Classic Make ahead Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata

Updated January 9, 2025

By Rebecca St. Clair

The easy make ahead Canadian bacon breakfast strata is full of rich ingredients and is a fan favourite that always brings everyone to the table. Packed with savoury peameal bacon, cheesy eggs, and a hint of spice, this breakfast casserole has it all!

This breakfast strata is our favourite go-to recipe for Christmas morning. To be honest, I think my husband looks forward to eating this for breakfast more than any other food on Christmas day!

The warm soft casserole is topped with a generous dusting of crisp and crunchy toasted cereal for the perfect balance of flavour and texture.

This make ahead breakfast strata is the perfect special occasion meal. All the prep is done the day before, so on the day of, you simply have to pop it in the oven and enjoy!

What type of bread to use for Make Ahead Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata

The type of bread used for Make Ahead Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata is important. This isn’t the time when you want to throw just any grocery store sandwich bread in there. The key to a perfect breakfast strata is making sure you have a relatively dry bread.

The bread needs to be able to soak up all the liquid from the egg custard. So, actually, day old bread, that has started to dry out, is the perfect choice! Making this one of my favourite ways to use up any of the bread I have that has started to go stale!

Since the bread makes up the bulk of this recipe, it is fun to experiment with different types and flavours of bread. Crusty sourdough and French baguettes are always a classic choice to make this casserole.

Experiment with types of bread that might be starting to go stale like Croissants, brioche, cheese bread, brown bread, pumpernickel, and rye bread. These will add a beautiful depth of flavour and texture to the normal recipe!

Can you freeze Make Ahead Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata?

Absolutely! You can make this breakfast strata ahead of time and freeze either baked or unbaked.

Freezing the baked version will be a little dryer as you will need to heat it twice.

To freeze an unbaked Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata

• Cover the casserole completely with plastic wrap or store the mixture in a freezer bag or airtight container.
• Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To freeze a baked Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata

• Allow the casserole to cool to room temperature.
• Cover completely with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container.
• Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating a Canadian bacon breakfast strata from frozen

• Cover with tin foil. This will keep in as much moisture as possible and will prevent the tops of the bread from over baking.
• Bake in a preheated 325 ºF (160 ºC) oven for 20 minutes or until the centre is heated through.

How to prevent a SOGGY Canadian bacon breakfast strata

A common problem when making strata is the dreaded SOGGY BOTTOM!

To prevent your Canadian bacon breakfast strata from suffering this fate,

• Choose the right type of bread. Choose dried out thick chunks or slices of bread. If needed, you can dry out bread by cutting or ripping it into smaller pieces the day before. If you are in a time crunch, place the bread on a tray in a low oven until it has dried. Even better, use bread that has started to go a little stale.
• Not cooking the casserole long enough. The egg custard may not be fully cooked yet. Try keeping the casserole in the oven for another 15 minutes. This will help solidify a partially baked filling.
• Too much liquid. You may need to reduce the milk in the recipe.

How to make a Canadian Bacon Breakfast Strata

Ingredients

1 medium loaf of day-old crusty French bread (or bread of choice) 600 g

½ lb (or 8-10) slices peameal bacon/Canadian bacon 454 g

3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded 200 g

8 eggs

1 teaspoon salt 5 g

½ teaspoon pepper 2 g

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder 5 g

3 cups milk 750 ml

½ teaspoon dry chili flakes 2 g

¼ cup melted butter 60 ml

2 cups Corn Flakes cereal 50 g

Method

1. Grease a 9×13 inch (3.5 L rectangular) casserole dish.
2. Layer the bottom of the dish with half of the bread, either ripped or sliced.
3. Arrange slices of peameal/Canadian bacon on top of the bread layer.

4. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.

5. Top with the remaining bread. It should be completely covered in the bread layer.

6. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, salt and pepper, mustard powder, chili flakes, and milk until everything is well combined.

7. Slowly, and evenly, pour the mixture over the casserole. It will start to absorb into the bread.

8. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 6 hours. This will allow the egg mixture to absorb into the bread.

The next morning

1. Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).
2. Sprinkle the cereal over top of the casserole (I crush it a little in my hands as I sprinkle it on top)
3. Pour the melted butter, evenly, overtop of the crust.
4. Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until completely set and the crust is toasted.
5. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

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