This French Toast Casserole is the perfect breakfast or brunch recipe that will be a hit with any crowd. A beautiful, crisp top, with a custardy middle and a sweet layer at the bottom that acts as the syrup topping.
Growing up, I remember having French Toast as a treat on weekends or when we had cousins over. The first year that I tried to replicate it, my French Toast was more a toast with a egg crust which I think my family tolerated for me. My brother probably ate it because I doused it with cinnamon sugar. As the years went by and I insisted on only eating that at restaurants, I paid attention to the texture of each French Toast at every restaurant I ordered it in. Over the years, I learned to whisk my eggs enough to get air in them so that my French Toast is fluffy. I also learned to dunk my bread just enough and to use a certain type of bread. Apparently, making French Toast was art.
Let’s fast forward to trying to make it for a crowd. Specifically, a crowd of kids. Over the summer, we had the girls’ friends over for backyard camping and the next morning, I decided French Toast was the way to start the morning. Well, I can’t make it one or two at a time because they all want to eat together and if I make all of them together then serve, I run the risk of them becoming dry even as I keep them warm while I make the whole batch. In comes the idea of make a casserole.
This casserole is the easiest because unlike most French Toast casseroles which require to be soaked overnight, this only requires the bread to be soaked for thirty minutes! Yep. 30 minutes! Bake it and dust it with a little powder sugar and you’re ready to go. I added some berries on top but you can add literally any fruit on top. Just remember that the fruit will bake with the casserole.
French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ a loaf of French bread, cut into cubes
- ½ c unsalted butter
- 1 c packed brown sugar
- 6 eggs
- 2 c milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp confectioners sugar for dusting
- 1 c fresh fruit, chopped (I used fresh berries)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Once butter has melted, add brown sugar and whisk until dissolved and mixture is smooth. Pour mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread evenly.
- Add bread cubes to the pan, spreading over the top of the brown sugar/butter mixture.
- Top with fresh fruit.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Pour custard over the top of bread cubes, making sure that all pieces of bread are saturated.
- Cover with foil and let the casserole rest for 30 minutes.
- Keep covered and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake another 10 minutes until top is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.
Here are the tools I used for this recipe:
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