19 Strata Recipes That Will Easily Feed a Crowd

What is strata, really, other than stuffing rebranded for breakfast time? But toss out of your mind all the labor and sweating of pulling a big holiday dinner together; everything about strata says easy, catering to the cook who will be serving it, probably still in her jammies, or maybe not having had coffee yet. These breakfast casseroles are a boon for anyone entertaining weekend guests, as you quite literally toss everything together sometime the day before and forget about it in your fridge, until you roll out of bed and bake it the next morning.

Strata easily serves a crowd, and is kind of an all-in-one breakfast, needing no more than said coffee and maybe (maybe) a little fruit salad alongside. Have we sold you yet? Go ahead, grab the eggs and put one of these strata together now and then snuggle in under the comforter, ready to reap all the deliciousness tomorrow morning.

What better to augur the start of the day than to wake up to the aromas of this deeply satisfying strata? Bites of almost creamy, sweet-and-garlicky roasted squash tangle with kale and Gouda — and a little smoked paprika really plants a flag on the side of savory.

This heaven-in-a-casserole-dish really takes the layering literally in the strata genre. The custardy cubes of challah act as a base for an absolute party across the top, with bacon, caramelized onion and Swiss almost bringing a French-onion quality to each bite.

You know Grandma. Don’t make her commit to a recipe—she makes it different every time. But somehow it’s always amazing, because, pardon the cliché, she genuinely cooks with love. (Not just love for you—love for the ingredients!) Consider this recipe your starting point for working some grandma-style magic on anything tasty you have in the house for your customized fridge-clean-out strata.

These are woodsy, homey flavors, ham providing just the right salty counterpoint to the unctuous chew of cremini mushrooms.

If your idea of heaven is cheesy and more cheesy, and that combination of Cheddar and broccoli makes you swoon, you will simply adore waking up to it. Here, hot dog buns are used as the bread, which makes for a softer texture than in your typical strata, for a real savory-bread-pudding effect.

There are no shy violets in this strata, each ingredient assertive in a way that combines beautifully, never getting lost in the whole. Bacon and kale have a natural affinity, and the almost saline-sweet hits of sundried tomato play well in this pool.

This hardly needs our explaining how Italian sausages and peppers go so beautifully together. Fresh parsley cuts the richness of the two, while some mozz gives a cheesy pull to the rustic Italian bread cubes.

The combination of shredded roasted pork with fontina and mushrooms makes this strata even fit for a dinner, rather than a brunch. When you have leftover unsauced pulled pork from a big recipe, we hope you’ll always think of this as a home-run way to use it up.

This strata relies on a cheese you may have forgotten about: Muenster. But you’ll wonder why you did. It melts beautifully and provides just the right amount of creamy sharpness to provide a nice counterpoint to the chunks of sausage. Caramelized onions add jammy hits of sweetness that really take this strata to the next… stratosphere. Yes, we went there.

Really bringing home the stuffing analogy is this irresistible combo from Bobby Flay that uses cornbread cubes as the base. Chorizo, poblano, cilantro and Monterey Jack weave together an incredible Southwestern profile, and a homemade tomato sauce makes the dish reminiscent of everything we love about good huevos rancheros.

If you're looking for richly layered flavors, this golden-brown masterpiece is here to answer the call. Savory Gruyere, ham and sundried tomatoes mingle with the bread and eggs for a casserole that's puffed, crisp and satisfying — everything you could ever want in a breakfast bite.

This is a fun variation on the theme, a strata at its soul but also with an egg bake at work. The eggs are cooked with runny yolks, which you will love dabbing up with bites of the tomatoey bread.

Pretzel buns will have you asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” No worries, Jeff Mauro has got you covered. Here, they are a transformed hot-pretzel-with-cheese-sauce into a breakfast that’s got melty mozzarella, jalapeños, honey ham and Cheddar.

This dish is what would happen if enchiladas walked into strata, resulting in the best of both worlds. Poblanos lend their mild green flavor to a strata that relies on pan-fried tortillas rather than bread chunks; pepper jack and Oaxaca cheeses take it to the required ooey-gooey place.

Here is everything you love about a Monte Cristo sandwich but in breakfast casserole form. Thick slices of brown sugar ham are layered with Swiss cheese and bread before an overnight soak in an easy egg custard. Drizzled with warm cranberry sauce and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, it's the ultimate make-ahead brunch for a crowd!

This is just such a fun reimagining of the classic spread of bagels and lox. Everything bagels are chunked up for the heart of the casserole, custardized with the inclusion of cream cheese (natch) seasoned with dill and lemon zest. After baking, a serving (here, cheekily cut into rounds, although you can do as you wish) you top with smoked salmon and a piquant tomato and caper relish.

When tomatoes are roasted low and slow, they transform into a ne plus umami version of their former selves, a condiment that improves everything they come into contact with. Here, they pair with sourdough for an extra-rustic strata, given richness with fontina.

Breakfast strata is the ultimate comfort dish— a rich, savory and satisfying mix of your favorite bread layered with a creamy custard, melty cheese and whatever fillings you’re in the mood for. The beauty of the strata lies in its flexibility: you can go as simple or as decadent as you choose. Since this is our Best Breakfast Strata, we definitely wanted to lean towards decadent—with earthy mushrooms, bacon, croissants and two kinds of cheese. It can easily feed a crowd and is perfect for a holiday breakfast, special brunch or whenever you want something comforting and delicious that comes together with minimal fuss.