Cheddar Bacon Strata Bread Cake
Cheddar Bacon Strata is a savory bread pudding or cake made with just 5 simple ingredients. Eggs, Bacon, cheese, bread and milk are all you need to make this delicious and gorgeous Strata that is perfect anytime you need to feed a crowd.
If you follow my blog you know that I love to be thrifty with food, but still have a gourmet touch. A Strata makes a beautiful presentation on your table or buffet, and your guests might think it is store bought! Strata’s are a super way to use up leftover bread and milk. Just add eggs and bacon or sausage and you have made a dish for any meal of the day.
One of my best strategies for feeding guests is to make food ahead of time, as much as possible. That frees up your time to set a gorgeous table or do last minute preparations. Strata’s can be made a day ahead and reheated in the oven just before serving.
This tastes like a cross between a quiche, fritatta and bacon and eggs. The center does not have the custard texture of quiche, but it is still very moist on the inside, but not soggy. Broiling at the end results in a little bit of delicious crisp on the cheese and the bread on the outer rim making a “crust”.
[bctt tweet=”If you love breakfast casseroles, you will love this Bacon and Cheddar Strata!”]
Cheddar Bacon Strata is a savory bread pudding or cake made with just 5 simple ingredients. Eggs, Bacon, cheese, bread and milk are all you need to make this delicious and gorgeous Strata that is perfect anytime you need to feed a crowd.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Italian or French Bread
- 7 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 oz bacon, diced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the bacon in a skillet on the stove, reserving 2 tablespoons of the raw diced bacon for later.. Set the raw 2 tablespoons of bacon aside. Cook the remaining bacon in the skillet until crisp, then drain on paper towel.
- Cut the loaf of bread into 1 inch cubes, place into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the bacon and 1-1/2 cups of the cheese to the mixing bowl with the bread.Reserve the other 1/2 cup of cheese for later.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and eggs until blended. Add the salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the bread, bacon and cheese, evenly soaking the bread. Using a spatula, fold the bread mixture over until most of the egg mixture is absorbed. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the bread to absorb all of the egg mixture.
- Spray a springform pan with cooking spray. Set the pan on a baking sheet.
- Pour the bread and egg mixture into the pan, then top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and raw bacon.
- Cover loosely with foil and bake on a baking sheet for 30 minutes, until firm in the center when pushed.
- Turn on the broiler and broil until all of the cheese is melted and bubbling and the bacon is crisp.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before removing outer ring of the pan.
- Serve warm.
Notes
1. Cubed bread will measure about 7 cups. 2.Substitute any other favorite melting cheese for the cheddar, like Gouda, Monterey Jack or Swiss. 3.If you don't want to make this in a springform pan, use a 9 x 13 baking dish. Also, you can mix the bread and egg mixture straight into the baking dish instead of in a ziplock bag. The ziplock bag is used to prevent egg mixture from leaking from the springform pan while it is set aside.
Till Next Time- Christine
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