Breakfast Stromboli

This Breakfast Stromboli recipe takes every day breakfast ingredients and turns them into a spectacular meal that the whole family will love! It's simply perfect for a special breakfast, brunch, or when you want to have breakfast for dinner! It's all of your favorite breakfast foods wrapped in a crispy pizza dough and served with a cheesy sauce, what's not to love about that!

A great stromboli starts off with a good quality pizza dough and you can either make the dough yourself or purchase it already made from your local grocery store or even ask your local pizzeria if they will sell you a pound of dough. Making your own pizza dough is a pretty easy process if you follow my recipe for Basic Homemade Pizza Dough that I use in my Garlic Knot recipe.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Pizza Dough

Whether you make your own or use store-bought, you will need 1 pound of dough to make a large stromboli or two smaller strombollis. This recipe will easily feed 6-8 people, so if you want to make a smaller size, cut the dough back to ½ pound.

You can also use other types of dough, such as puff pastry -- or even crescent rolls will work -- if you roll the dough out and make sure the seams are sealed. You could also use an Italian bread dough instead of the pizza dough if you prefer. The stromboli will just be a little doughier than when using pizza dough.

Personally, I like using pizza dough because it is the perfect balance of a soft bread-like dough with that exterior crunch. It's absolutely perfect for making breakfast stromboli.

Fillings

The great thing about these kind of recipes is you can choose the fillings that you love. For a breakfast stromboli, I would pick things like eggs, sausage, bacon, ham slices, steak, onions, green pepper, red pepper, mushrooms, sharp cheddar cheese or any cheese you love; basically anything you love in an omelette.

You could even make your breakfast stromboli with hash browns, eggs, and cheese. I think that would be simple and delicious.

I'll admit that I chose some ingredients for my stromboli that you might think are a little odd, but the flavors worked perfectly together and the sauce I made was out of this world! I used breakfast sausage, peppers, onions, smoked gouda cheese, and an apple with a unique and delicious cheese sauce. It really is an amazing flavor combination and I hope you try it!

Sauces

Stromboli usually has the sauce on the inside and some extra on the side as a dipping sauce. With a traditional dinner-style stromboli, marinara sauce is usually the top pick. However, with a breakfast stromboli, you can choose from many different types of sauces.

A simple sausage gravy would be delicious or even a bacon gravy. Homemade chipped beef would be excellent with a simple filling of eggs and maybe some cheese. Or, you can never go wrong in my opinion with a cheese sauce, and that is exactly what I used in this recipe. The one I made is a little different from most cheese sauces, but it has such incredible flavor and pairs perfectly with my choice of fillings.

Can I Make Stromboli in an Air Fryer?

Yes, absolutely! In fact, using an air fryer is a great choice for getting the dough that surrounds the stromboli crispy and golden brown. The only problem is the size of most air fryers. They usually aren't big enough to make a large stromboli like I did in this recipe, that is why I opted to use my regular oven.

However, that doesn't mean you can't modify the recipe to make it in your air fryer. You absolutely can. They will just be individual mini strombolis, but just as delicious.

The first thing is to measure the basket or rack in your air fryer so you can determine how much dough you will need per stromboli. For most air fryers, like the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper, the square Ninja Foodi Indoor Grill, the Ninja Foodi Dual Air Fryer, and most medium to large air fryers, you will need about 6 ounces of dough.

I've tried to make smaller sized stromboli using 4 ounces of dough and it's pretty hard to get the dough rolled out and you really have to keep the fillings to a minimum. So, if you want to try small stromboli, make sure to limit your fillings to about ½ cup. I wasn't happy with this ratio of bread to filling, so my minimum dough weight is 6 ounces.

The process for making stromboli in your air fryer is exactly the same as this recipe for breakfast stromboli, just on a smaller scale. A helpful tip is to cut out a piece of parchment that will fit into your air fryer basket and use that as a guide for how big you can make your stromboli.

The amount of filling you can use really depends on how big you roll out the dough as well as the shape of the fillings. Some are bulkier than others. So, if you are making smaller air fryer stromboli, dice up your vegetables instead of slicing them into strips. Break up or cut any meat into small bite-size pieces.

