This make ahead healthy breakfast casserole is flavorful, cheesy, packed with protein and much lighter than traditional breakfast casseroles. Perfect for brunch and serving a crowd!Â
Just in case you needed a reminder… Mother’s Day is this weekend!! Yup, it’s officially time to mark your calendar and start planning something special. If breakfast in bed or brunch is on your agenda, I have the perfect healthy breakfast casserole filled with eggy, cheesy goodness for you.
It’s easy peasy, can be made ahead of time and is sure to delight mom.
The idea for this dish started over Easter. We spent the weekend with Alyssa and her family at their house in North Carolina. Her mom had sausage strata planned for Easter brunch so Alyssa and I helped make them the night before. We made two, one with regular bread and one with gluten-free bread.
I’ve made baked egg dishes before, but never a strata so I was intrigued and excited to try it. We let the casseroles sit in the fridge overnight and then baked them up the next morning after church. I had the gluten-free version and holy moly, it was so good! Since Easter I’ve been wanting to make a version to share with you all and decided now would be the perfect time given Mother’s Day is this weekend.
I’m a big fan of egg dishes in general, but I love the little bread chunks in this type of strata — especially the pieces on top that stick out of the egg mixture and get a little toasted and crunchy. You know how I feel about crunchy things!! <3
I used this easy sausage strata recipe as a guide and came up with a healthy vegetarian and gluten-free version that tastes amazing! To keep this casserole on the lighter side, I used Almond Breeze almond milk (only 30 calories per cup!) and a blend of cottage cheese and feta instead of the traditional cheddar cheese. Both feta and cottage cheese are lower in calories and fat when compared to cheddar and feta has a robust flavor so it’s easy to use less while still getting lots of flavor.
And just in case you’re not a huge cottage cheese fan, I feel the need to mention that you CAN NOT taste or tell that cottage cheese is used in this casserole — promise!
Of course I added some fresh veggies (broccoli, onion, garlic and parsley) to boost the flavor and give the casserole a little color.
As I mentioned, this recipe perfect for serving multiple people because you prepare it ahead of time — one hour to 24 hours in advance. This allows the egg mixture to soak into the bread and it gives you time to hang out with company rather than spending all morning in the kitchen prepping breakfast. I don’t know about you, but I love recipes like this when I’m hosting a meal!
So there you have it, your Mother’s Day breakfast is planned. Grab the ingredients this week and surprise your special lady with this healthy breakfast casserole! I highly recommend pairing it with this mixed berry fruit salad for a colorful and delicious meal.
This make ahead healthy breakfast casserole is flavorful, cheesy, packed with protein and much lighter than traditional breakfast casseroles. Perfect for brunch and serving a crowd!
1–2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped into bite-size florets
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
6 slices of gluten-free bread, chopped into cubes*
Instructions
Combine all ingredients except bread in a large bowl. Toss to combine
Add bread cubes into a lightly greased 9×13 rectangular baking dish.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours or overnight.
Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°.
Bake about 50 minutes, or until the middle of the casserole is no longer jiggly and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
*Feel free to use your favorite bread. If you do go with regular bread, you can probably do 4-5 slices instead of six. I’ve found that gluten-free slices are smaller than traditional slices.
*searched for healthy breakfast casserole* I Happen upon this one that claims healthy but covered in white bread… which is the embodiment of most peoples health struggles. If you’re not white flour and or carb intolerant then sure. But dont cover it in wonderbread and say its healthy *heavy eye roll*
Hey Hannah – You definitely don’t have to use the bread in this recipe if you prefer not to. Someone else let me know they omitted the bread and it turned out for them.
This was so yummy. I tweaked a bit. I did not have broccoli so I used a half of a small zucchini shredded in my vita mix and I added about six chopped grape tomatoes for the red color and vitamins, and about a quarter cup of chopped bell pepper, and wait for it……. 1/2 block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese Whipped.Added a tiny sprinkling of mozzarella on top. So yummy! That tiny bit of cream cheese gave it a bang.
This looks so good! Have you tried having it reheated, like to meal prep for the whole week for breakfast? I’m curious if it gets that rubbery reheated egg texture?
I’m not super picky about reheating things so I’ve reheated it in the microwave (with a damp paper towel on top) and thought it was fine. That said, I think your best bet would be to reheat it in the oven or a toaster oven set at 350°.
This looked so good, so I made it last night for this morning. Neither my husband nor I thought it had ANY FLAVOR! It needs something else,jbut don’t know what. I followed the recipe exactly and by all the ingredients looked healthy and flavorful. I’ve always liked your recipes, but this one did not meet expectations. Will not make again.
