Vegan Overnight Breakfast Casserole (Strata)
When I need a breakfast to feed a crowd but don’t have time to cook all morning, this vegan breakfast strata casserole is the recipe I turn to! Cubed baguette is tossed with a cheesy plant-based bacon sauce, topped with grape tomatoes, and baked until crispy on the top and tender in the middle. Even the omnivores at the table will be roaring for seconds!
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This is the third installment in our vegan breakfast casserole series, so we’re basically breakfast bake experts by now, right?!
I’d like to think so at least. 🙂
I’ve tested this vegan strata bake about a hundred times before getting it *just* right which is why I’m leaping for joy to finally share it with you today!
The next time you have guests coming over, my hope is that you’ll be able to pull this one out of your back pocket to make a breakfast everyone will love without all the stress that comes with waking up early to cook breakfast for a crowd.
It’s a vegan version of this Overnight Breakfast Casserole from Campbell’s, but no one will be able to tell the difference!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Egg Casserole:
- Convenient. Do all the work ahead of time, so you can actually enjoy brunch with your guests! Or make it for meal prep and spoil yourself with delicious breakfasts all week long!
- Versatile. Add some mushrooms, bell peppers, green onions, or fresh herbs if that’s you’re jam. Swap the creamy vegan mozzarella for a spicy pepper jack style. There are a million ways you can mix it up to fit your personal tastes!
- Pure comfort food. Whether it’s Christmas morning or just a lazy Sunday on the couch, this recipe is like diving into a big warm bready, bacony hug!
Vegan Strata Ingredients
This vegan overnight breakfast casserole is technically a vegan version of the popular strata. Strata traditionally includes bread, cheese, meat, and vegetables drenched in an egg mixture and left to sit in the fridge overnight before baking.
Our vegan strata will use a few key ingredients to keep this recipe egg-free and dairy-free, but you won’t be able to tell by the taste!
Here, we’ll detail the ingredients you’ll need along with some notes to make sure you achieve the best results. You can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
You’ll need:
- Baguette – Diced into 1/2 inch cubes. Most baguettes are made with water and completely vegan, but it never hurts to ask/check with the bakery staff if you’re unsure!
- Vegan bacon – Cooked and crumbled. We like the plant-based bacon from Litelife for this recipe. You can also use our rice paper bacon recipe!
- Vegan Condensed Cream of Bacon Soup – We used our homemade cream of bacon substitute! See the section below for more options.
- JUST Egg – This is a vegan egg substitute you can find at most grocery stores. T wrote a whole JUST Egg Guide on this ingredient (and how he finds it at a discount!)
- Plain unsweetened plant milk – Make sure the milk you use is both plain AND unsweetened with as few ingredients as possible. This will help you avoid a weird sweet taste to your casserole. I highly recommend the unsweetened line of non-dairy milks from Elmhurst!
- Shredded vegan mozzarella cheese – We like Vevan for the best melt! Other favorites include Violife, Follow Your Heart, and Daiya.
- Vegan egg seasoning – You can use our homemade tofu scramble seasoning or there are a lot of store-bought tofu scramble seasonings out there. Trader Joe’s makes one too!
- Grape tomatoes – halved
Substitution Options
If you need a substitute for one of the ingredients in this vegan breakfast casserole recipe, here is our best advice. Remember though, that substituting any ingredient in the recipe can lead to a not always pleasant change in the final product.
For the baguette: You can use any type of bakery bread for this recipe, but keep in mind different bread may absorb liquid at different rates. I would not use sandwich bread.
For the vegan bacon: You can sub leftover seitan ham. Just make sure it’s diced very small! You could potentially switch to vegan breakfast sausage, but that would affect the taste (not necessarily in a bad way).
For the JUST Egg: There are similar products out there you can try! Spero makes a pepita-based liquid vegan egg that’s worth a try if you don’t have access to JUST Egg. There are chickpea flour recipes that act like a JUST Egg copycat, but we haven’t tried them in this recipe yet.
For the plant milk: Feel free to sub a vegan heavy cream from brands like Silk and Califia. You can also use canned coconut milk, but make sure it’s unsweetened. The coconut milk could potentially affect the flavor depending on which brand you use.
For the vegan mozzarella: Feel free to replace this with any dairy-free cheese you dig! I’d personally stick to a white cheese like a smoked gouda style cheese or pepper jack. The jalapeno havarti block from Daiya would also be fun! I would not use vegan cheddar cheese in this recipe, but that’s mostly a personal preference.
