We make Strata for breakfast – now try it for dinner!
Creamy Bacon, Chicken and Broccoli Strata (Bread Bake)
This chicken strata is the creamier version of a Chicken and Spinach Strata that I’ve previously shared. And here’s why I love it – and you’re going to love it too: 1. The crunchy, cheesy top 2. Easy 3. The crunchy, cheesy topMade from scratch 4. Everyday ingredients 5. Thrifty – use up leftover bread 6. The crunchy, cheesy top Creamy cheesy indulgent with only 430 calories 7. Hides a lot of broccoli 8. Potential to hide more veggies 9. The crunchy, cheesy top Less washing up than a pasta bake 10. Make ahead Just in case you missed it – the crunchy topping of this bake is awesome!! It takes me a lot of willpower to restrain myself from just scooping the top off and having an entire plate of that for dinner. It’s that good. Truly. So what is it about this Chicken and Broccoli Strata’s topping that’s just made of plain old sandwich bread? Well, let me tell you – it’s drizzled with a creamy béchamel sauce then sprinkled with panko and parmesan. So when it is baked, you get that incredible combination of golden parmesan crunch on the outside and creamy béchamel sauce soaked bread on the inside.
ThisChicken and Broccoli Strata is like a cross between croque monsieur (but with no ham and a lot less cheese), pasta bake (but with no pasta), strata/bread pudding (but no egg and a lot less bread is used) and a broccoli bake (but a whole lot more interesting!). So as you probably guessed, this is just something I made up. So I have no idea if there is an official name for this dish, hence the long winded unoriginal name. Actually, this was originally intended to be a pasta bake which never happened. That is, I started out with the full intention of making a pasta bake loaded with broccoli, but then I got lazy and decided that instead of using another pot to cook pasta, I’d top it with bread. A great way to use up leftover bread (in fact, the staler the better). It also means that this bake has less calories than if it was a pasta bake, but it is just as filling.
I made this bake using chicken breast. I am very selective about cooking with chicken breast. It has virtually no fat so unless cooked with caution, it is horribly dry. But you can get away with chicken breast for dishes like this where there is a lot of creamy sauce. Though you can use any boneless chicken cut you want. It’s surprising how much broccoli is in this. There’s 4 packed cups of florets (cut small) which is one largish broccoli. You could add more vegetables if you want, this recipe makes enough sauce to add another 1 – 1 1/2 cups of vegetables, like diced carrots or peas. Love to hear if you try it! Or what ideas you have for variations of it, like other vegetables you would add, or maybe add spices or herbs to the sauce?
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