Kale, Mushroom, and Cheddar Bake

Casserole of chopped fresh kale, mushrooms, onions, ciabatta bread, cheddar cheese, milk, and eggs.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated February 11, 2024
Elise Bauer
Kale Mushroom Cheddar Bake
Elise Bauer

Are you a lover of kale? Bread? Cheese? Mushrooms? Then you are likely to love this recipe from Jennie Perillo as much as I do.

It's basically a simplified strata of sorts, a casserole layering thin slices of rustic ciabatta bread with sautéed kale, mushrooms, and onions, and cheddar cheese, soaked with milk and egg, and then baked until bubbly and browned. It's the ultimate kale lover's comfort food.

The recipe is from Jennie's cookbook, Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie's Kitchen, a beautiful book with photographs by Penny De Los Santos, heart warming prose, and tummy warming recipes for the home cook.

Kale Mushroom Cheddar Bake
Elise Bauer

There are a dozen recipes in Jennie's book that I can't wait to make, but this one caught my eye first. It's vegetarian and filling (so, perfect for Lent), and I have a hard time resisting anything with bread, mushrooms, cheddar, and kale.

I think the next time I make it I may swap out some of the cremini mushrooms for shiitake, to make it even more intensely mushroomy. And while the recipe calls for kale, you could easily make this with chard or other good braising greens.

It reminds me a bit of the panade we made here a while back, a bread soup with greens, mushrooms, and onions, just without the soup part. Enjoy!

Kale, Mushroom, and Cheddar Bake

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 70 mins
Total Time 90 mins
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 (7-oz or 200-g) bunch lacinato kale (dinosaur or Tuscan kale), center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 5 ounces (140g) cremini mushrooms, finely chopped

  • 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

  • 1/2 loaf (185g) ciabatta bread, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk

  • 4 ounces (112g) cheddar cheese, grated

Method

  1. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish:

    with a little olive oil and set aside.

  2. Sauté kale:

    Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the thinly sliced kale and cook until just wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes.

    Elise Bauer
  3. Add onions, mushrooms, sauté:

    Add the onions and mushrooms, and add salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and the onions are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

    Elise Bauer
  4. Whisk milk and eggs:

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs.

  5. Layer casserole dish with bread, kale mushroom mix, cheese:

    Line the bottom of the casserole pan with one third of the thinly sliced bread.

    Spread one half of the kale mushroom onion mixture over the bread. Sprinkle one third of the cheddar cheese over the top. Lay down the second third of the bread slices.

    Elise Bauer
    Elise Bauer

    Top again with the remaining kale mixture, and then with a third of the cheese. Lay the remaining slices of bread over the top.

  6. Pour milk egg mixture over bread, top with cheese:

    Pour the milk egg mixture over the bread, pressing down with a spatula so that the milk is absorbed by the casserole layers.

    Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheddar cheese. (At this point you can chill overnight for making ahead, or continue.)

    pour egg mixture over bread over kale mixture
    Elise Bauer
    sprinkle kale cheddar bake with cheese
    Elise Bauer
  7. Bake:

    Let the casserole sit for about 15 minutes to further absorb the milk while you preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Cover with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

    Let the casserole sit for a few minutes before serving.

Recipe from Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie's Kitchen, by Jennifer Perillo. Republished here with the permission of the author.

Links:

Panade - Bread Soup with Chard, Onions, and Mushrooms here on Simply Recipes

Broccoli Casserole here on Simply Recipes

Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie's Kitchen - book available on Amazon.com

Kale Mushroom Cheddar Bake
Elise Bauer
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
276 Calories
13g Fat
26g Carbs
14g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 276
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 6g 28%
Cholesterol 117mg 39%
Sodium 398mg 17%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 14g
Vitamin C 16mg 79%
Calcium 305mg 23%
Iron 2mg 12%
Potassium 421mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.