Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Cheese & bacon strata cake – breakfast casserole! Recipe
A Breakfast Casserole – in cake kind! All of the morning necessities current – bacon, eggs, milk, bread and cheese – it’s a breakfast strata that tastes like a cross between quiche, omelette and savoury French toast with tacky custardy insides, and a golden crusty floor.
Wonderful technique to make use of leftover bread. Make it now or depart it in a single day, then simply pop it within the oven the following day!
Being fully upfront – this isn’t an actual dish as such, it’s simply one thing I made up on a whim again after I first printed it over 5 years in the past as a technique to make breakfast for a bunch with out frying up particular person bacon and eggs for everybody.
It’s primarily a breakfast casserole or a savoury bread and butter pudding, made with bread soaked in eggs and milk, scattered with cheese and bacon, then baked till golden on the floor, custardy and tacky on the within.
And somewhat than baking it the normal manner in a casserole dish, I’ve used a cake pan – so that you additionally get golden sides and the enjoyable issue of having the ability to serve slices of it like cake!
One thing completely different – however you recognize it’s going to be tasty – proper?! I like the way in which you type of get “swirls” all through the “cake”, that are actually simply the crust of the baguette I chopped as much as make this breakfast “cake”!
Right here’s all you could make this breakfast strata – bread, eggs, bacon, cheese and milk. All of the breakfast necessities!
Completely any bread is okay – I like lengthy breadsticks / baguette-type since you get extra “swirls” on the within as a result of there’s the next crust to crumb ratio. You may also simply swap bacon for ham.
It’s really easy you are able to do it even whenever you’re nonetheless half asleep. Although to make your mornings much more enjoyable, combine it up the night time earlier than then simply pop it within the oven the following morning!
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Slice / tear bread into 2.5cm / 1″ items. Go away the crust on except you’re utilizing a very thick-crusted bread. No one needs super-thick, chewy crust inside when it’s purported to be tender and custardy!
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7 cups bread – You want 7 cups of bread in complete, simply evenly pushed all the way down to fill the cup. I can’t offer you a weight as a result of completely different breads differ in weight for a similar quantity. Cup measurements are one of the best ways I can describe it!
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Whisk collectively the eggs and milk;
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Soak bread – Combine the bread in till it’s completely soaked by way of with egg combination, then stir by way of a lot of the cooked bacon and cheese (maintain some again for sprinkling);
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Pour into cake pan – Pour the combination in a really well-buttered non-stick cake pan. A springform pan is the most convenient however a cake pan with no unfastened base is okay too as a result of the strata cake holds collectively properly sufficient to show it out. If you recognize your cake pan is susceptible to being sticky, line it with parchment paper as a result of eggs are the last word meals glue and added cheese makes it like superglue!
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Bake 45 minutes – Cowl with foil and bake 25 minutes, then take away cowl and bake for an extra 15 to twenty minutes till the highest is golden and crusty. Test with a skewer inserted into the centre to make sure no uncooked egg combination is on it. Let it stand for a couple of minutes to stabilise then take away the cake pan sides (should you used a springform pan) or flip it out rigorously.
The odor when that is baking is mouth-watering! It smells like a Quiche Lorraine, and although admittedly it seems to be much more rustic than a quiche, it’s a entire lot much less effort to place collectively!!
A really interesting characteristic of this recipe is that it’s extremely customisable. I’ve gone with the breakfast staple of bacon right here, however there’s loads of different choices – together with including issues like chicken to make it lunch and even dinner worthy:
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Ham rather than the bacon – an effective way to make use of up leftover Christmas ham (skip the bacon-crisping step).
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Garlic butter roasted mushrooms could be explicit nice and in addition becoming for breakfast. Halve or quarter in order that they incorporate higher (entire might be too massive);
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Any chargrilled or roasted greens (comply with instructions on this Roasted Greens Pasta Salad recipe);
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Feta or goat’s cheese – crumbled;
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Chicken – cooked, chopped or shredded. Even leftover flavoured chicken eg from tacos or a chicken that was marinated like my On a regular basis Chicken Marinade;
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Smoked fish – the oilier the higher, so it received’t dry out. Assume flaked smoked mackerel, herring/kippers or hot-smoked trout. Common cold-smoked salmon would additionally work – it’ll prepare dinner within the strata as a result of it’s skinny and change into “hot-smoked” – scrumptious!
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Spinach – Make my garlic sauteed spinach, chop roughly and distribute earlier than baking.
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Breakfast sausages – Take away pores and skin, break into small items, pan-fry as per bacon.
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Olives, solar dried tomatoes and different antipasto-type issues.
To serve, slice it up similar to cake. Should you’re the civilised type, eat it with a fork but it surely holds collectively properly sufficient to only eat it together with your palms. 😉Wonderful meals for on the go! – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 300g / 10 oz bacon , diced (or ham)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk (full cream or low fat)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 7 cups (packed) any plain bread (I use baguettes) , cut into 2 cm / 1 inch cubes (preferably slightly stale, Note 1)
- 2 cups cheese , shredded (Note 2)
- parsley , finely chopped (garnish – optional)
Instructions
- Cook bacon: Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. (Use a bit of oil if not using non-stick). Add all but 2 tbsp of bacon (reserve some for topping just before baking), cook until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
- Whisk eggs and milk: Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl (or container, if leaving overnight).
- Soak bread: Add the bread, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and the cooked bacon to the egg mixture. Mix well. Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (until all the egg is soaked into the bread) or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Grease cake tin: Generously grease a 20cm/8" springform cake tin with butter (cake pan without loose sides also ok, also see Note 3 re: leakage risk).
- Fill: Pour the bread mixture into the cake tin, pat down to compress. Scatter with reserved uncooked bacon and remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Cover loosely with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for a further 15 – 20 minutes until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (no raw egg).
- Rest & slice: Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing the springform or turning out. Garnish with parsley if using. Cut into slices to serve. Be civil and eat it on a plate with a fork, or just use your hands!
Notes
1. Bread – any plain bread will work here, white or wholemeal, loaves, French sticks/baguettes (which is what I used), hamburger buns, rolls. I personally prefer plain rather than with seeds or other bits in it just to have a smooth custardy centre.
Also best to avoid artisan dense breads like sourdough with really thick chewy crusts which are a bit too thick for the custardy inside of this dish.
How much bread? – It’s a bit tricky to define because different bread have different weights. I used a standard baguette – about 270g / 9 oz. Best to go by volume: 7 packed cups – push the bread cubes into a 1 cup measure for each cup, pressing down to level the surface.
2. Cheese – You can use any good melting cheese eg. tasty / cheddar, gouda, Monterey Jack, pepper jack.Although tempting, avoid mozzarella because it doesn’t have much flavour (but if you do use it, add another 1/4 tsp salt).
3. Cake pan – If you don’t have a springform pan, use a standard cake pan (it holds together well enough to turn out) or a 10″/25cm square baking dish . Do not make this in a sandwich pan with a loose base (ie not springform) – egg will leak.
Leakage note – if you know your springform pan is prone to leaking with runny cake batters, put a tray on the shelf underneath, just in case (not on the same shelf, reduces heat around cake pan so increases cook time). The bread should soak up most of the egg so there should be little leakage, if at all.
4. Leftovers – Will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, and can be reheated in the microwave. Also tasty at room temperature! Freezes for 3 months – wrap in cling wrap and store in airtight container (reheats 100% perfectly like quiches do!)
5. Nutrition – Assumes 8 servings, including an estimation of bacon fat discarded.
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