A stress-free breakfast or brunch that is hearty and delicious. This version does not require overnight chilling, so you can get this crowd-pleaser on the table in a breeze. Serve with fresh fruit, powdered sugar and warm maple syrup for the ultimate flavor combo.
We moved to North Carolina from California about 5 years ago. Therefore, during the months of summer we often have out-of-state guests flowing in and out of our home. We absolutely love entertaining, so coming up with recipes that can feed a crowd are high on my priority list.
With so much to love about Homemade French Toast, this entree is guaranteed to be a surefire hit.
While the casserole bakes, go ahead and pour some mimosas for you and your guests. Clink!
Noteworthy Additions & Swaps:
- If you’re not a morning person, you can make this the night before and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. (check out my other overnight casseroles)
- Fold dollops of cream cheese into the soaked bread mixture before baking for a creamy cinnamon-roll twist! Go ahead and use a half cup that’s cut into squares.
- Make this dairy-free by using Almond Milk instead of regular (psst: have you checked out my dairy-free Cauliflower soup?).
- Use blueberry or raisin bread instead of Texas Toast! The fruit will give this dish an extra oomph of flavor and texture without making it soggy.
- Make sure to use a casserole dish that’s large enough to let the bread expand while baking. If you’re nervous about it overflowing or spilling, place the casserole dish on top of a baking sheet prior to cooking (that’s what I did, see photo below).
- 1 loaf Texas Toast or bread of choice (about 8 cups)
- Cooking Spray, as needed
- 8 Eggs
- 2 cups Milk
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 tbsp. Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. Nutmeg
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp. Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- ½ cup cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small squares
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large size casserole dish with cooking spray (9X13 should work perfectly).
- While the oven preheats, rip the bread into smaller pieces (about 1 inch each). I like ripping it instead of cutting to create more of a homemade texture and look.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all sugar-crust topping ingredients and set aside. Cut butter into cubes and set back in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the egg mixture above.
- Add bread to the egg mixture and toss to combine.
- Pour soaked bread into a casserole dish greased with cooking spray. Top evenly with sugar-crust topping and sprinkle with butter cubes.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is crusty and a knife comes out clean when checking the center.
So what makes this French Toast Casserole surpass all the rest? Hello crispy brown-sugar crust. I almost called this casserole French Toast Crunch because it forms this amazing shell of crust that surrounds the moist center.
PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER:
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