This is one of my favorite super-easy recipes to make for breakfast. I can quickly put it in the Crock Pot before I go to bed, and it's ready for us when we wake up in the morning.
French Toast Casserole
(adapted from a bake-in-the-oven recipe I got from my BFF, Susie Rosenquist)
You will need:
1 loaf french bread8 eggs
4 c. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
Cut the french bread into roughly 1 1/2-inch chunks - it doesn't have to be perfectly even
(actually, usually, I don't bother with the knife and just tear the bread into chunks by hand).
Put about 1/2 of the bread chunks into a greased, 5-quart crock pot
Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon.
Repeat layers.
In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, eggs and vanilla.
Whisk to combine thoroughly.
Pour milk/egg mixture over the bread cubes.
Cook on low for about 6-8 hours, until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
(You can cook it for about 4-5 hours on high, but the edges of the casserole will get hard and crusty.)
Serve warm.
I often top it with applesauce or fresh fruit,
or serve it plain (it's delicious as is).
You can also substitute egg nog for half of the milk (and adjust the sugar and cinnamon to taste) for a yummy seasonal treat! We serve it dusted with powdered sugar. :)
ReplyDeleteI've never actually cared for egg nog, but as an ingredient in this casserole, it's probably totally yummy! Thanks for the suggestion, Susie! (I guess you would know all the tricks, since it's based on your recipe, huh?) :)
DeleteYum! This is one of my favorites and I was hunting for the recipe online. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I could help! <3
DeleteI tried this last night and it came out looking like slop. Not sure where I went wrong. I had the bread and mixture in the fridge for 3 hours, so maybe that was it? I didn't want to have to do the prep at midnight.
ReplyDeleteMaybe try reducing the liquid a bit ... or cut the bread a few hours in advance & let it sit to dry out some before putting it all together. I don't think it would hurt to let it sit in the fridge for a while before cooking it, but maybe if you're starting from a cold state like that, you'll need to increase the cooking time a bit. (I usually add an hour or two to the cooking time when I'm starting with chilled or frozen ingredients, although to be fair, I've never tried pre-assembling this recipe, so I can't accurately say how much added time you'll need.)
DeleteHow many does this feed? seems like a lot, but I don't want to run out of food! :)
ReplyDeleteI usually get 6-10 servings with this recipe. Of course, I have teenagers, so you could probably feed more. :)
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ReplyDeleteI was going to do something like this for Christmas morning, but I forgot to get french bread and all of my local stores are closed. Would Texas bread do?
ReplyDeleteYes. I've even done it with plain, white bread (though I reduce the liquid when I'm using a less-dense bread, so it won't get soggy).
ReplyDeleteAwesome,thank you. I appreciate the help. Looking forward to trying this out!
ReplyDeleteNo problem! Hope you enjoy it!
DeleteOur supermarket sells French bread either packaged as one large, long loaf or two shorter loaves. Would I use the large loaf for this?
ReplyDeleteYes, I typically use a large loaf for this. Basically, just fill up your crock pot. :)
DeleteYummy! Just made it tonight for dinner - Hot weather today and it turned out crunchy on the outside and soft in the center to please everyone.
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