This Southern Caprese Breakfast Strata is a great make-ahead option for entertaining
This recipe is courtesy of Orchids + Sweet Tea. It's been edited for brevity.
When it comes to breakfast or brunch, this Southern Caprese Biscuit Breakfast Strata is one evolutionary dish. Not only is it easy to make, but it also comes packed with a ton of savory flavor and a lot of Southern comfort food elements.
Based on soft, fluffy Southern-style biscuits that come nestled in between mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, tomatoes, and a creamy well-seasoned garlicky egg mixture. The perfect vegetarian dish during the colder months and holiday season.
This Southern Caprese Biscuit Breakfast Strata has been something that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with preparing. Much like a traditional casserole, this Strata is the ultimate comfort food dish for any time of day, honestly!
While it is intended for breakfast or brunch, you can change things up a bit for the entire family by eating this as a weeknight meal for dinner. It's so versatile and the savory flavor is dynamite.
The other great thing about this dish is that you can make it overnight or ahead of time, which can be such a lifesaver if you’re super busy or just don’t have the time. I mean, who doesn’t love a good make-ahead dish?
If you aren’t aware of what a strata is, then let me break it down. A strata is basically a layered casserole dish that consists of the following elements: bread, egg and cheese. Like many casseroles, you can always add your variation of favorite ingredients to create a new flavor and experience with each dish. That simple, y'all.
When it comes to the bread base of a strata, there are so many options. For this dish, I wanted to keep things simple with store-bought biscuits, however, you can choose to make your biscuits from scratch and add them in.
In addition, I love the idea of switching things up to create a new delicious bite, therefore, I’d recommend using either brioche bread, croissants or even bagels. It’s truly up to you and it depends on what you’re feeling in the mood to eat.
While this recipe calls for parmesan, mozzarella, and tomatoes as the star ingredients, you can also create more savoriness by adding bacon, kale, spinach, chicken or other cheeses if your heart desires. It’s truly up to you!
To make ahead, follow all of the assembly steps and instead of adding it to the oven to bake, you’ll simply wrap your baking dish well and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours before removing it the next day and letting it sit at room temp for at least 20 minutes and then baking it.
Hands on time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
For Strata:
2 cups almond milk, at room temperature. You can also use whole milk, if preferred.
10 large organic eggs, at room temp. (I use Organic Valley)
10-12 biscuits, store-bought or homemade (For store-bought, that's about 2-3 cans)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon lightly packed organic brown sugar
2 cups organic shredded mozzarella cheese (I use Organic Valley)
1 cup organic grated parmesan cheese
For tomatoes:
4-5 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper to taste
Instructions
Lightly grease a medium baking dish (9 x 13) with butter or cooking spray and pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, in a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and salt, tossing them until tender and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, parmesan cheese and herbs and seasonings.
Add your biscuits pieces into the baking dish and spread around evenly. Followed this with: sautéed tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and half of the egg mixture. Add the remaining biscuits on top and the other ingredients in the same order. Top again with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Bake casserole for 30 minutes while loosely covered with foil, then remove foil and continue baking for the remaining 30 minutes, until edges are golden brown (or slightly dark brown, if preferred) and the center is set.
Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.