I invited my parents over for dinner the night I made this French Toast Casserole and the first thing my dad said was “Oh! bread pudding!” Ha! I’m not sure what the difference is between french toast casserole and bread pudding so maybe he’s right. This is pretty sweet so I probably should’ve served it for dessert instead of supper but that’s okay…I’ll never turn down a sweet supper! This would make an excellent brunch for a crowd as it’s quite filling. There’s an entire loaf of bread in this casserole so it would serve 5 or 6 people easily. I paired it with a homemade berry compote (so easy to make) and homemade whipped cream. Yes, I went back for seconds even though my belly was telling me I was full after the first plate. Oops. Oh well it was all for research, right? I don’t want to give you a recipe that isn’t delicious so extra tasting was required! {wink} Now let’s get to the recipe before I start searching for leftovers.
French Toast Casserole:
I made this with a regular loaf of white Texas sliced bread (regular white bread, just thicker slices) but you could also try this with French bread. Maybe even with croissants? That may be an experiment for another day.
- Casserole:
- ½ cup butter, unsalted
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 loaf (approximately 570g) Texas sliced white bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups milk
- 6 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Topping for Unbaked Casserole:
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Berry Compote:
- 3 cups frozen fruit (I used a strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry mixture)
- ¼ cup juice (I used a juice similar to the berries - a strawberry, blueberry juice)
- Whipped Cream:
- 2 cups whipped cream (35%)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- Casserole:
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Grease a 9"x13" baking dish.
- In a medium sauce pan, combine butter and brown sugar and heat over medium heat until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved (about 4 minutes).
- Pour butter & brown sugar mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly.
- Arrange bread evenly in baking dish over top of the butter & sugar mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, salt and cinnamon until well combined.
- Pour milk mixture over bread then use a fork to press down on bread pieces so they absorb the liquid.
- In a small cup, combine topping ingredients (brown sugar and cinnamon). Sprinkle evenly over top of unbaked casserole.
- Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes. Casserole should be browned and bubbling around the edges.
- Remove from oven. Serve with berry compote and whipped cream. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
- Berry Compote:
- In a small saucepan, combine frozen fruit and juice.
- Heat over medium heat and bring mixture to a boil.
- Use a fork to gently mash some (or all) of the berries.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and continue a gentle boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- This can be served hot or cold. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
- Whipped Cream:
- Beat both ingredients with an electric mixture on high heat until stiff peaks form. Store leftovers in fridge.
Looking for more tasty brunch ideas? Here are a few of our other favorites!
Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins – I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of white chocolate but it is SO good in these muffins!
Quiche Recipe – I promise you that this is really easy to make. By far the best quiche that I’ve ever tried!
Waffle Recipe – A homemade waffle recipe so easy and delicious that you’ll never want to buy boxed waffles again!
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