This egg strata with caramelized onions and apples is a perfect holiday worthy brunch or breakfast option that is also gluten free and great for those with dietary restrictions.
Tis the season for making drool worthy holiday meals. Now, dreaming up delicious meals for the holidays can be exhausting and stressful – especially if there are a lot of different dietary restrictions at the table. But brunch meals always feel more manageable and more relaxed, so that’s always where I like to start first.
When I’m in charge of hosting a family brunch or breakfast for the holidays, my typical menu is:
- Green Salad
- Fruit salad
- Yogurt and granola
- Coffee (obvs)
- Bagels & Lox (#Jewishmother)
- Baked french toast
- This epic egg strata
There you go, you’re welcome.
Table of contents
What Is a Strata?
A strata is simply a casserole made predominantly out of eggs and bread, where you can add any veggies, meats, nuts, fruit or other goodies inside. It’s easy to pull off (with whatever you have on hand), and it’s also an inexpensive meal you can enjoy any time of day.
Key Ingredients
The best part of making this vegetarian egeg strata is that there really are no rules. For this cold weather, I like the comfort food combination of apples, caramelized onions and chevre, but you can totally throw in whatever you want. Here’s my current love list to make a solid vegetarian egg strata:
Again, if you don’t have or don’t like some of these ingredients, don’t worry about them! Swap in whatever you have on hand.
Gruyere – Gruyere is a type of swiss cheese that is known for its easily melting and is typically used for fondues. If you don’t have Gruyere on hand, any type of swiss cheese will do.
Bread – We use gluten-free sourdough bread for this recipe, but you can use any bread that you have on hand. Try using whole grain bread to up the fiber content!
Apple – By adding apples into this recipe, not only are we incorporating extra fiber, vitamins, and minerals, it also adds the perfect amount of sweetness to this egg strata.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Add oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, and add in the onions and cook on a medium low heat until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Then stir in the garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook until fragrant.
Step 2: Add in the kale and a pinch each of salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Step 3: In another bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, mustard, apple, 1/4 cup of cheese and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
Step 4: Add in kale and onion mixture and combine.
Step 5: Arrange bread into a casserole dish.
Step 6: Top with the milk and egg mixture. Finish with the remaining gruyere and chevre.
Expert Tips
I’ve made a lot of egg strata’s in my day, and here’s what I’ve learned.
- Use day old bread if you can! It will soak up the egg better and not get soggy
- Put the cheese into the casserole and on top!
- Let the strata rest for 5-10 minutes before you cut and serve it.
I also like to cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight. This is why this vegetarian egg strata is sooooo amazing for entertaining – because all of the work can happen the day before! An hour before guests arrive, I preheat my oven and bake it off until golden brown and voila! Done.
While we love to use gruyere in this recipe for its super melty consistency and nutty flavour, some vegetarians may wish to avoid this option as gruyere has rennet which technically makes it non-vegetarian. Swiss cheese, on the other hand, is a great fully vegetarian friendly option and is just as delicious!
Recipe FAQs
The only ingredient with gluten in this vegetarian egg strata is the bread, so if you don’t have any gluten free guests, then definitely use regular sourdough bread. I also really do love the flavour of sourdough but if you have another tasty bread at your house, go with that.
Totally! You can add whatever veggies or cheese you want, and if you don’t want it to be vegetarian, you can also add in some breakfast sausage, bacon or leftover chicken.
I recommend prepping it the day before and then baking it off an hour before guests arrive. However, you can bake it the day before or at home and then just reheat it at 250 F for 20 minutes until warm.
More Holiday Worthy Brunch Recipes
Gluten Free Orange Berry Dutch Baby
Vegan Breakfast Sausage with Maple and Apple
Pistachio Crusted Vegan French Toast with Tahini and Figs
Berry Buckwheat Crepes with Avocado Chocolate Mousse
What will you be making for the holidays this year? Have you tried making an egg strata before? Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!
Egg Strata with Apples & Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp minced fresh sage
- 1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
- 2 cups baby kale sliced
- Pinch each of salt pepper and nutmeg
- 1 red apple diced
- 8 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups 1% or 2% milk
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Pinch each of salt and pepper
- 5 cups gluten free sourdough bread diced
- 3/4 cup swiss or gruyere cheese grated and divided
- 2 tbsp chevre
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9×13 inch casserole or gratin dish.
- Add the oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, and add in the onions and cook on a medium low heat until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Then stir in the garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook until fragrant. Add in the kale and a pinch each of salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- In another bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, mustard, apple, 1/4 cup of gruyere cheese and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add in kale and onion mixture and combine.
- Arrange the Promise gluten free sourdough bread into a casserole dish, and top with the milk and egg mixture. Finish with the remaining gruyere and chevre. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Bake uncovered for 45-50 min or until golden brown.
Notes
- Use day old bread if you can! It will soak up the egg better and not get soggy
- Put the cheese into the casserole and on top!
- Let the strata rest for 5-10 minutes before you cut and serve it.
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Tess says
This was delicious! I cooked it in advance and froze it. It was delicious after reheating in the morning before work:)
Tora says
This looks awesome, but you might want to consider removing the vegetarian label, or add a disclaimer for the people that are unaware of gruyere not being vegetarian due to rennet. Just so noone accidently feeds it to a veggie friend xx
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks for letting us know! We’ll be making those changes 🙂
lisa says
do you really cook the onions 30 min?
Abbey Sharp says
Yes it takes 30 mins at low/med heat to caramelize.