Savory Bread Pudding Recipe: How to Make the Simple Strata

Savory bread pudding is a savory take on sweet bread pudding, a casserole made of chunks of crusty day-old bread saturated in a velvety custard and baked until tender on the inside. Savory bread pudding can contain any number of cheeses, meats, and vegetables that suit your palate. The dish is a type of strata, which refers to a family of North American casserole dishes that typically feature eggs, bread, and cheese.

This specific recipe calls for a tasty trio of cheeses, Dijon mustard, fresh herbs, and spinach for a hearty make-ahead dish that you can enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Cooks of all levels will be able to craft a tasty bread pudding successfully. Follow these tips to make the best savory bread pudding possible:

1. 1. Choose the right bread. The bread you use to make the pudding must have a firm, chewy texture to prevent the crusts from getting soggy as you cook the mixture. You can use any crusty, stale bread—including French bread, sourdough, ciabatta, or challah—to make this recipe. Toast your bread in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven for ten to fifteen minutes until it becomes slightly firm if you only have fresh bread on hand.
2. 2. Adjust the dairy. Adjust the milk, cream, and cheeses in this pudding to fit your dietary preferences. Swap the milk and half-and-half for heavy cream for an even richer dish, or use skim milk for a lighter option. Substitute unsweetened non-dairy milk or creamer, like oat milk, for the half-and-half to make a dairy-free dish. You can use just about any combination of creamy and salty cheeses in this savory bread pudding. Some potential additions include goat cheese, mozzarella, fontina, feta, and cheddar cheese.
3. 3. Experiment with additions. Adapt this recipe to incorporate a variety of your favorite veggies, meats, herbs, and spices. Sauté the vegetables of your choice (like asparagus, diced potatoes, leeks, bell peppers, butternut squash, cremini mushrooms, kale, Swiss chard, and yellow onion) in extra-virgin olive oil or unsalted butter before folding them into the bread mixture. Incorporate flavorful herbs like fresh thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Add pre-cooked or cured meats like prosciutto, Italian sausage, and bacon to make the dish saltier and meatier.
4. 4. Give it time to rest. Allowing the bread pudding mixture to rest before you bake it will make it more flavorful. Rest the pudding for at least an hour in the refrigerator before baking it to give the bread time to soak up the custard.
5. 5. Store properly. While you can store this casserole in the refrigerator for up to five days, it will become soggier over time, so it’s best to eat it within three days. Freeze this baked dish by letting it cool off completely, then wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to heat and eat, defrost the bread pudding overnight and reheat it in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about thirty minutes, until it is warm all the way through.