I love to treat my family to a special breakfast on the weekends since our weekday meals consist mostly of cereal, yogurt, and orange juice. I mistakenly fed them some leftovers of a sinful baked french toast casserole I made for a brunch event. Though delicious, the original recipe I followed was much more like a dessert than a breakfast food. Unfortunately, my family loved it for exactly that reason and it tops their list for most requested special weekend breakfast dish.
So, I started messing around with the recipe to see if I could get the same flavor without using all the sugar, cream, and butter called for in the original recipe. It took a lot of less-than-perfect batches before I finally perfected it. Guests always assume this version is just as sinful as the original when I make it for them because it truly does have all the same creaminess and sweetness of a dessert. I won’t go so far as to call it “healthy” but it’s certainly a less unhealthy version of a delicious breakfast indulgence.
When I make it for my family, I typically serve it with fresh berries or frozen berries boiled into a compote, along with turkey bacon (to compensate for the butter in the French Toast).
Every once in a while, I’ll splurge on a different loaf to make the French Toast more interesting. In the version pictured below I used a Cinnamon Raisin loaf from Panera. Since we were really splurging, I let the kids count the raisins at fruit and I made regular bacon for the side.
A great spin on traditional french toast!
- 1 loaf French bread cut into 1-inch slices
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 T maple syrup
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Spray a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Arrange bread slices in the bottom of the dish. You will have bread leftover which you can use to make a second casserole, for bread crumbs, or garlic bread later.
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In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk together until well mixed. Pour over bread slices, coating each slice. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
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The next morning, preheat oven to 350°. While the oven is heating, combine the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Melt over medium heat and cook until bubbling. Add maple syrup and stir well. Pour mixture over bread and egg mixture.
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Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
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Ave says
This looks really delicious! We eat pancakes on the weekends, but I think the french toast could be a really yummy alternative. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
wendy says
Rumor has it, it was delicious!!!
Holly @ Coconutheadsurvivalguide says
Hi Corinne – French Toast is one of my favorites – can’t wait to try! Hugs, Holly