Make sure to preheat the airfryer on its hottest setting for a full 10 minutes before air frying the stromboli for the best results. Also, make sure your cooking surface, the basket or tray in most air fryers, is in the appliance during the preheat stages. This lets the cooking surface heat up and start to set your pizza dough quickly.

Use the piece of parchment paper that you measured out to sit the stromboli on and air fry on 400℉/200℃ for 8-10 minutes. For even browning, flip the stromboli over after 4-6 minutes.

Remove the stromboli from the air fryer and allow to cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Tips for Making Breakfast Stromboli

If you are making homemade pizza dough, I recommend making up the dough 2-3 days before you want to make the stromboli for the best flavor. While this isn't necessary, the dough does develop more flavor as it sits in the refrigerator. It is also important to take the dough out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you want to roll it out. Cold dough is very hard to shape.

You also want to prepare your fillings ahead of time. This can be done 1-2 days before you want to make the stromboli or the day of, as long as you allow for at least 30 minutes for the fillings to cool after being cooked. If you prepare the fillings ahead of time, take them out of the refrigerator 30-60 minutes before making the stromboli so they have a chance to come to room temperature.

When making stromboli, you want the fillings to be as close to room temperature as possible so they aren't hot enough to affect the dough, but not so cold that they don't have a chance to heat up during the cooking process. Any food that requires cooking to be safe to consume should be cooked fully prior to using inside the stromboli. There isn't enough time during the baking process to cook meats and even vegetables inside the stromboli.

I recommend cooking your vegetables to the texture you like before using them in your stromboli or you will end up with very crunchy vegetables.

How to Make Breakfast Stromboli

Mise En Place (prep ahead of time)

How much prep you do ahead of time is completely up to you. The dough can be made the day of or up to 3 days in advance. The fillings can be cooked and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and you can even make the cheese sauce up to 3 days in advance.

I recommend assembling the stromboli the day you bake it, but you can assemble it and freeze the entire stromboli on a parchment lined tray and once frozen wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 1 month.

I recommend cooking the stromboli from frozen, so you don't have excess liquid inside as it thaws. To do this, preheat an oven on 350℉/175℃ and place the frozen stromboli on a baking sheet. Bake for about 60 minutes or until the crust has become golden brown and the filling is hot inside. If the crust is getting too brown before the filling is hot, lower the oven temperature or cover with foil.

Please don't be intimidated by all the steps detailed below. Making homemade stromboli is very easy and, while it may look like a lot of work, it really isn't any more complicated than making breakfast. In fact, it's a little easier because you don't have to worry about having all the components hot at the same time!

Making the Eggs

You can use a large bowl and a whisk to whisk the eggs just like you would if you are making scrambled eggs or use a blender cup like I did to really speed things up.

Add 6 large eggs to the blender cup and season with ½ teaspoon of sea salt or kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Blend until well combined.

Add ¼ cup of heavy cream (or you can use milk) and pulse blend just until combined.

Heat a large 8-10" non-stick skillet on medium heat and add 1-2 Tablespoons of butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter.

Once the butter has melted, swirl it around in the pan to coat the bottom and pour in the egg mixture. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Let cook undisturbed for about 10-15 minutes or until it is set all the way through.

Make sure to keep the heat low enough that you don't burn the bottom of the eggs.

Once fully set, move the eggs to a cutting board and cut them in half. Or, you can cut them directly in the pan with a rubber or silicone spatula. Let them cool in the pan with the heat off while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

If you are ready to assemble your stromboli right away, pop the eggs in the fridge for about 5 minutes.

Making the Sausage & Vegetable Mixture

Once your peppers are sliced into about ½" strips and the onions are sliced into about ½" slices, heat about 1 Tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan and add in the vegetables. Season the vegetables with ½ teaspoon fine grind sea salt or kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper.

Sauté on medium high heat for about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the sausage and continue to cook on medium high heat. Break the sausage up into small pieces and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is fully cooked and the vegetables are the texture you like. This usually takes around 10 minutes. *If your sausage is in casings, make sure to remove the casing or chop the sausage up into small pieces before cooking.

Once everything is fully cooked, transfer the mixture to a large bowl or measuring cup. You will have about 4 cups of the mixture. 2 will be used inside the stromboli and whatever is leftover will be used to make the cheese sauce.

