Imagine this scenario: it’s the holidays, you have your family staying at your house and you just prepared a delicious feast for dinner. You’ve put in so much work for this meal but you still have to feed everyone again the next day for breakfast. If your refrigerator looks anything like mine during the holidays then you are a little strapped for space. This French Toast Bake is a super quick, easy and delicious way to feed a large group in a short amount of time and take up almost no space in your refrigerator.
You might already have most of the ingredients in your refrigerator during the holidays already. With just four ingredients and a quick baking time is sure to be a hit with everyone in the family.
When you bake your French Toast rather than cooking it on a griddle, it turns into almost more of a bread pudding, custardy-style bake that is such a contrast from what French Toast is usually like. I like to use a cinnamon bread, I found a great one from Cinnabon but you can also use a cinnamon raisin bread or Texas Toast if you can’t find either of those. Since the cinnamon bread has a lot of sweetness in it I don’t add too much sugar to the recipe. If you’re using regular Texas toast I would recommend adding an extra couple tablespoons sugar to the recipe.
Putting this together is so quick and simple. I cut my bread slices in half diagonally so you have a little triangles, then arrange them in a buttered baking dish. Mix together all of the wet ingredients and your cinnamon and sugar. Pour the mixture all over your bread, being careful to get the mixture on every piece, then let it sit for at least 10 minutes to let the bread soak up all of that goodness. If you wanted to make this ahead of time, you can absolutely make it the night before, cover it and plastic wrap and leave it in your refrigerator overnight. For that you would simply need to pull it out of the fridge in the morning and leave it out at room temperature while the oven preheats to get the chill off before you put it in the oven.
Preheat your oven to 375 and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. The tops of your bread should get golden brown and crispy. To serve, simply scoop out your portion and top with your favorite toppings. I like to enjoy mine with a little bit of extra butter, some maple syrup and a dollop of whipped cream but you do you!
Hopefully this recipe can help alleviate some of the stress that you feel when you have a large group of people staying at your house and save you some time in the kitchen to enjoy with your guests!
Easy Cinnamon French Toast Bake
Equipment
- 1 Baking Dish
Ingredients
- 1.5 Loaves Cinnamon Bread
- 3 Lg Eggs
- ½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Cup Half and Half
- ⅓ Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Vanilla
- Pinch Salt Sea salt or Kosher
- Butter to grease your baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cut your bread slices in half diagonally and arrange in a greased baking dish. I like to use butter to grease my baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the heavy cream, half and half, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.
- Pour the mixture evenly over your bread and allow to soak for at least 10 minutes. At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and let it soak in the fridge overnight.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. The tops of the bread should get golden brown and crispy. If you let your French Toast Bake sit overnight, let the dish get up to room temperature while the oven is preheating.
- Let the baked French Toast cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Scoop your portions onto plates and top with your favorite toppings! Enjoy!
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We will have to try this out.