Baked French Toast

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I stole this recipe for Baked French Toast from The Pioneer Woman.com. This easy to make breakfast casserole is great for a weekend or a holiday brunch. Cubed bread is placed in a casserole dish. Eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla are mixed together and poured on top. A crumbly topping is made with flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. The crumbly topping melts into the bread when baked. You get all of the flavor of French Toast in one yummy casserole and you can have it anytime you want.

“I went to a restaurant that serves “breakfast at any time.” So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.” – Steven Wright, Comedian (see more quotes in the Quotes tab)

November 28th is National French Toast Day you can celebrate by making Baked French Toast or Overnight Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake (to see more Food Holidays see the National Food Holidays category or look at the Food Holiday Calendar).

Grease 9×13 pan with butter (I use non-stick spray). Cut 1 loaf crusty sourdough or French bread into chunks.

Evenly distribute bread chunks in the pan. In a medium sized bowl mix together 8 eggs, 2 cups milk, ½ cup whipping cream, ¾ cup sugar and 2 tbsp vanilla.

Pour evenly over the bread.

In a separate bowl, mix ½ cup flour, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt and 1 pinch nutmeg.

Add 1 stick butter cut into pieces and cut them into dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles.

If desired, ¼ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts.

Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of bread mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 45 minutes for softer, more bread pudding texture.

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Baked French Toast

This easy to make breakfast casserole is great for a weekend or a holiday brunch. Cubed bread is placed in a casserole dish. Eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla are mixed together and poured on top. A crumbly topping is made with flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. The crumbly topping melted into the bread when baked. You get all of the flavor of French Toast in one yummy casserole.
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine French
Prep Time 13 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 58 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

French Toast:

  • 1 loaf crusty sourdough or French bread
  • 8 whole eggs
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ½ cup whipping heavy cream
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Topping:

  • ½ cup AP flour
  • ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 1 stick cold butter cut into pieces

Instructions

  1. Grease 9x13 pan with butter (I use non-stick spray). Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
  2. In a medium sized bowl mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add butter pieces and cut them into dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a zipper plastic bag in the fridge.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove casserole pan from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture on top. Bake for 45 minutes for softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
  5. Scoop out portions, and drizzle with syrup.

Recipe Notes

You can use skim milk instead of whole milk and heavy cream for a total of 2 ½ cups skim milk. I put the topping on the bread portion before I cover it for overnight, that way in the morning I can just preheat and put the pan in the oven. This was a mistake the first time I made the recipe and it turned out great. You can add some nuts to the topping mixture. I have added ¼ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (what ever I had on hand).