This Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata is one of my favorite breakfast recipes. It’s great for holiday mornings, brunch “dinner” parties, overnight guests, or just a meal-prepped breakfast for the week. Not to mention, it’s pretty easy to put together the night before. I most recently made this for my Family Vacation to the Outer Banks and it was a hit.
One of my first “cooking for a crowd” breakfast recipes was a non-keto egg strata from my aunt when I was about 14. It made frequent appearances for sleepovers and holidays. Unfortunately, an egg strata with bread as a key component did not translate into a keto diet with ease when we started our keto adventure. I am happy to now have a keto-fied variation in my repertoire. I hope you enjoy!
A Word About Keto Bread: To buy it or make your own?
If you’ve been reading along, you’ve likely heard me extol the progression of commercial food science before. One of the many things I like to go on about is that I can now buy keto bread at my local grocery store and don’t have to make it myself. I realize that I might sound like a broken record. However, I unashamedly like convenience foods. Can I make a lot of things from scratch? Sure. Do I want to? No.
Just to be clear, you absolutely can make your own bread, if that’s what you like to do and your Time Budget allows for it. To use it in this recipe, just make sure it has the aforementioned necessary structural integrity. I buy my keto bread from the store.
I have also made my keto bread from scratch and then cubed it, dried it, and used it as an ingredient. However, at that point, what was intended to be a quick, easy, make-in-advance breakfast casserole has turned into a much more involved and time-consuming undertaking. If you want to make your own keto bread, I highly recommend this Keto Cheesy Bread from All Day I Dream About Food.
If you go this route, make the bread as instructed. Allow it to cool, then cut it into roughly 1-inch cubes. Dry them out in the oven following the same instructions as below for the store bought keto bread. Just note that it might take a bit longer than the listed time. Keep an eye on it, so you don’t burn your work. I will say that I absolutely love the texture that this bread gives to the strata.
Regardless of your choice of bread, I strongly suggest trying this Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata for your next brunch party, breakfast meal prep, or planning for overnight guests.
What You Need to Make Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata
Equipment
- Cutting Board – For cubing the keto bread
- Bread Knife –
- 2 Rimmed Baking Sheets – For drying out the bread cubes
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil – For lining the Rimmed Baking Sheets
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber Scraper
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Cooking Spray
- 9 x 13 inch Casserole Dish
- Grater (Optional. Only if you are grating your own cheese.)
Ingredients
- Eggs – I pretty much always use jumbo eggs. If you use large eggs, you may want to add one more egg. It’s not necessary, but you can if you want slightly more volume.
- Heavy Cream
- Dry Mustard
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Keto Bread – Cubed and dried. The keto bread that I use has fairly thinly slices. You could also make your own keto bread if you prefer. One that I have used for this Keto Cheese Bread from All Day I Dream About Food.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – You can either buy pre-shredded cheese from the store or shred your own. If you buy pre-shredded cheese, just be aware that it often contains an anti-caking agent which adds about 1 gram of carbs per ¼ cup of cheese. I use pre-shredded cheese.
- Diced or Cubed Cooked Ham – I buy the 1-pound bag of cubed or diced (whichever is available) ham from the meat section of my local grocery store. Unless, of course, it’s one of the holidays in which we make a whole ham. In those situations, I usually use leftovers. You can also swap out the meat for a pound of something else like cooked and crumbled sausage. I often go with ham, because all I have to do is open the bag and because my mom likes it best.
Getting Started with Making Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata
Making the Bread Cubes
Drying the bread cubes is the one advanced prep step that requires more time than just combining all of the ingredients the night before.
Lori Side Note: You could probably get away without drying the keto bread cubes, but I haven’t tried it since I started using keto bread instead of regular white bread, so I can’t vouch for the texture of the results. If and when I test that out, I’ll update this page with the results.
