It all depends on your thickness though, so keep an eye on it!
You don’t want the bacon to be *too* crispy. Once it’s done, blot the grease with a paper-towel and chop it into bite size pieces.
Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Dice the Italian bread into small, 1-1.5 inch cubes. Take a 9×13 casserole dish and grease the bottom using butter or non-stick cooking spray. Place the bread cubes evenly in the dish after you’ve greased it.
Finely mince the garlic and chop the chives.
Add in the bacon, 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup of colby jack cheese, chives and garlic to the bread cubes in the casserole dish. Gently mix around using your hands, making sure it is all coated evenly.
In a large bowl, add about 8 Pete and Gerry’s organic eggs. Add 1 cup of half and half and 1 cup of heavy cream. Add a generous pinch of salt (about ⅓-½ tsp), a crack of pepper and a tsp of dijon mustard and whisk together until combined.
Gently pour the egg mixture on top of the bread mixture, making sure it’s evenly spread throughout the pan. Once poured, if there are any bread cubes not soaked by the mixture, press them down into the liquid gently.
Wrap some foil around the top and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven, take off the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the top is crispy and golden brown.
Let cool for a few minutes before you serve. Top with more chives and eat up!
This is the absolute perfect holiday breakfast idea – I hope you love it as much as I do!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few more you might like:
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche with Bacon
Everything Bagel Breakfast Sandwich
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata
This delicious Bacon Egg and Cheese Strata is the most amazing breakfast casserole! Loaded with crusty Italian bread, eggs, cheese, and thick sliced bacon - it checks off everything you want for breakfast in one dish!
Ingredients
- 1 Italian loaf, diced into 1-1.5 inch cubes
- 8 large Pete and Gerry's eggs
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 16 oz thick sliced bacon
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup colby jack cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh chives (and more to garnish)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 tsp salt
- crack of black pepper
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil, add the bacon to where it's not touching. Cook the bacon at 400 for about 20 minutes. It all depends on your thickness though, so keep an eye on it!
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Once the bacon is done, blot the grease with a paper-towel and chop it into bite size pieces.
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Reduce the oven heat to 350. Dice the Italian bread into small, 1-1.5 inch cubes. Take a 9x13 casserole dish and grease the bottom using butter or non-stick cooking spray. Place the bread cubes evenly in the dish after you’ve greased it.
-
Finely mince the garlic and chop the chives.
-
Add in the bacon, 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup of colby jack cheese, chives and garlic to the bread cubes in the casserole dish. Gently mix around using your hands, making sure it is all coated evenly.
-
In a large bowl, add the Pete and Gerry’s organic eggs. Add half and half and heavy cream. Add a generous pinch of salt, a crack of pepper and the dijon mustard. Whisk together until combined.
-
Gently pour the egg mixture on top of the bread mixture, making sure it’s evenly spread throughout the pan. Once poured, if there are any bread cubes not soaked by the mixture, press them down into the liquid gently.
-
Wrap some foil around the top and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven, take off the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the top is crispy and golden brown.
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Let cool for a few minutes before you serve. Top with more chives and eat up! Store leftovers in the fridge. Heat up in the oven or microwave.
This is the kind of breakfast that my hubby and I would devour on a Sunday morning!! Bacon, egg and cheese! The best!!!! I am pinning this and totally going to make this over the holidays!
Yay!!! Can’t wait to see your take on it, Katherine!
Thank you Haylie for sharing your story on the 700 club! What an inspiration you are. Can’t wait to try some of your recipes. They look delicious!
Aw, Harriet – THANK YOU! This made my day. Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas! XO – Haylie
Oh my Haylie! This is my breakfast of dreams! Love the flavors (bacon-yes!!) and those chunks of Italian bread! The perfect breakfast for family and friends!
Yes!! Bacon, eggs, bread..what more could you need?! Thank you my friend 🙂
I go to bed thinking about breakfast too Haylie! And stratas are a favourite make ahead breakfast. This one looks awesome. Sure to be a crowd pleaser this holiday season!
Thank you so much, Leanne!