For the vegan egg seasoning: If you don’t have this or don’t want to make it, feel free to sub a mix of kala namak, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, and black pepper.
For the grape tomatoes: Use cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes (rehydrated so they don’t pull liquid from the rest of the casserole), or diced / sliced large tomatoes. Red bell pepper or roasted red peppers could work too!
Condensed Soup Options
We love our Vegan Cream of Bacon in this recipe, but you can probably use any of our vegan condensed soup substitutes.
Our vegan cream of chicken would be nice, the condensed cheddar substitute would add a cheddary vibe, and the vegan cream of potato or cream of mushroom could work too.
How to Make Vegan Breakfast Casserole (Make Ahead)
This meatless and dairy free strata is so easy to put together – no sauteeing required!
Step 1: Prep
I recommend making the vegan cream of bacon at least an hour in advance of assembling the rest of the casserole. Or you can make it as many as 5 days early!
When ready to assemble the strata, spray a 9×9 square glass baking dish and dice the baguette. If you haven’t already, cook and crumble your vegan bacon now too.
Step 2: Assemble the vegan breakfast strata.
Get out a large mixing bowl.
Then, beat the vegan cream of bacon, JUST egg, plant milk, 3/4 cup vegan cheese, and egg seasoning in a large mixing bowl with a whisk.
Add the cubed bread and half the vegan bacon. Stir until combined and pour into the greased dish.
Quick tip: For the best texture, I like to let the mixture sit in the large bowl for 5-10 minutes after the initial stirring. Then, I stir once more before transferring to the casserole dish.
Once in the dish, top the casserole with the remaining vegan bacon, cheese, and tomatoes.
Step 3: Let it set.
Next, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight.
NOTE: You can reduce the chill time to 1 hour before baking if you’re pressed for time, but the texture will be softer.
Step 4: Bake the dairy free strata.
When ready to cook your eggless breakfast casserole, heat the oven to 400°F. Bake in your preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. How easy was that?!
How to Serve Make-Ahead Veggie Breakfast Casserole
Serve this savory breakfast casserole hot alongside some hash browns and a big pile of fresh fruit or whatever brunch sides you love!
If you’re serving it to guests for a holiday breakfast, a sprinkle of freshly minced herbs on top can go a long way to up the impressive factor.
And don’t forget to serve with optional hot sauce! T is a big hot sauce fan, so I always think about that when making breakfast recipes like this!
How to Store Vegan Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Like many casseroles, this vegan and vegetarian strata makes fantastic leftovers!
In the fridge: Store leftover vegan breakfast strata in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
In the freezer: Let the casserole cool completely before freezing. Freeze in an airtight freezer-safe bag or container for up to 12 weeks.
How to reheat: Reheat this vegan make-ahead breakfast casserole at 325-350F in the oven or air fryer until warmed through to the center.
More Vegan Breakfast Casseroles
The breakfast casserole fun doesn’t stop here! Check out more of our brunch-friendly bake recipes:
- Loaded Vegan JUST Egg Casserole (with tater tot crust!)
- Vegan Hash Brown Casserole
I hope you and your family enjoy this plant-based breakfast casserole recipe as much as we have!
When you make it, could you do me a favor? Leave a star rating and review on the recipe below. This goes a long way in helping more people find our recipes, and that’s something we’ll be forever grateful for!
Enjoy and happy brunching!
Vegan Breakfast Strata Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/2 baguette diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup cooked and crumbled vegan bacon
- 1 8-oz. jar Vegan Condensed Cream of Bacon Soup
- 1 12-oz. bottle JUST egg
- 1 cup plain unsweetened plant milk
- 1 cup shredded vegan mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 Tbsp vegan egg seasoning
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
Instructions
- Prep: Spray a 9×9 square glass baking pan and dice the baguette. If you haven’t already, cook and crumble your vegan bacon now too.
- Assemble: Beat the vegan cream of bacon, JUST egg, plant milk, 3/4 cup vegan cheese, and egg seasoning in a large bowl with a whisk. Add the cubed bread and half the vegan bacon. Stir until combined and pour into the greased dish. Top with remaining vegan bacon, cheese, and tomatoes.
- Let it set: Cover the dish tightly and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Cook: When ready to cook, heat the oven to 400°F. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