To get started, cut the keto bread slices into ~1 inch cubes. I use 10 slices of keto bread because the brand that I buy is sliced rather thinly. Lay out the cubes on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and then bake them at 250 degrees F for 20 minutes. Turn them over / give them a toss. Put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Let them cool and then you can store them in a zip top bag on the counter.
I often make these dried bread cubes well in advance and / or in larger batches for use in multiple dishes. As prep work goes, this is actually very minimal active time and can happen in the background while you’re doing anything else.
Assembling the Strata
Assembling the Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata is pretty straightforward and easy to do the night before consumption. There have been many times that I’ve tossed it together quickly after everyone else has gone to bed.
In a large mixing bowl, beat 8 Eggs. Then add in 2 cups Heavy Cream and whisk some more until they are completely combined.
Next add the seasonings into the liquid mixture. This allows for even distribution of the flavors. Whisk in 1.5 teaspoons Dry Mustard, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, and 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper. If you like a little more kick, check out the Recipe Notes for some suggestions on additional seasoning.
Fold in the dried Keto Bread Cubes until they are completely coated in the liquid.
Then stir in 1.5 cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese. You are targeting as even of a distribution as possible.
After that, mix in 1 pound of Cooked Ham that is either diced or cubed. I buy the packages of diced ham in the meat section at my local grocery store. Just drain out any liquid before tossing the ham into the bowl. Again, mix everything together until the ham and cheese are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
Pour the mixture into a very well greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and refrigerate overnight.
Baking the Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata
You’re going to bake this Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata at 350 degrees F. If you have the time to take it out of the fridge ~45 minutes before baking to let it warm up, do so. That is not how mornings with guests work in my house so what I do is the following:
- Take the casserole dish out of the fridge, remove the lid, and place it in the cold oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Let the casserole warm up in the oven as it preheats.
Bake for approximately 1 hour. Check it around 55 minutes to see if the center is cooked through. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean (i.e. not wet with egg). If the strata is not done, continue baking it in 5 minute increments and check after each set to determine doneness.
Serve warm.
You can refrigerate any leftovers.
Related Recipes
If your interested in more recipes in the vein of strata and bread puddings, check out these recipes:
- Sweet
- Savory
Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata
Ingredients
- 10 slices Keto Bread Cubed and dried. The keto bread that I use is fairly thinly sliced.
- 8 Eggs I use jumbo eggs.
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1.5 teaspoons Dry Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- 1 pound Cooked Ham Diced or cubed
Instructions
- Cut 10 slices Keto Bread into ~1 inch cubes, lay on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F for 20 minutes. Turn them over / give them a toss. Put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.10 slices Keto Bread
- In a large mixing bowl, beat 8 Eggs and 2 cups Heavy Cream until completely combined.8 Eggs, 2 cups Heavy Cream
- Whisk in 1.5 teaspoons Dry Mustard, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, and 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper.1.5 teaspoons Dry Mustard, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- Fold in the dried Keto Bread Cubes until they are completely coated.10 slices Keto Bread
- Stir in 1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese (Shredded).1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese
- Fold in 1 pound Cooked Ham (Diced or Cubed) until the ham and cheese are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.1 pound Cooked Ham
- Pour the mixture into a very well greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and refrigerate overnight.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Check the center with a knife to confirm that it is cooked through. If the blade comes out wet, continue baking in 5 minute increments.
- Serve warm.
Equipment
- Bread Knife
- 2 Rimmed Baking Sheets For drying out the bread cubes
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil For lining the Rimmed Baking Sheets
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Cooking Spray
- Grater Optional. Only if you are grating your own cheese.
Notes
- Additional Seasoning
- Depending on my audience, I will also sometimes add ½ teaspoon Chipotle Powder and / or 1 teaspoon Paprika (sweet or smoked).
- Additional Ingredients
- Without changing any of the measurements listed above, I have also added in the following ingredients:
- 2 small Zucchini (Shredded, cooked, and drained)
- 12 ounces Mushrooms (Sliced and sauteed)
- Without changing any of the measurements listed above, I have also added in the following ingredients:
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