Spinach & Cheese Strata
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Layered with spinach, cheese, and hearty bread baked in a rich, savory custard, this make-ahead strata is the perfect dish for easy entertaining.
A strata is a layered casserole made with bread, eggs, cheese, and sometimes vegetables or meat (strata means layers). Think of it as a savory bread pudding or breakfast casserole. This spinach version is richly flavored with Gruyère, Parmesan, and Dijon mustard. It’s the perfect vegetarian brunch dish to feed a crowd. You do all of the preparation the night before, let the strata rest in the fridge overnight, then pop it in the oven in the morning.
As it bakes, it puffs up like a cheese soufflé, making it a real showstopper. The strata does fall a bit as it cools, but it’s still impressive. For an elegant brunch, serve it with bacon, a strawberry and orange fruit salad, and mimosas.
What You’ll Need To Make Spinach & Cheese Strata
Before we get started, a few words about the ingredients. It’s important to use good quality cheese. The recipe calls for a combination of Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but since they are both expensive, feel free to substitute other good melting cheeses with bold flavor, like extra-sharp cheddar.
The recipe is pretty flexible, so you can play around with different sautéed vegetables depending on what you have on hand. Some cooked sausage or pancetta would be a nice addition; just be sure to reduce the salt in the recipe to a scant teaspoon or the strata will be way too salty.
Be sure to squeeze all of the water out of the spinach. Take your time; it’s important to get it all out or the strata will be watery.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the spinach and garlic and cook a few minutes more.
Layer a third of the cubed bread in a buttered 3-quart or 9×13-inch baking dish.
Top with a third of the spinach.
Followed by a third of each cheese.
Repeat layering twice, ending with the cheese.
Make the custard by combining the whisked eggs, half-and-half-Dijon mustard salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Whisk evenly to combine.
Pour evenly over top of the strata, then cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. (At this point, you can also freeze the strata for up to 2 months.)
Bake for about 70 to 80 minutes, until puffed, set and golden all over.
Note: My starting point for this recipe was this popular strata originally published in Gourmet magazine. I increased the spinach; amped up the flavor by adding garlic and increasing the salt; swapped the milk for half-and-half; and reduced the baking temperature from 350°F to 325°F for a creamier texture.
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Spinach & Cheese Strata
Layered with spinach, cheese, and hearty bread baked in a rich, savory custard, this make-ahead strata is the perfect dish for easy entertaining.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bag chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed as dry as possible
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 12 ounces (¾ pound) Italian sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 11 slices or 8 cups)
- 6 ounces (1½ cups) coarsely grated Gruyère
- 2 ounces (⅔ cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 9 large eggs
- 2¾ cups half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1¾ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and drained spinach and cook 2 minutes more. Set aside.
- Butter a 3-quart or 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread one third of the bread cubes in the dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. (Try to break it up as much as possible so there are no huge clumps of spinach.) Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice, ending with cheeses.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the half-and-half, mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk until well combined. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the strata. Cover the strata with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake the strata, uncovered, until puffed, set and golden brown all over top, 70-80 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving. It will settle a bit as it cools.
- Note: The cook time is based on the strata going immediately from the fridge to the oven. If it sits out at room temperature before baking, the cook time will be about 10 minutes less.
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze, assemble the strata but don’t bake it. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, thaw the strata overnight in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can freeze leftover baked strata in individual portions, wrapping them tightly before freezing. Reheat from frozen in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 483
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated fat: 16g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Sugar: 4g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 25g
- Sodium: 1117mg
- Cholesterol: 280mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Jenn,
May I use less eggs for this dish.
Thank you,
Beya
Hi Beya, if you want to use fewer eggs, I’d cut the other ingredients back accordingly too.
Hi Jan, I would love to try this for our Easter potluck at my parents this Sunday. It would be great to prepare the night before and not have to fuss much with it the following morning when we’d be going to church. However, this might be silly but my concern is that it will take about 20 minutes to get to my parents and after we get there we won’t be eating immediately. Would it be a disaster if I cooked it about 45 minutes at home followed by the last half hour in my parent’s oven?
Also I have to tell you my husband and I are madly in love with all your recipes! They never fail!! You are such a wonder!
Thanks! Sharon
Sure Sharon, I think that would be fine. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I have made this before for an potluck brunch along with your cheddar and sausage bread pudding and both were fantastic. I was wondering if there were any other veggies that can be used in this along with the spinach (maybe mushrooms? or broccoli?)? For Easter brunch we have quite a few meat dishes and I want to get more veggies in! What vegetable would you recommend to add! I don’t want the flavor to be thrown off by clashing veggies! Also would the recipe need to be altered to account for the extra veggies?
Hi Brie, I think you can definitely add more veggies – and broccoli or mushrooms would both work well. Just be sure to cook them first before adding them. I don’t think you need to change the recipe but just be careful not to add too many veggies since they release liquid when they cook. I’m thinking 2 cups cooked veggies would be about right. Please lmk how it turns out!
I used a small package and a half of sliced mushrooms. Cooked them up before cooking the onions in the same pan. It turned out perfectly! Everyone loved it! Thank you again Jenn for another flawless recipe!
Can any other type of bread be used?
Yes Christina, the recipe is pretty flexible that way, so you can use what you have on hand. Enjoy!
Hi. My fridge is small & packed to the hilt. If I make this as meatless, could it stay out overnight for breakfast? Love, love your recipes! “Pinky”
Hi Pinky, Unfortunately, this really does need to be refrigerated. Sorry!
Made this recipe for my boyfriend and I but added some back bacon in there and didn’t put any salt in. He and I both LOVED it! Will definitely be making again!!!
This was really a delicious recipe. Since I had two 10 oz boxes of frozen spinach rather than a 1 # bag, I went ahead and used the larger amount of spinach. Also sautéed a red pepper with the onion and spinach since it needed to be used up. Added the dry mustard to the sautéing veggies. Really a hit. Reheated very nicely and my family was very glad there were leftovers.
I want to make this Saturday morning. I won’t have time Friday night to prepare. Is it okay, if I prepare it Thursday night and refrigerate it Friday and then, bake and serve on Saturday?
Hi Raquel, that should be fine. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen, If I’m using fresh spinach how much should I use? I find that fresh has a better flavor
Hi Syeda, You’d need about 1.5 lbs. Be sure to cook it first, then drain as with the frozen.
If I was wanting to add sausage to this dish, how much would I use and when to incorporate?
Thanks!
Emily
Hi Emily, Sausage would be a nice addition here. Just be sure to reduce the salt in the recipe to a scant teaspoon or the dish will be too salty. I’d cook the sausage right before or after cooking the spinach, onions and garlic and then mix the 4 things together to use when layering with the bread and cheese.
What are the proportions for sausage.
Hi Jan, I think about 3/4 lb would be perfect.