Easy (and healthy) Baked French Toast with Bananas
Tis the season to…BAKE! 🙂
I have these really fond memories of my mom’s baked french toast. She used to make it for brunch on holidays, and what I really remember was that it was super sweet and a complete indulgence. I mean: cream cheese and butter and sugar and every sinful ingredient possible in it.
And I loved it.
So a few weeks ago on a Tuesday (or maybe it was Wednesday, but it was just a normal day) I started craving Mom’s baked french toast. I wanted to make it and I told my boys I’d make it (though I planned to healthy it up a bit.) Then I did what I do almost every day whenever I need a little extra support in the kitchen:
I called my mom.
But my mom wasn’t there. She was busy…Pretty sure the was traveling — to Australia or Alaska, or maybe it was Arizona. (She travels a bit much.) (And yes I’m a bit jealous.) But she was busy and she wasn’t available to help me in the kitchen in my time of need. (shame.)
So it was time to grow up a little and figure things out for myself. Or at least hit the internet.
Most of the recipes I found online involved both a loaf of french or sourdough bread (which I didn’t have on hand) and required making the dish the night before so it could sit all night.
Those things weren’t an option. I wanted to make it like now. Also: I had announced to my 4 homeschooled sons that I’d be making them baked french toast “today.” And you just can’t go back on your word like that.
So I just went for it, cubing up whole wheat bread, eggs, almond milk, vanilla and cinnamon. It was really super simple. (It took under ten minutes!) I added sliced bananas on half of it to be safe (we have a few–thousand– bananas on hand but I wasn’t sure if they would be good in the french toast) (and YES! they were). Then I baked it.
And lo and behold…it came out brilliantly.
I think this will go on my normal breakfast rotation. I had imagined it would be a complicated recipe but it was not at all. I could make this any ol’ Tuesday or Wednesday (or birthday or Christmas.)
This recipe has wholesome ingredients. And no cream cheese or added sugar (only a small amount of real maple syrup which totally doesn’t count, right?) and almond milk.
Take that mom. Wherever the heck you might be.
Friends, I hope you’ll try this one soon. If you prefer–go ahead and make it at night, cover with foil and refrigerate, and bake it in the morning.
Just don’t wait for a special occasion.
(But then you might want to make it for a special occasion, too. Thanksgiving morning perhaps?)
And let me know how you love it. (cuz you will!)
Here’s the printable recipe:
Easy (and healthy!) French Toast+ Banana Bake
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups cubed whole wheat bread cubed (gluten free bread is an option here.)
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups milk of choice I used almond milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar optional
- 2-3 bananas sliced (also optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees
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Lightly grease large baking dish (9X13 or large square dish for thicker pieces)
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Lay bread cubes across entire bottom of baking dish, and piled up about 1.5-2 inches
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In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour over bread cubes, and use a spoon to push down (even stir a bit) making sure bread is fully covered with liquid. You can always add more bread if there is excess liquid, or even remove a few pieces if there are some dry.
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Sprinkle with brown sugar if you like. It is not necessary but will give it a sweet crunch on top. Cover with sliced bananas, (also optional!) Again: push down so they get some liquid coverage. (A few on top will not hurt.)
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Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Then remove foil and continue to bake, 10-15 more minutes (you'll need to check it as cooking times will vary.) You'll know it's done when the bread is golden brown and the egg mixture is no longer wet. Stick a knife down in the center to check, and if it is still wet, bake for another 5-10 minutes.
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Remove from oven and top with more maple syrup (I honestly enjoy it plain as well. It is similar to a bread pudding texture!) ENJOY!
XO
Monica
PS To be fair: My mom is almost always available for my cooking-related phone calls. And even more: She’ll be travelling to Hawaii one week from today, and then I won’t let her leave for at least a few months. 😉
PPS I still might get my mom’s recipe for the more indulgent style baked french toast to share later. Because cream cheese is still pretty awesome.
Find all of my breakfast recipes HERE. 😉
Hands down best no-wait baked French toast. I have sprinkled bacon and brown sugar on the top, sprinkled maple sausage another time, used Hawaiian bread, whole wheat bread, and oatmeal bread without issue. Made a smaller portion, a giant family portion, with and without sugar. It is soooo easy to make it yours and the best part is I can make it on the fly. Thank you! It is now a house favorite
Oh that makes me so happy Mika! And I love you variations! Wonderful. This is a house favorite here too! Blessings!
Hello- can I use egg whites instead of eggs?
I haven’t made this particular dish with just egg whites, but I have often substituted egg whites for eggs and I don’t see why it won’t work here! I say give it a go!! (and let me know how it turns out! :)) Much aloha, and Merry Christmas!
I just keep making this, and the peanut butter bar of yours, over and over again. Got one in the oven right now. My husband and boys love it (as do i!) My husband can’t eat refined sugar (he has what seems to be an allergic reaction to it) and so treats like these are just awesome!
If you like sugar free baked goods, there’s a miraculous cookbook by Deborah E. Buhr called “The ‘I Cant Believe This Has No Sugar’ Cookbook”. The lady is a genius.
Awesome, thank you TJ! 🙂 I will look into that book. So happy you have enjoyed making some of my recipes. Love hearing from you! aloha-
I love your rectangle pampered chef dish. Love the cranberry color. I have a lot of them. Great mix up for the breakfast idea. Love the post. Oh by the way, I have been thinking of a trip to Hawaii. I need a break from my class lol. Can you recommend a good cite to check out places to stay in the North Shore area? Love your post keep them coming friend.
Thank you Sara! I love that cranberry color too. 😉 So fun that you’re thinking of a trip to the island!! I wish I had a good site to recommend, but honestly most people I know just search using VRBO. It’s tough since there is only one hotel (though it is a great one!) Otherwise searching VRBO for Haleiwa–Sunset area is the best. I wouldn’t recommend going any further away than Sunset though as you could find yourself way out in the country. It’s not super easy to find places on the NS. :/ All the best though and keep me posted! aloha!
Yum! Probably will forego the almond mild due Carrageenan is an additive in it and we aren’t lactose intolerant. Can we use 1% milk instead?
for sure! Any milk will work. 🙂 Hope you love it!!
Can’t wait to try this! My boys and i LOVED the peanut butter bar recipe you posted a couple weeks ago. Thank you!
Thank you TJ!! So glad the PB bars worked out. I think you’ll all love this too. Let me know! 🙂 Much aloha!