Allow the juices and fat from the sausage and pepper to drain down to the bottom of the container, these will also be used in the cheese sauce.

Using tongs or a slotted scoop, add all but 2 cups of the mixture to a blender cup or pitcher. Usually, this will be about 1½-2 cups, but if you don't have as much volume of sausage and vegetables as I did, make sure to keep 2 cups for the stromboli and blend the rest.

Add in 1 cup of milk to the blender cup or pitcher and blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth.

Making the Cheese Sauce

Strain the juices and fat from the remaining sausage and vegetable mixture into a large sauté pan. You should have about 3 Tablespoons of juice and fat. If you don't or don't want to use the juices, use 1 Tablespoon of butter or another kind of fat to make the roux.

Turn the heat on medium and sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of flour over the juices or melted butter.

Stir to combine and it will make a thick paste. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the pureed milk, sausage, and vegetable mixture and stir until smooth.

Add in the shredded cheese and cook over low heat until melted and the sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If the sauce is too thick, add a bit more milk. If it is too thin, you can add more cheese or make a cornstarch slurry by combing 1 Tablespoon of water to ½ Tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk until smooth.

The sauce is delicious, but not very pretty, so I add in some dried or fresh parsley to boost the visual appeal.

Turn the heat off or keep on very low heat just to keep it warm until you are ready to serve it. If you make it ahead of time, you may need to thin it out with some milk before using.

Assembling the Breakfast Stromboli

Dice the apple into about ½" pieces. You can remove the skin or leave it on. I leave it on.

Mix the apple into the sausage and vegetable mixture so it doesn't discolor.

If you haven't already, preheat the oven to 425℉/220℃.

Prepare a large work surface by making sure it is clean and very dry. I use my countertop and it works great.

Lightly flour work surface and place the disc of dough on top of the flour. Sprinkle a little flour onto the top of the dough. Use just enough flour so the dough doesn't stick to the work surface or the rolling pin.

Press the dough into the shape of a rectangle the best you can. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about ¼" thick or approximately 14"x20". The short sides should be to the right and left.

Although I forgot to do this, you may want to place a large piece of parchment paper under the rolled out dough to make it easier to transfer to the baking sheet.

Place each half of the egg onto the dough, leaving about 3-4" on the long side closest to you. It's okay if the egg overlaps, but try to get it about 1" or so from the short sides of the dough.

Scoop about ½ cup of the cheese sauce on top of the eggs and spread out so most of the egg is covered.

Place the sausage and vegetable mixture on top. You will use about 2 cups. Place the cheese strips on top.

Now, it's time to roll the stromboli and this can be the most intimidating part of the whole process. You've come this far and don't want to mess it up! I get it, I really do. Even though I've rolled multiple stromboli since working on this recipe, I take a deep breath right before I start each and every time.

Will the filling fall out? Yes, some will. Is it a big deal? Nope, just push it back in. Try to keep the filling at least 1-inch from the edges of the dough so you don't have trouble sealing it up and everything will be just fine.

If you prefer to watch a short video of me rolling up the stromboli, you can do that here ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

The first step is to bring the long edge of dough that is closest to you up and over the filling.

Fold in the shorter sides and press the dough together to seal the edges. Gently roll the stromboli over, tucking in any filling that escapes as you roll it over.

You should have about 2" of dough left to fold up and over the stromboli as you gently roll it back towards you.

Pinch seams and ends of the dough together to form a seal. This will prevent the filling from leaking out during the baking process.

If you haven't already, place a large piece of parchment paper down and gently roll the stromboli onto the paper so that the seam side is facing down. Place on a large baking sheet pan.

Using a sharp knife cut several slits in the top of the dough to allow the steam to escape while baking.

Using a pastry brush (or your hands like I did), coat the top of the dough with about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. You could also use an egg wash, if you prefer.

Sprinkle about ¼-½ teaspoon of kosher or sea salt over the top of the dough for an extra boost of flavor.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the stromboli is golden brown.

When done, place the tray on a cooling rack for a few minutes.

Cut into thick slices using a serrated knife.

Top with cheese sauce if desired or serve it on the side for dipping. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

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