Sausage Breakfast Strata (Christmas Morning Casserole)

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Want a Christmas breakfast you can put together the night before and just bake in the morning? Sausage breakfast strata is cubed French bread layered with browned sausage, diced ham and sharp cheddar, then soaked in a garlicky egg custard.

The bread drinks up the eggs as it sits, so the middle bakes up soft and custardy under a golden, cheesy top. One 9×13 pan, about an hour start to finish, and it serves 6!

A square of sausage breakfast strata with ham and melted cheddar on a white plate.

Table of Contents

The night before is when I put together any Christmas morning breakfast casserole. This one is made for it. Cover the dish, slide it into the fridge, and the bread has all night to soak. In the morning it goes straight into the oven while the coffee brews. I love that the oven does all the work on the one morning nobody wants to be at the stove.

For more savory egg breakfast recipes, be sure to also try my bacon egg and cheese biscuits, breakfast sausage sandwiches, or egg rings.

What You’ll Love About This Sausage Strata

No Stove Time in the Morning: It all bakes in the oven, so there’s no scrambling eggs while everyone opens gifts.
Two Kinds of Meat: Browned sausage and diced ham mean every square has savory bites all the way through.
No Fresh Onions to Dice: A teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder seasons the whole custard.
Kid-Friendly Flavors: Eggs, cheese, sausage and bread are an easy sell, even for sleepy kids on Christmas morning.
One Pan for the Whole Table: A 9×13 dish makes 6 generous servings with only a skillet and a bowl to wash.

Sausage and Egg Strata Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Sausage Breakfast Strata:

Ingredient Notes

Breakfast Sausage: Jimmy Dean is the brand I buy. For this one I’d grab their Premium Turkey Sausage Roll, which they make as a leaner version of their classic roll. Regular pork sausage gives a richer pan, and mild Italian sausage is fun if you want a little fennel.

Diced Ham: A package of pre-diced ham is my shortcut here. Leftover holiday ham works just as well. Cut it into small cubes so it tucks in between the bread.

French or Italian Bread: Grab a crusty loaf and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Day-old bread is best. Stale, slightly dry cubes soak up the custard without turning soggy. Only have a fresh loaf? Spread the cubes on a sheet pan and dry them at 300°F for about 10 minutes. A full loaf usually gives you more than 6 cups, so toss the extra cubes with olive oil and bake them into croutons.

Eggs and Milk: Eight large eggs and 2 cups of milk make the custard. I’d use whole milk. It sets up rich and tender. 2% works fine, and swapping ½ cup of it for half-and-half makes it even richer. Skim bakes up a little looser.

Cheddar: Sharp cheddar holds its own against all that bread. I shred it from a block, since the bagged kind is coated to keep the shreds apart and doesn’t melt as smoothly. Most of it goes in the middle, and the last ½ cup browns on top.

Fresh Parsley: It’s only for a pop of green on top. Skip it if you don’t have any.

Sausage Strata Variations

Make It Spicy: Use hot breakfast sausage instead of regular. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the custard if you want even more heat.

Go Maple: Maple breakfast sausage gives the whole pan a sweet-and-savory, Christmas-morning flavor. It pairs really well with the sharp cheddar.

Add Veggies: Sauté 1 diced bell pepper and a big handful of baby spinach in the sausage pan after you drain it, about 3 minutes, then layer them in with the meat. Sliced mushrooms work too. Cook them until their liquid is gone so the strata doesn’t get watery.

Add Ground Mustard: Whisk ½ teaspoon of ground mustard into the eggs. You won’t taste mustard. It just makes the cheese taste cheesier.

Make It Lighter: Use 4 whole eggs plus 1 cup of liquid egg whites, pour in 2% milk, and go with 1 cup of reduced-fat cheddar in total. Whole wheat French bread works here too. It’s still hearty, just a little lighter.

How To Bake a Breakfast Strata With Sausage

Here are quick visual instructions. Be sure to check out the full instructions with exact ingredients in the printable recipe card below.

Breakfast sausage browned and crumbled in a large white skillet.
Step 1: Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it into small crumbles, then drain off the grease.

Cubed French bread spread in an even layer in a glass 9x13 baking dish.
Step 2: Spread the bread cubes in an even layer in a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Browned sausage, diced ham and shredded cheddar layered over bread cubes in a glass dish.
Step 3: Scatter the sausage and ham over the bread, then sprinkle most of the cheddar on top.

Eggs, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a bowl before whisking.
Step 4: Add the eggs, milk and seasonings to a large bowl.

Whisked egg custard for the breakfast strata in a large dark mixing bowl.
Step 5: Whisk the custard smooth, then pour it over the dish and press the bread down.

Baked breakfast strata casserole with a golden, browned cheddar top in a glass pan.
Step 6: Top with the last of the cheese and bake until the middle no longer jiggles and the top is browned.

What Is a Strata?

A breakfast strata is bread, a savory filling and cheese layered in a baking dish, then soaked in an egg and milk custard and baked. The name comes from the Italian word for layers. Think of it as a savory bread pudding.

If you’ve ever made a breakfast casserole with bread and sausage, you’ve basically made one. The soak is what makes it a strata. Plenty of egg casseroles just bake eggs over a filling. A strata lets the bread drink up the custard first, so it bakes up puffy and soft in the middle with crisp edges. That’s also why so many people make a Christmas strata: the soaking happens in the fridge overnight.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Drain the sausage well. Any grease left in the skillet ends up pooled on the bottom of the dish and makes the bread greasy.

Press, don’t stir. Pushing the bread down with a spatula wets every cube. Stirring tears the bread and leaves the top cubes dry.

Check the center, not the edges. The edges set first. It’s done when a knife in the middle comes out clean and the center reaches 165°F, the safe temperature for casseroles on the FoodSafety.gov temperature chart.

Tent it if the top browns early. Lay a sheet of foil loosely over the dish for the last 10 minutes. Cheese can get dark before the middle sets, especially in a glass dish.

Give it 10 minutes. Resting lets the custard finish setting. You’ll get clean squares instead of a scoop that slumps on the plate.

What to Serve With Christmas Breakfast Casserole

A big fruit salad is always on my Christmas morning table, and something sweet like cinnamon rolls goes with it. The fruit cuts through all that cheese and sausage. For a make-ahead fruit option, a fruit parfait cup for each person is easy to set out next to the pan.

Want a sweet bake that’s a little lighter than cinnamon rolls? My easy blueberry cottage cheese breakfast bake can share the oven if you make both. Feeding a crowd for a holiday brunch? Bake two pans side by side, and find more ideas in my Christmas morning breakfast recipes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can strata be made ahead of time?

Yes, and I think it's better that way. That overnight rest is why you'll see it called an overnight breakfast strata. Assemble it, cover it tightly, and refrigerate it until morning. Baking it cold from the fridge? Add 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time and check the center.

What's the difference between a strata and a frittata?

A frittata is eggs with fillings and no bread, usually started on the stove in a skillet. A strata has bread soaked in the egg custard, and it bakes in a casserole dish. That bread gives a strata its soft, bread pudding texture.

Can I use hash browns instead of bread?

You can. Swap the bread for a 30-ounce bag of frozen shredded hash browns, thawed and patted dry. It won't be a strata anymore, more of a hash brown breakfast casserole. It also needs a little longer, so start checking the center at 50 minutes.