This easy dish eats all your leftovers
This casserole is a triple threat: It cuts waste, gets breakfast on the table, and comes together the night before
Hey gang, and welcome back to Cool Beans, leftovers edition! If you ask any food waste expert how to stave off chucking a buncha grub post-holiday, they’ll tell you a couple things. First is to not overbuy to begin with. Second is to have a plan for your extras from the get-go. Seasonal cooking leaves our fridges packed with random bits and bobs.
There are plenty of recipes that will eat up one or two items—say extra greens in a pasta or excess mashed taters in a fritter—but we wondered if there wasn’t one leftover dish to rule them all that was something other than a sandwich. The answer is “Yes! At breakfast.” (You already know we’re all about taking shortcuts to deliciousness this year.) Today’s recipe gives a second life to almost anything, including those stale baguette butts or dinner rolls. It’s perfect for lazy weekends, but looks fancy enough to serve guests for brunch the morning after.
Brunch for a bunch
Breakfast casserole for me conjures up images of a heavy sausage and cheese version my mom makes for Christmas morning every year. But, when you think of it more like a savory bread pudding, a breakfast casserole becomes an ideal dumping ground for just about any ingredient, and it’s nearly impossible to mess up. It’s more of a formula than a recipe, and once you commit it to memory, you’ll never make eggs to order for a houseful of groggy guests again. It can be as minimal or maximalist as you want, but if you’ve got eggs, milk, and bread, you’re already halfway there.
The math for this dish—a strata, if you’re feelin’ fancy—is simple:
12 eggs + 4 cups bread + 1½ cups milk + 3 cups leftover veggies and/or protein = brunch
You can also spruce it up with any leftover herbs, spices, and sauces; pesto, chimichurri, or romesco all work wonderfully. For the bread, reach for any carby vehicle you have lying around, like sourdough, brioche, bagels, croissants, or ciabatta. The day-old stuff actually works better, because it’s less likely to turn to mush. For the add-ins, any cooked veggie, spud, or squash goes right on in, alongside proteins like that turkey or holiday ham. Strata is also a great place to stash any lingering cheeses from that charcuterie board. Best of all, breakfast casseroles are make-ahead friendly. Know what that means? We’re all sleeping in!
Normally, this is about where you’d hit the paywall if you’re a free Cool Beans subscriber. But it’s the holidays, so we’re making this recipe available to everyone for a limited time. If you dig it, consider an upgrade.
Zero-Waste Breakfast Casserole
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
4 cups leftover bread, torn into 1-inch pieces*
12 large eggs
1½ cups nondairy milk
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons leftover sauce, like pesto or romesco (optional)
2 to 3 cups leftover vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces if needed
1 to 2 cups leftover protein, cut into bite-sized pieces if needed (optional)
½ cup cheese (optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (optional)
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4-quart baking dish with nonstick spray, and arrange bread in the bottom of the dish.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk until combined. If adding leftover sauce, whisk it in with the eggs. Add whatever veggies, protein, cheese, and herbs you’re using and stir.
Pour egg mixture over the bread, making sure it’s distributed evenly in the pan. If you’re making the strata ahead of time, cover it up and store it in the fridge for up to three days. When ready to bake, preheat the oven and proceed to step 4.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the casserole is set in the middle. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into lasagna-like squares.
Notes and Substitutions:
If you don’t have any stale bread, just leave a few slices out on the counter for a few hours or put them in the oven at 200 degrees F to dry out for about 10 minutes.
The amounts for veggies and protein are forgiving, but shoot for around 3 cups total between the two—leaning more heavily on the veggies, if possible.