Spinach & Cheese Strata
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Layered with spinach, cheese, and bread, and soaked in a savory custard, this make-ahead strata is ideal for 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 the strata with bacon (for perfectly crispy bacon, learn how to cook bacon in the oven), a strawberry & orange fruit salad, and mimosas.
Table of Contents
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.
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 bread, and soaked in a savory custard, this make-ahead strata is ideal for 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.
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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A friend of mine made this, and I had to have the recipe! I’ve made it a few times now, and people always want the recipe. It is so good!!
Jenn, this strata is fabulous – like everything I’ve made from your blog and cookbook. One question: can I freeze leftovers? It’s rare, but today we actually had some. Thanks for transforming what comes from my kitchen!
So glad you liked it! Yes, I do think you can get away with freezing leftovers. 🙂
Can I add ricotta into the egg mixture or somewhere else in the recipe? Also, could u add some leftover wild rice or would that be too much?
Tiffany, I think you could add both, but I’d limit the quantities; maybe stick to 1/2 cup of ricotta and 1 cup of the wild rice. Hope you enjoy!
I’m having a very large brunch at my house. If I have a baking dish that is 10″ x 14 1/2″, can I double the receipt or should I only add 50% to the ingredients?
Hi Judy, I’d increase by 50%. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, would it be okay to use fresh baby spinach instead of frozen as I have quite a bit that I would like to use up?
Sure, Jeanette, fresh spinach will work (you’ll need about 1.5 lbs). Cook it first and make sure you drain it (like you would with the frozen spinach). Hope you enjoy!
I love so many recipes Jenn creates. In fact, I bought her cookbook because I felt guilty using and enjoying so many free recipes. Other than Ina Garten, I have never used so many recipes from a single chef. So I expect a couple not to be to my taste, and this was one. I was making it, along with several other dishes, including the leek quiche, for a group of women. I don’t think anyone cared for it. I bought bakery Italian bread, used the expensive cheeses. I thought it was dry, even though I used the nine eggs and baked only 60 minutes. It just seemed bland with occasional bites of the spinach. I did tr6 to spread out as advised. I used several ounces more than required. I know this got five stars by other cooks so it could have been me. I won’t make again.
I don’t see list and amounts of ingredients???
Hi Adela, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
I made this for a Baby Sprinkle and it was a big hit. The only change I made was to use Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Mountain White Bread instead of Italian sandwich bread and prepped it the night before. I allowed the bread to thaw first and followed the recipe otherwise. I would probably add a tad bit more moisture (milk) the next time. Everyone enjoyed it and asked for the recipe.
This recipe is divine! I have made this twice recently and both times it has come out perfectly. I usually half the recipe. Make sure you soak it overnight. It makes a significant difference!
Hi Jenn,
I am making this strata in a few days for a bridge luncheon for 12 and need to make a smaller dish for gluten free friends. I have bought the bread and wonder if a need to do anything differently with this part of the recipe. I love your website and always look forward to receiving the email. I am just concerned about the difference in the bread.
Thanks.
Hi Betsy, I think you could get away with using gluten-free bread here without making any other adjustments to the recipe. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
I have made this a bunch of times – found the recipe years ago and it became a staple! Sometimes I switch it up and use broccoli instead of the frozen spinach for times sake (squeezing the water out of the spinach can be a bit of a hassle). I also will sometimes add bacon or ham! Just love it every time 🙂