Make Ahead Loaded Ham & Veggie Strata
The strata, a baked egg casserole filled with bread and scrumptious vegetable and meat fillings of your choice, is a time-honored make-ahead holiday breakfast in our house. It is easy on the cook (me) and everyone gobbles it right up. Who doesn’t like a recipe that can easily be made in advance and baked to perfection on demand? It is the stuff that holiday cooking dreams are made of.
Every time I make my stratas I change up the fillings just a touch. It usually depends on what vegetables I have in the freezer because I always make a point of using them first. It is so much easier than running out to by fresh vegetables all the time and I keep my freezer stocked just for this purpose! This week I made a strata using Cascadian Farm organic fire roasted sweet potatoes, Cascadian Farm organic cut spinach, and chopped ham. It was just the right combination of sweet and savory vegetables with a punch of salty ham.
The best part about this strata is that there was no stovetop prep work involved since the vegetables are already cooked. I simply let them thaw a little before layering them into the pan, then it bakes for a nice long time. When it comes out of the oven the strata was gorgeously golden and puffed up like a soufflé and smelled amazing.
This easy recipe is ideal for a make-ahead holiday breakfast or just enjoying on a weekend morning. Personalized yours by using whatever frozen vegetables you have in your freezer! Roasted potatoes, broccoli, asparagus tips, and even Swiss chard would all taste amazing. Have fun with it and make it your own and have a happy holidays!
(Disclosure: This post is sponsored with Cascadian Farm. The opinions and photographs are wholly my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)
Ingredients
- 10 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 loaf Ciabatta, or similar textured bread
- 8 ounces Cascadian Farm Organic Fire Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 5 ounces Cascadian Farm Organic Cut Spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 4 ounces cooked ham, cut into small ½-inch pieces
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish, or one of similar capacity with cooking spray. Spread a layer of bread on the bottom. Layer in the sweet potatoes and spinach in an even layer. Layer the chopped ham on top. Then sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Add the second layer of bread on top and pour the egg mixture over the entire thing. Press the bread down into the egg mixture to help it sop up the eggs. Then sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.
- Cover the strata with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Let the strata come to room temperature for about 15 minutes while the oven preheats. Then baked it for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until it is puffy and golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the strata cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve warm.
