Sausage & Mushroom Strata with Crispy Shallots

It’s that time of year to dust off my Sausage & Mushroom Strata with Crispy Shallots recipe! Growing up, Christmas morning always meant enjoying one of my favorite breakfast treats: strata – we were doing it way before “The Family Stone.”

As we’ve gotten older, some traditions have changed, but when we are home after opening presents at my parents’, we still head over to my Aunt Marie and Uncle Kevin’s to enjoy some strata! And then settle into a couple of rounds of Cards Against Humanity – honestly, the way Christmas was intended to be celebrated!

If you’ve never had strata, it’s the perfect Christmas morning treat, as most of the work is done ahead of time, and it’s a hearty, warming dish ideal for a cold winter morning. The savory custard base of bread, eggs, and flavoring is typically topped with cheese and your favorite meats and veggies and baked – the version I grew up with was from our family friend Sue Tyler and topped with sausage, cheddar, and two cans of mushroom soup.

While I will always love the original, I wanted to put my spin on the recipe – adding some of my favorite flavors! For this version, I opted for sourdough bread, swapped the cheddar for gruyère, and sautéed fresh mushrooms and garlic before adding them to a white sauce flavored with onion powder and crushed red pepper flakes for the perfect subtle heat.

The finishing touch is topping the dish with freshly fried shallots for an oniony crunch and chives for a bit of color on an otherwise brown dish.

I’ve never eaten so much strata as I did while developing this recipe – and it’s so good I never once got sick of it. It’s even better the day after! I hope you all love this recipe as much as we do and that it becomes part of your holiday tradition!

Sausage & Mushroom Strata with Crispy Shallots

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(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

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4.4 from 5 reviews

• Author: Trent
• Total Time: 9 hours, 45 minutes (including overnight rest)
• Yield: 10–12 1x

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Ingredients

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• 14 ounces (about 9 cups) sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb breakfast sausage, crumbled
• 8 oz gruyere, shredded
• 8 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 5 cups whole milk, divided
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to grease the baking dish
• 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced (approx 3 garlic cloves)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• Vegetable oil
• Chives, chopped for garnishing

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Spread 14 ounces cubed sourdough bread on a sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until dried and slightly browned, toss once halfway through baking.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet (at least 11-inch across) over medium heat and add 1½ lb crumbled breakfast sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, breaking up the larger pieces as you go. Saute until the sausage is browned and cooked all the way through – about 4 to 5 minutes. 
4. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish with butter. 
5. Once cubed bread has cooled, pour half into the prepared casserole dish.  Cover with ⅓ of the sausage and spread the remaining cubed bread on top. Sprinkle with 8 oz shredded gruyere cheese followed by the remaining ⅔ of the sausage. 
6. In a large bowl, whisk together 8 large eggs, 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Whisk in 3 cups whole milk. Carefully pour the mixture over the bread, cheese, and sausage. Set aside.
7. Add 3 tablespoons unsalted butter to the pan you cooked the sausage in and heat over medium heat until the butter melts. Add 16 ounces cremini mushrooms and cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned and all of the liquid has evaporated – approximately another 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside. 
8. In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and whisk until smooth – cook for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Slowly add 2 cups of whole milk, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Add 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk occasionally for 4-5 minutes until sauce begins to slowly bubble. Once sauce is bubbly, stir constantly for a full minute. Sauce should be thick but pourable. Add the cooked mushrooms to the sauce.
9. Pour the mushroom sauce over the strata, cover evenly and spread smoothly. Cover with plastic wrap pressing down firmly so it touches the sauce, preventing a film from forming and place in refrigerator.
10. Allow to chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight to allow the flavors to meld and the bread to absorb the liquid.
11. The next day, remove the strata from the fridge and uncover. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
12. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the strata sets. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean. 
13. While the strata bakes, add 4 thinly sliced shallots to a large saute pan in one, even layer. Cover with vegetable oil and bring to a boil over medium heat. Fry for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until bubbles begin to subside and shallots are lightly golden. (Watch closely toward the end as they will burn quickly!) Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate. 
14. Once the strata is done, remove from the oven, sprinkle with the crispy shallots and chives, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Timing: This dish is meant to be prepared the night before serving to allow the bread to absorb the egg mixture. If you’re making it day-of, allow the dish to rest for at least an hour before baking. 

Shallots: These can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container once cooled.

Sausage: I prefer breakfast sausage for this dish but any sausage you like would work. An extra 1/2 lb is incorporated in the bread/egg base to add additional flavor.

Bread: You can use any bread you prefer. Although I’d avoid your grocery store white bread as it’s resulted in a gummy texture in a couple versions I tried.

White Sauce: Be sure to not overcook the white sauce. It should be a pourable, gravy-like consistency. If it’s too thick, thin it out with additional milk.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Inactive Time: 8 hours
• Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
• Category: Breakfast

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