With the birth of a new baby inevitably comes a lot of visitors! Everyone wants to meet the new bundle of joy which is absolutely wonderful but I’d be lying if I said hosting non-stop visitors hasn’t been a little overwhelming at times. One thing that has helped alleviate a little bit of the stress that comes along with so many visitors is planning out some of our meals before our friends arrive.
Now that there’s a baby in the picture, I don’t have the desire to go out to eat all the time nor do I have the ability to be as spontaneous with some of our meal-related decisions. Dining out is a lovely treat once in a while, but going out for breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one day is basically asking for a disaster when you have a baby to consider.
Though we’ll definitely take our guests out to eat while they’re in town, breakfast is one meal we often enjoy at the house since it’s easy to prepare and lounging around in pajamas on a Saturday morning seems to sit well with everyone.
Eggs and pancakes are great go-to weekend breakfasts but when we have visitors, it’s nice to be able to serve something that feels a little more special. Like a strata!
I am teaming up with Van’s this year to share a handful of deliciously healthy recipes with you guys and this easy breakfast dish is not only good for you but it’s also gluten-free, easy to prepare and full of flavor.
Most stratas call for bread, but I decided to change things up a bit with this breakfast dish and used Van’s gluten-free whole grain brown rice frozen waffles in place of regular bread to make this dish appealing to one of our weekend visitors who eats a gluten-free diet.
I incorporated chopped onion, green pepper and plenty of breakfast sausage to give the strata a savory flavor that we all loved in our house.
This dish can easily be prepped the night before you want to bake it (the longer it sits the more custard-like the strata will be), but the strata only takes 15 minutes to prepare before it bakes so it’s an easy one to make first think in the morning. Just sit back and enjoy a hot mug of coffee with your family and friends while you wait for it to bake!
Gluten-Free Frozen Waffle Breakfast Strata
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: breakfast, recipes
Description
While a traditional breakfast strata usually calls for bread, this gluten-free version incorporates frozen waffles for a savory breakfast that is both easy to make and delicious to eat.
Ingredients
- 6 Van’s Gluten-Free waffles, toasted and torn apart
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 4 breakfast sausage patties, diced or crumbled (I love al fresco chicken breakfast sausage)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup egg whites (I used egg whites from a carton to make things easier)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 avocado, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray and layer torn waffle pieces on the bottom.
- In a large pan, sauté onion, bell pepper and breakfast sausage in olive oil until onion is translucent and pepper is slightly soft. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, salt and pepper. Add vegetables and sausage and stir to combine.
- Pour egg and sausage mixture over waffles. Press down on mixture so everything soaks into the waffles.
- Place strata in the oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the strata comes out clean.
- Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.
- Top with avocado slices and enjoy!
The beautiful thing about this strata is that you can play around with the ingredients a bit, depending on your personal preferences. If you do not like sausage, try adding chopped Canadian bacon!
I’ve also added mushrooms, feta cheese and spinach to this dish with great success. I’m hoping to play around with the base of this recipe a little more in the future because I have a feeling it could be transformed into a tasty sweet breakfast dish, too, with the help of a little cinnamon, pecans and some maple syrup. Get creative, have fun with this one and enjoy!
Question of the Day
- What is your favorite breakfast to make for out of town visitors?
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Disclaimer: This blog post is sponsored by Van’s. I truly hope you enjoy the recipe and thank you sincerely for your support surrounding sponsored posts. I really appreciate it! Van’s waffles are available at grocery stores, mass merchandisers and natural food retailers nationwide. To find Van’s waffles in a store near you visit their store locator.
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This is genius. Can’t wait to try it!!
This looks delicious!! I usually make cinnamon rolls for out of town guests, but I’ve been trying to make healthy alternatives for my not-so-healthy foods. Thanks for the recipe!
I totally agree……going out used to be fun but with 2 kids in tow, not anymore. We figure to go out to Applebees, it would cost us around $75!!! Babysitters want about 15 an hour (and yes, I know kids are hard work!!!) and then you’re meal costs a lot. So much better just cooking at home. And taking the kids, no thanks, they spill their drinks all over the floor and I feel so guilty about the server having to clean it all up, even though that’s why we went out in the first place. I LOVE breakfast at home and this wonderful recipe. It’s usually the cheapest meal of the day to make too! Not worth going out for.
Breakfast at home is always the best! All you really need is two of my favorite foods eggs and cheese! I’ve never had strata, I feel like I’m missing out! I love Vans waffles though, really delicious and awesome clean ingredients!
Yum this looks great! I’m currently in the process of figuring out if I have Celiac so this recipe may come in handy!
I love making baked oatmeal and egg bakes for guests!
My mom bought Vans waffles way back in the day before eating clean was a “thing.” She was onto something!
