My friend Nola spends her time flitting between her home here in Florida, up to Connecticut where her Mom and brother reside and out to Colorado, to see her sister, Karen and a bevy of friends. I am the lucky recipient of her travels!
From her trips to the Northeast, she’s brought back fresh, handmade kielbasa, artisanal maple syrup and whole yellow peas – which I can’t find in South Florida. From Colorado, I’ve received spicy, rich hot chocolate, spiked with cayenne and a jar of Tequila Jalapeño Deliciousness. But by far, my favorite regional specialty was the bushel of fire roasted hatch chilies that we split!
You’ve seen those hatch chilies in several incarnations on this site. There was that spicy pork chili, the savory cornbread stuffing, the buffalo sliders with a spiked aioli and of course that sweet and spicy bread.
I’ve still got two bags in my freezer, so here’s another one: Hatch Chile Breakfast Strata. It was only a matter of time before they snuck into the a.m. hours, right?
Strata’s are great for their ease and portability. They feed a crowd and the fact that you make them the night before make them excellent for entertaining. Whenever I’m having company for the weekend or hosting a brunch — STRATA!
For this one, I used a combination of peeled and roasted hatch chiles (if you don’t have access to hatch chiles, you can use any mild green chile), sautéed sweet bell pepper and onion and two kinds of cheese.
Then, I invited the whole family (and Nola) over for brunch! We poured bellinis and mimosas and everyone dug into the savory casserole. Extra garnishes of black olives, chopped fresh tomato, red onion, sour cream, fresh cilantro and salsa verde added another layer of flavor. It’s SOOOOO dang good!
The edges of this casserole bake up to a crispy finish while the interior is soft and pillowy. The chiles add a mild tingle and the cheesy topping is predictably irresistible.
We included a rash of applewood smoked bacon, a fruit salad and coffee cake to go along with our main course — wow! This is the WAY TO WEEKEND!
More make ahead breakfast and brunch recipes:
- Ham Mushroom and Leek Quiche
- Overnight Stuffed Bread Strata
- Chorizo Egg Bake
- Overnight Baked French Toast with Sausage and Cranberries
- Bacon and Caramelized Onion Strata
- Grandmother’s Puffs
- Spinach and Mushroom Strata
Hatch Chile Breakfast Strata
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 cups country bread stale, diced into 3/4″ cubes
- 1 ½ cups hatch chilies fire roasted, peeled seeded and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 eggs
- 3 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon + 1 pinch kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper freshly ground
- 2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
DIRECTIONS:
- Spray a large 13 x 9 x 2″ casserole dish with vegetable spray and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the diced bell peppers and onions, sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. Saute the vegetables until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the diced hatch chilies and continue to saute until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. In a large bowl combine the eggs, remaining kosher salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs, then add the milk and whisk to combine.
- Layer the casserole: Add the bread cubes to the casserole dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle with one cup each of the monterey jack and cheddar cheeses. Sprinkle the peppers in an even layer over the cheeses. Pour the egg mixture over the peppers and sprinkle on the remaining cup of monterey jack and half cup of cheddar. Lightly press the contents into the egg mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350° and bake the strata uncovered for 45-55 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.
I did this using cornbread cubes (I made cornbread according the recipe on the cornmeal package. Not necessary to put any sugar in the mix- corn is sweet naturally). I assume you are using Big Jim chiles. They are the most mild of all the NM chiles with about 2500 Scoville Units. I prefer Sandia chiles that are 5000-7000 Scoville Units, which is hot as the hottest Jalapenos.
Thankfully I always have “food saver” hatch green chili’s in the freezer. I added my husband’s homemade chorizo sausage and mixed all ingredients together. It was beyond delicious!
Great minds think alike, Melinda! I also keep a stash of “food saver” hatch green chiles in the freezer. Would love to try your husband’s homemade chorizo! So glad you liked the strata!
I made this for a brunch party this weekend. It was so delicious and baked beautifully. I forgot to prepare the pan before putting in the ingredients, but there was no difficulty getting the strata out of the dish. I had a few leftover potatoes that I tossed onto the top as well. The roasted hatch chiles were pretty hot and it was perfect. I served it with sour cream, cilantro, guacamole, tomatoes, scallions AND grapefruit margaritas.
Grapefruit Margaritas??? Sign me up! That sounds awesome! So glad you enjoyed the strata!
Looks delicious and easy to make!
Hmmm delicious!!
This breakfast looks delicious! Perfect way to start the day!
I love, love, love anything with hatch chilies, especially at breakfast time! This bake looks delicious. It would be a nice addition to brunch. Mmm!
Absolutely! My family inhaled it!
I absolutely love this recipe, we love using leftover bread this way too! The roasted chillies must be sooo good in this, fantastic recipe!
Thanks, Azlin!!
Great brunch idea! Hatch chilies are are such a wonderful addition to strata- especially on the first day of October!
Thank you – it’s the chilies that make this one special.
OMG this looks absolutely AMAZING!
Definitely would do it!
Thanks, Remly! Let me know how you enjoy it!
OMG Lisa that looks absolutely delicious! I can imagine the flavour from the hatch chillies, seeping through every nook and corner! Pinning this for later!
When “later” comes, invite me!
Love your recipes. This looks amazing!
I love the idea of making this kind of breakfast casserole! Looks so yummy – those chiles look like they have so much flavour.
These kinds of casseroles make it easy to entertain, too! Hatch chilies are the BEST!
This is a wonderful sunday brunch recipe !! Will save it 🙂
Thank you, Soniya! My family and friends really enjoyed it!
Yum! Such a great use of hatch chilies! Definitely the perfect way to start the day.