A good strata scratches two itches, because it’s basically mash-up of a casserole and stuffing. Sausage strata is my favorite, and it works with basically any sort of sausage you have available. In fact, treat this recipe as a master recipe, where you can mix and match depending on what you like and what you have handy.

A strata is a cousin of bread pudding in that it, like dressing or stuffing, relies on stale or even hardened bread. It’s always savory, and the ratio of milk or cream and eggs is a little different from a proper bread pudding.

The difference between strata and a dressing (or stuffing) is that egg-and-cream binder. A few dressing recipes have eggs to bind them, but rarely the sort of custardy mix you see in quiches and bread puddings.

Another fun fact with strata is that it requires a bit of soaking time, even overnight. Traditionally, you’d throw together the casserole in the evening, pack it into a greased dish, then let it sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you bake it and voila! A hearty breakfast with fairly little effort.

Sausage Strata Basics

What sort of sausage you use for sausage strata depends on when you serve it. If you’re doing the breakfast thing, then by all means use a breakfast sausage heavy with sage, black pepper and maybe maple syrup.

If you serve it for lunch or dinner, anything goes. I used a venison Italian sausage in the pictures, but bratwurst, a simple Spanish butifarra, or even a Texas hot link sausage would all be fun.

Pork, beef, venison, turkey all are fine choices.

You’ll want to use either uncased sausage, or you’ll need to remove the casings.

The rest

As for what else goes in a sausage strata, that’s kind of up to you. But I really like adding mushrooms and greens. Sun-dried tomatoes would be another good choice, as would roasted red peppers, or, if you want to go Southwest, roasted green chiles.

Basically you’re looking to liven up the otherwise stodgy combination of bread, cheese, and meat.

I used some frozen lambsquarters I had, but any green will work — chard, kale, spinach, turnip greens, etc. Maybe collards would be too tough, but even then you could cook them separately and add the collards to the strata.

Whatever you add, it should be almost ready to go when you put it in the strata, because the baking process mostly just sets and melds the flavors.

Serving and Storing Strata

I typically serve a sausage strata as a whole meal. After all, it has starch, protein and vegetables already in it. But you could serve the strata alongside a plate of bacon (always welcome) at a breakfast table, or with a salad in the evening, or as a backstop to a light soup.

Once baked, strata will keep a week, covered, in the fridge. In fact, I think it’s better reheated. You can reheat the whole casserole dish, or wrap a portion in foil and reheat. I prefer a 300-degree oven for about 30 minutes to do this.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.