Spicy Ham Mushroom Strata

Whether you're serving it for a lazy Sunday brunch, prepping ahead for the week, or feeding a hungry crowd, it's sure to hit the spot. With its make-ahead convenience, flavorful flexibility, and total comfort factor—it’s a dish you’ll return to again and again.

📝 Ingredients

• 21 g unsalted butter
• 113 g mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 2 large jalapeños (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 100 g thick-cut ham (cubed)
• 150 g large eggs (from 3 large-size eggs)
• 45 g sambal oelek (omit if you don't want it spicy. See notes)
• 480 ml whole milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 350 g stale country bread (cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 114 g shredded sharp cheese
• 114 g shredded pepperjack cheese

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Prepare the Mushroom Filling: ---
2. 2Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
3. 3Sauté onion and garlic for about 1 minuts. Add the Jalapeno peppers, mushroom and saute for another 3-5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and no liquid remains
4. 4Add the chili sauce if using and saute for another 30 seconds
5. 5Stir in the cubed ham and make sure all is evenly combined.
6. 6Remove from the heat to let it cool down
7. 7--- Make the Egg Custard: ---
8. 8In a large bowl or large measuring cups, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and Worcestershire sauce.
9. 9--- Assemble the Strata: ---
10. 10Grease a 8 x 8 inch baking dish. I use a metal pan here because that was the pan available to me when I made this dish. I lined with aluminum foil and grease with some oil (for easier removal and to avoid scratching the metal pan when I serving the strata). If you use glass or ceramic dish, this is not necessary
11. 11I highly recommend using a glass/ceramic dish if you have one. Glass and ceramic heat more slowly than metal but retain heat longer and distribute it more evenly, which is perfect for a delicate custard-based dish like strata. Ceramic and glass allow the top of your strata to brown beautifully while the sides stay soft and not overcooked. With a metal pan, the bottom and edges can get too crusty too fast.
12. 12Layer half the bread cubes
13. 13Half the mushroom-ham mix
14. 14Half the shredded cheese and pour in half the custard mixture
15. 15Repeat with remaining bread, mushroom-ham mix, cheese, and custard.
16. 16Top with shredded cheese as the last layer
17. 17--- Rest: ---
18. 18Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours to let the bread soak up the custard and all the great flavor
19. 19--- Bake: ---
20. 20Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C)
21. 21Let strata come to room temperature while the oven preheats.
22. 22Bake 30 minutes (metal pan) or 40 minutes (glass/ceramic) or until center springs back when pressed. The time is just an estimation, you may need more or less, depending on your oven
23. 23--- Cool & Serve: ---
24. 24Let sit 15 minutes before slicing and serving.