Overnight Sausage and Mushroom Strata
Updated December 16, 2025
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi. Prop Stylist: Marina Bevilacqua
- Ready In
- 1 hr 20 min, plus overnight resting
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
Unsalted butter, as needed
12 ounces rustic white or sourdough bread, cut into 1½-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
12 ounces bulk breakfast sausage
8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
1 medium red onion, chopped
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
8 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
½ cup thinly sliced chives, plus more for garnish
2 cups shredded Cheddar (8 ounces)
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 to 10 servings)
24 grams carbs; 206 milligrams cholesterol; 400 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 25 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 684 milligrams sodium; 21 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add the bread to the pan.
- Step 2
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up into bite-size pieces, until browned and nicely cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage to the baking dish, leaving about 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan (if there isn’t any fat left in the pan, add another tablespoon of butter).
- Step 3
Add the mushrooms and onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their liquid and brown, about 15 minutes (if needed, add a splash of water to the pan and scrape to release any browned bits). Season with salt and pepper, then add the veggies to the baking dish with the bread and sausage.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, chives, ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Pour the custard into the pan and stir gently so the mix-ins and custard are evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Step 5
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees and uncover the dish. Stir gently, then sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake until cooked though and golden on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with more chives and serve warm.
Private Notes
Comments
@KAJones I completely agree with you. Whenever a sheet pan or other recipe states to toss in oil in the pan, I ignore it and just pull out my trusty large bowl. I think they are trying to save you from getting another item dirty. However, when you toss on a sheet pan you never get everything evenly coated with oil or added spices. One more step in a bowl makes it easier to handle all the items and get even coverage. Just do it!
@Barista I don't know why they'd have you mix the ingredients in the 9x13 in the first place. It's like those sheet pan recipes where you're supposed to toss the various ingredients in oil on the sheet pan, which for me always results in things going on the floor.
This is a redux of Tahoe Brunch from the 70s California Heritage, the Pasadena CA Junior League Cookbook. I've made it for decades and it's flawless. I will say that after sitting in the fridge overnight, the contents are so cold that it takes over an hour to bake up to the right temp. I suggest taking it out of the fridge an hour early to bring it to room temp, but still be prepared for it to take longer to bake. Works well with a good gluten free bread (not one that is super dense/heavy), too.
Deeeelicious! But there is no way this finishes cooking in 35 minutes after a night in the fridge. Per suggestions-- thank you, fellow cooks!-- I took it out of the fridge for about 40 minutes before baking, and even set it on top of the stove while the oven was preheating to speed the return to room temp, but it still took 50 minutes to cook through. That said, it was great! I subbed: 2 c. 2% milk, and 3 egg whites (I had leftover) + 6 whole eggs, and it was still hearty and delicious.
Made this for guests brunch and everyone enjoyed it. No complaints and made pretty much as instructed except used the entire pound of sausage so I wasn't stuck with 4 oz. The additional sausage was totally fine. Used sourdough as the bread choice. Wiil definitely make again for sure.
Was not happy with this, I'm sticking to my old strata recipe. The bread came out gloppy, the taste wasn't interesting, I had to add hot sauce to make it worth eating.