Mushroom Spinach and Havarti Strata
Get creative with any of Castello's uniquely crafted cheeses. Click here for a $1 off coupon to create your own gourmet masterpiece.
This is post is sponsored by Castello Cheese on behalf of Honest Cooking. While I have been compensated, my opinion and recipe are my own.
We all need a solid egg bake in our lives to fall back on, right? For me, my go-to lately has been my Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole that I make over and over again with different veggies and meats each time, but I think that's all about to change with this new guy in town. The strata.
The almighty strata takes care of so many problems at the end of a work week/beginning of the weekend. For one: that loaf of bread you had every intention of making sandwiches with for lunch throughout the week. It's okay, take-out got the best of us, too. And second: all of those veggies you meant to eat. I'll admit - I'm a veggie lover and don't have a problem using up all the veggies in my fridge, but I have been known to have a carton or two of mushrooms and an unopened bag of spinach left by the end of the week every now and then. Sometimes meal plans just get thrown out the window for spur of the moment date nights or lazy frozen pizza nights, and that's ok. Strata to the rescue!
Stratas are also great because their heartiness and chunks of bread make them acceptable for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. This one is no exception. Do I have you sold on the resourcefulness of stratas yet?! They're just the best, I'm telling ya.
This Mushroom, Spinach, and Havarti Strata is one of my new favorites. While the ingredients are simple, the flavors work so well together. Fresh mushrooms and baby spinach are the star veggies, which are accompanied by chunks of hearty whole grain bread and creamy Havarti cheese. While I used Castello Dill Havarti, which was outstanding in this dish, you could use any kind of Havarti you like. But seriously, try the dill. I was skeptical but it works so well in this dish.
Ooooh I just remembered another great thing about stratas! They can be made in advance. As in, you make it the night before, so when you wake up on Saturday morning you simply pour yourself a cup (or four) of coffee, throw the strata in the oven, and lounge around until breakfast is ready. No scrambling to whip up the eggs or fry the bacon, you just let the oven do all of the work in the morning. The best.
Get creative with any of Castello's uniquely crafted cheeses. Click here for a $1 off coupon to create your own gourmet masterpiece.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 8 oz white mushrooms cleaned and roughly chopped
- 3 cups tightly packed baby spinach
- 5 cups cubed bread multigrain or French bread work well
- 2 cups Castello Dill Havarti Cheese
- 5 large eggs
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until they begin to soften, 4-5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook another 5-7 minutes, until mushrooms begin to release moisture.
- Add spinach and toss until wilted. Remove from heat.
- Add mushroom mixture to bread, tossing to combine.
- Place in 9x13" baking dish and top with cheese.
- In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, then add milk, dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Pour egg mixture over cheese.
- Refrigerate mixture for 2 hours, or up to overnight, covered.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Bake, uncovered, for 55-65 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Serve and enjoy!
I've been experimenting with a vegan diet for the past week and seeing this is driving me crazy right now! I love EVERYTHING about it!
Sarah, you are crazy 🙂 I could definitely do vegetarian but could never live without my beloved cheese! And butter!