Last updated on April 24th, 2019 at 07:07 pm
This Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake recipe is the perfect casserole to make for your weekend brunch. This is a dish that can be made ahead and will surely impress your guests.
Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake
In our family, cheese pies are huge. We could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! But sometimes I just want to kick it up a notch and the best way to do that is to add bacon, of course. However this is closer to a spanakopita rather than a cheese pie. To this gorgeous pie I added more than just bacon; we’ve got cheddar cheese, red peppers, and a delicious spinach ricotta filling. This is definitely the perfect brunch to serve to your family and friends!
I love this recipe because it’s super versatile. You can add pretty much any fillings that you like! This brunch also is very basic to put together and will give you minimal mess to clean up afterwards. Just when you thought this recipe couldn’t get any better, it’s also perfect for making ahead of time so you can sit back and enjoy the morning.
Ingredients in Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake
The ingredients in this recipe are super easy to substitute and switch up to suit what you have hanging out in your fridge, and what you like to eat for brunch. Keep scrolling for the full recipe and ingredient amounts.
For this recipe you’ll need:
- Puff pastry: I always use frozen store-bought puff pastry. It’s a very laborious type of pastry to make, and what you’ll find at the store is just as good as homemade. I will usually find some good quality sheets at my local Italian market!
- Eggs: I used large eggs for this recipe.
- Ricotta cheese: You can use cream cheese as a substitute if you prefer. It will be a little bit more dense and have a stronger flavor than ricotta.
- Hot sauce: This ingredient is optional, but I love the bit of zing I get in my brunch bake from some hot sauce.
- Spinach: I used fresh spinach. If you use frozen spinach, make sure to squeeze out all the excess water before using it.
- Bacon: You can use as much as you like. The more bacon the merrier, I always say!
- Cheddar cheese: When we have mild flavors like the ricotta, spinach, and egg in there, I like to use a nice and sharp cheddar to add lots of flavor to the dish.
- Red bell pepper: You can really use any type that you have handy, I just love a good pop of color in my brunch bake.
What Other Fillings Can I Use?
The options are endless for this spinach ricotta bake! Give these a try:
Meats:
- Cooked & crumbled sausage
- Chopped ham
- Roasted chicken, chopped
- Cooked & chopped pancetta
Veggies:
- Onion
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
Cheeses
- Parmesan
- Gouda
- Pecorino
- White cheddar
How to Make Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake
- Prepare the oven and baking pan: Preheat your oven to 400F and spray your baking pan with cooking spray.
- Prepare the puff pastry: Carefully unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets. Roll one of them out to an 11″ square, then roll the other to a 12″ square. Use the 12″ sheet to line the bottom of your pan.
- Make the filling: Lightly beat the eggs and reserve 1 tbsp. Mix the rest of the eggs in with the ricotta, hot sauce, and spinach. Layer half of the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry in the pan, then half of each the bacon, cheese, and peppers. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Bake: Cover everything with the remaining puff pastry sheet and fold the edges in to secure the filling. Brush the pastry with your reserved tbsp of egg, and bake for about 1 hour or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Serve: Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edges to loosen them. Cut into slices and serve.
Thaw your puff pastry sheets in the fridge. The key to make sure the puff up nicely is to keep them nice and cold. Use them straight out of the fridge.
What Type of Pan Can I Use?
I used a 9″ springform pan for this recipe. If you don’t have one, I would highly suggest making the investment! They are fantastic for recipes like this. Slicing and serving perfect pieces will seriously not get any easier.
You can also use:
How to Make Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake Ahead of Time
You can fully prepare this spinach ricotta bake and store it in your fridge until you’re ready to serve. You have a few options here:
- Bake it up to 4 days ahead of time and store in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until you’re ready to serve. You can either serve it cold or warm it up in a 250F oven for about 20-30 minutes.
- Prepare it up to 4 days ahead of time, then wrap the pan well with plastic wrap. Remove the wrap and cook it as but don’t bake until about 1.5 hours until you’re ready to serve.
- If you plan on making this more than 4 days ahead of time, you can store it in the freezer. Transfer it to the fridge 2 days before you need it so that it can slowly thaw out. Keep in mind that when veggies and egg freeze and thaw, they create a lot of extra moisture.
You can also use this as a guide to store any leftovers you may have. If you choose to freeze them, I find it a lot easier to store the leftovers in individual slices!
Did You Love This Brunch Recipe? Try These!
- Sausage Potato Breakfast Casserole
- Shakshuka Recipe
- Breakfast Pizza
- Cinnabons Cinnamon Rolls
- Crescent Bacon Breakfast Ring
Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry thawed
- 6 eggs beaten
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- dash hot sauce optional
- 1 cup spinach chopped
- 6 slices bacon cooked, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and baking pan: Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
- Prepare the puff pastry: Carefully unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets. Roll one of them out to an 11″ square, then roll the other to a 12″ square. Use the 12″ sheet to line the bottom of your pan.
- Make the filling: Lightly beat the eggs and reserve 1 tbsp. Mix the rest of the eggs in with the ricotta, hot sauce, and spinach. Layer half of the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry in the pan, then half of each the bacon, cheese, and peppers. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Bake: Cover everything with the remaining puff pastry sheet and fold the edges in to secure the filling. Brush the pastry with your reserved tbsp of egg, and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Serve: Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edges to loosen them. Cut into slices and serve.
Dodi says
June 11, 2019 at 11:37 amMade this today and it realitively easy. I added a little more Spanish and two more slices of bacon. I used half Monterrey Jack and sharp white cheddar cheese to help add a little spicyness. At 20 minutes the puff pastry was browning so I reduced the temp to 375. I pulled it from the oven after 30 minutes. Taking to a brunch tomorrow and will let you know how it goes.