Oh my goodness: YUM!
That looks delicious! I like to stick to a basic sausage, biscuit and gravy casserole. It is simple but delicious.
Breakfast casseroles are definitely a favorite to serve when guests are over – so easy to make and such a crowd pleaser!
Thank you for sharing!!! My boyfriend and I both have to eat gluten free. This sounds like a great idea for breakfast for our cabin weekend! We both really like egg based breakfast (and pancakes too!).
Hope you both enjoy it!!
Thanks Julie! xo we just love your recipes as do all my friends, family, and coworkers when I make one of em 🙂
Yum! I’ve never thought of using waffles in that way. Such a great idea. I totally agree too– when company is in town it’s best to plan out some meals!
I never would have thought to use gluten free waffles like that, it’s genius! I can’t wait to try this out sometime !
What a super duper creative idea!!
This looks absolutely delicious! Pinned it and will definitely be trying this recipe in our house next weekend 🙂 Thanks, Julie!
This looks delicious — and I love that it’s already gluten free! Definitely will try this!
I usually make my “usual” breakfast go-to’s for guests — eggs, bacon, toast, and banana pancakes 🙂
I love Van’s GF waffles, they’re really great in a pinch with some peanut butter or to make a waffle sandwich. I love making friends GF pancakes, or big baked oatmeal cakes – anything vaguely like dessert for breakfast as a little treat! I don’t host out of town guests in my tiny NYC apartment very often but sometimes I just bring friends breakfast if they’re stuck at home working on weekends 🙂
That looks amazing!! Breakfast casseroles are the easiest dishes for hosting – I can only imagine how many visitors you must get with a baby!
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me .. Cutout Sleeves OOTD!
Looks so easy and yummy!
I definitly am looking forward to your recipie for a sweet version, maybe a tropical flavoured one with bananas and coconut, or apples or berries…french toast casserole is always a winner in my books, so the cinnamon and walnuts sounds delish! lol…I have much more of a sweet tooth than savoury.
Ooh!! Love the tropical idea! <3
This is such a great idea! I am always making breakfast casseroles so the hubs and I have quick grab n go breakfasts. I am going to have to switch things up and give this one a shot.
I want that right now!
Yum! I love these super easy recipes!
Thank you so much for this recipe! My son and I eat gluten free and I never thought to use Van’s waffles this way. I can’t wait to try it soon. Hope you will definitely share the sweet version if you ever decide to make that one!
I will!! I hope you and your son like this as much as we did!
This looks sooo good! I love all breakfast foods and am always looking for new recipes. I love making quiche since it’s so easy and you can through anything in it.
I can’t wait to make this, I would have never thought to use waffles instead of bread. I love Vans waffles, super tasty.
I feel ya on the visitors! It is so fun, yet a tad stressful. For our next baby, I think I’m going to emphasize hospital visits and ask for a week to figure things out before we have lots of visitors. With two babies, I bet I’ll need a second to get a handle on things.
Your’re a genius to come up with this recipe! =) I’m starting a gluten-free diet and this came at a perfect time! I hope to see more GF recipes from you!
My favorite breakfast to serve out of town visitors is some kind of egg casserole, much like the yummy strata you featured today!
Another good one! I always love your recipes!
I would’ve never thought to use a frozen waffle for something like this but it looks and sounds absolutely amazing!!!!
So true, going out for meals is TOUGH with a baby! I feel like Adeline is a ticking time bomb sometimes! I have never in my life heard of a strata, but goodness this looks heavenly!!
This looks great!
Sara | Lipstick, Lattes & Lunges
AHH this sounds amazing. Thank you so much for sharing – it seems so easy and delicious! Do you think it would freeze well? I’m thinking it might be good to re-heat and take to work throughout the week?!
Love LOVE Van’s waffles! They have been a constant in my freezer since being diagnosed with Celiac! I’m super excited about this partnership! I can’t wait to see new recipes!
This looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it. My go to is hashbrown casserole. Its a family favorite
I’ve never heard of a strata, and I love your healthier take on it! Looks so delicious!
Usually waffles are done sweet but I love this use of waffles in a savory breakfast dish. I love to make overnight french toast for visitors because most people like french toast and it’s always delicious and turns out well.
This looks really good…and super easy! I think I can even do this without messing up, so that is saying a lot!
This looks really delicious! Thank you for such a wonderful blog.
Stumbled upon your blog via Instagram and I am very thankful for it! Just made this and it’s delicious! I used spinach instead of sausage and some added cheese. I will definitely make this again. Also, I’m 23 weeks pregnant with my first, so I’ve been enjoying your pregnancy entries ?
Thanks! can’t even begin to imagine how stressful that must have been! Thanks for dropping by !