Hi Cathy. I’m so sorry that you didn’t like this recipe. Did you add the garlic, onion, broccoli, fresh parsley, cottage cheese and feta? I feel like it has plenty of flavor with all those things. Did you use gluten-free bread?
I used 3/4 cup egg whites to sub for 4 eggs, added crushed red peppers and omitted the bread. I cut in 8 squares and we had them all week for breakfast on the go. I will try spinach next. Love spinach
I’m all about the egg dishes when it comes to brunch. Of course I like something sweet too, but most of my plate is covered in eggs. This casserole looks so good, love that you used feta and cottage cheese and Blue Diamond Almondmilk is my favorite dairy free replacement!
Me too!! I love my eggs spicy with hot sauce along with something sweet (like fruit) on the side. I didn’t put any hot sauce in the photos, but I definitely added some when I ate this. 🙂
This breakfast casserole really does look amazing. I love hearing how you got the inspiration for it. You’re right this is the perfect time to share it.
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*searched for healthy breakfast casserole* I Happen upon this one that claims healthy but covered in white bread… which is the embodiment of most peoples health struggles. If you’re not white flour and or carb intolerant then sure. But dont cover it in wonderbread and say its healthy *heavy eye roll*
★★★
Hey Hannah – You definitely don’t have to use the bread in this recipe if you prefer not to. Someone else let me know they omitted the bread and it turned out for them.
This was so yummy. I tweaked a bit. I did not have broccoli so I used a half of a small zucchini shredded in my vita mix and I added about six chopped grape tomatoes for the red color and vitamins, and about a quarter cup of chopped bell pepper, and wait for it……. 1/2 block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese Whipped.Added a tiny sprinkling of mozzarella on top. So yummy! That tiny bit of cream cheese gave it a bang.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Mitzi. Thanks for trying this recipe and for coming back to leave a comment. I so appreciate it. <3
I thought this was delicious and so healthy! Thanks for sharing! I plan on making it again this week.
★★★★★
Do you recommend keeping the dish covered while it’s cooking? Or to take the tinfoil off when it comes out of the fridge?
Good question! I recommend taking the foil off and baking it uncovered. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you!
This looks so good! Have you tried having it reheated, like to meal prep for the whole week for breakfast? I’m curious if it gets that rubbery reheated egg texture?
Thank you!
I’m not super picky about reheating things so I’ve reheated it in the microwave (with a damp paper towel on top) and thought it was fine. That said, I think your best bet would be to reheat it in the oven or a toaster oven set at 350°.
This looked so good, so I made it last night for this morning. Neither my husband nor I thought it had ANY FLAVOR! It needs something else,jbut don’t know what. I followed the recipe exactly and by all the ingredients looked healthy and flavorful. I’ve always liked your recipes, but this one did not meet expectations. Will not make again.
Hi Cathy. I’m so sorry that you didn’t like this recipe. Did you add the garlic, onion, broccoli, fresh parsley, cottage cheese and feta? I feel like it has plenty of flavor with all those things. Did you use gluten-free bread?
I used 3/4 cup egg whites to sub for 4 eggs, added crushed red peppers and omitted the bread. I cut in 8 squares and we had them all week for breakfast on the go. I will try spinach next. Love spinach
I’m all about the egg dishes when it comes to brunch. Of course I like something sweet too, but most of my plate is covered in eggs. This casserole looks so good, love that you used feta and cottage cheese and Blue Diamond Almondmilk is my favorite dairy free replacement!
Me too!! I love my eggs spicy with hot sauce along with something sweet (like fruit) on the side. I didn’t put any hot sauce in the photos, but I definitely added some when I ate this. 🙂
This breakfast casserole really does look amazing. I love hearing how you got the inspiration for it. You’re right this is the perfect time to share it.
Thanks Katie. I always like reading where recipe bloggers get their inspiration from too. It’s fascinating.
Brittany, we had stratas Easter morning too–so good. I love your version here and this mom would be so happy to have this on Sunday 🙂
Stratas for the win! They’re such an easy option for holiday brunch.
This looks delicious, Brittany. I need a little crunch in my meals too!
Thank you Jessie! Crunchy foods are the best. 🙂
Looks great! I’m not a broccoli fan. Any other subs that you’d suggest to keep this healthy?
Hey Allison! Any green veggie would work great, but I’d recommend something like chopped asparagus or baby spinach. Hope this helps.
Love that you use almond milk for this recipe and it is gluten free. Perfect for Mother’s Day since you can make it the day before. Yum
Thanks Lauren. The almond milk works perfectly in this recipe!