A French toast casserole you can make the night before

Here’s one morning meal you aren’t going to want to skip! It’s a rich, creamy, French toast-inspired casserole that’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or even dessert.

It comes together in less than an hour, but it’s also make-ahead friendly (you can let the bread soak in the custard overnight) and freezer-friendly.

Jessie-Sierra Ross, author of “Seasons Around the Table” and of the blog “Straight To The Hips, Baby,” visited Nexstar’s WWLP to show us how to create this crowd-pleasing dish.

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She recommends using challah, an egg-enriched bread that’s slightly sweet, slightly dense and quite fluffy. If challah is not available, feel free to substitute another eggy, sweet bread.

For the custard, there’s no need to use room-temperature eggs. Egg proteins are activated at different temperatures, Ross explained, so room-temperature eggs — while ideal for meringues — are not necessary in this make-ahead French toast bake.

Feel free to top your casserole with any fruit or syrups you like. Ross prefers a caramelized cereal topping and strawberry sauce, and offers up both recipes on her site.

Make-ahead French toast bake

Yield: 6 servings. Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 loaf challah bread
6 large eggs
½ cup whole milk
½ cup half-and-half
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons vanilla paste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hand-tear challah into bite-sized pieces and arrange evenly in a casserole dish.
In a bowl, make the custard. Whisk together eggs, whole milk, half-and-half, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla paste.
Pour the custard over the challah in the casserole dish. No need to mix.
Let the challah absorb the custard for at least five minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.
Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and cook in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve.

Recipe notes

If you’re looking to cut calories, you can use 1 cup of whole milk instead of ½ cup whole milk and ½ cup half-and-half.
If vanilla paste is not available, substitute with vanilla extract.