Sophie says
May 7, 2019 at 12:15 amHey! Do you think this would work without pastry?
Nicole Beaulieu says
May 7, 2019 at 10:25 amYou can if you’d like! It won’t hold together as well but it’ll be delicious. Make sure to grease your pan generously so those eggs don’t stick.
Peggy says
April 16, 2019 at 1:58 pmI plan on making it the night before but my question is: will the bottom crust get soggy from sitting in the fridge overnight? Would it help to brush the bottom crust with an egg wash before filling and baking or doesn’t it matter.
Nicole Beaulieu says
April 16, 2019 at 2:08 pmSince the bottom layer is your ricotta filling, you won’t have to worry about the bottom getting soggy! Just make sure to really squeeze all the excess water from the spinach if you’re using frozen.
Anne says
April 16, 2019 at 9:37 amThis looks fab! would it work without the pastry do you think?
Nicole Beaulieu says
April 16, 2019 at 10:20 amIt needs a vessel to hold everything together, so if you skip the pastry it will still taste amazing but might look a messy when you serve it!
Anne says
April 16, 2019 at 11:45 ammight give it a try – we don’t eat pastry. Thank you x
pauline morris says
January 20, 2019 at 11:56 amWE HAVE MADE THIS SO MANY TIMES AND IT ALWAYS AWESOME!!!!
Joanna Cismaru says
January 20, 2019 at 2:25 pmYay! So glad you like it!
Leroy Blodgett says
April 20, 2019 at 1:12 pmIf using fresh spinach, do I cooked it first or just chop the raw spinach?
Joanna Cismaru says
April 20, 2019 at 1:37 pmNo need to cook it, just chop it and add it.
Terry says
December 7, 2018 at 8:49 amCan this be made in a 9×13 glass dish? Did anyone omit the bacon?
Nicole Beaulieu says
December 7, 2018 at 10:16 amA 9×13 dish holds 50% more volume than our 9″ springform, so you’d have to 1.5x the recipe if you want it to have the same height as ours.
Terry says
December 7, 2018 at 10:38 amThank you
pauline morris says
December 8, 2017 at 2:15 pmJACK AND I HAVE MADE THIS ABOUT THREE TIMES AND MAKING IT AGAIN TONIGHT!!!! SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!
Adele Aiken says
July 15, 2017 at 8:06 amdo you think this would freeze well? baked first??
Joanna Cismaru says
July 16, 2017 at 8:32 pmYes, if you wanted to freeze it, I would bake it first and let it come to room temperature. I’d make sure it’s fully covered either in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
Pam says
April 24, 2017 at 11:15 amLooks delicious and hoping to make it for Mother’s Day Brunch… few questions..
1- saute spinach or use it fresh and dry?
2- make night before, refridge unbaked and then bake in the morning?
Thanks!
Fenne Kieken says
April 24, 2017 at 11:28 amI used frozen spinach and squeezed the water out before combining with the ricotta but you could use fresh spinach, washed and dried as well. You could make this the night before and bake it and reheat it in the morning if you wanted.
VICKI says
December 20, 2016 at 7:48 amI made this for a quiche bridal shower this past summer. Everyone raved about it. I made it for those folks that really aren’t crazy about eggs. I know there are eggs in the recipe, but the ricotta cheese and cheddar cheese masks that flavor and texture. Since I made 15 quiches for the event I made this dish the day before and reheated it. It did fine.
I saw comments about fresh spinach, which would work fine, but I would still saute it and squeeze out the juice. I think fresh spinach or fresh mushrooms would make it too soggy.
I am going to make it again for Christmas morning. Has anyone assembled it the day before and baked it the next day? How do you keep the pasty puff from drying out on top?
Vicki says
December 24, 2016 at 9:04 amOk so I am working off my phone and this recipe is top notch….sorry I keyed it in wrong ?
Nancy says
January 8, 2017 at 10:35 amGreat recipe. Had some left over ricotta cheese from making manicotti and found this recipe. Have made sausage breakfast casseroles, but this one was a great change. I did assemble night before and put foil over the top- nothing dried out. Left overs next day were just as good. Plan to pre-make and reheat next weekend for company so we can eat then ski early.
sylvia klas says
September 18, 2016 at 5:30 pmI bake this and place in frig over night, When I want to reheat in oven DO I TAKE OUT OF PAN or leave in pan to reheat?
Joanna Cismaru says
September 18, 2016 at 5:36 pmIf you’re going to reheat it in the oven I’d leave it in the pan.
Barbara says
August 22, 2016 at 7:47 pmCould you make some suggestions to replace the red pepper. I want to make this for my daughter and she does not eat peppers. The pie looks amazing. Thank you for the recipe.
Joanna Cismaru says
August 22, 2016 at 8:28 pmYou could definitely just skip it or maybe use mushrooms instead.
Anna says
July 8, 2016 at 6:30 pmI’ve made this probably a dozen times. I add an entire bag of spinach, to cut calories I use 5 eggs instead of 6 and less cheese. I add garlic, salt, pepper and fresh herbs. (Parsley, basil, oregano…whatever I have.) I also salt and pepper the spinach. I have made it with grape tomatoes instead of red pepper and it was equally as awesome. I do not have a spring pan, so I use a pie dish and cross the top layer and bottom layer so there are 8 corners. Then I fold the bottom ones across the top and tuck the top down into the dish. This works great. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Joanna Cismaru says
July 8, 2016 at 11:15 pmGlad you like it Anna!
Cooki Turner says
April 7, 2017 at 12:29 pmIf I wanted to add extra seasonings how much of each: garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, s/p