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This baked apple French toast casserole is an easy to make breakfast casserole perfect for holiday breakfast or brunch. You can prepare it and bake it right away or refrigerate it overnight to bake in the morning. French toast combines with sweet apples for a tasty and comforting breakfast.
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French toast has been one of my favorite breakfasts since I was young. I’m not much for pancakes or waffles, but I love French toast! This recipe has all the tasty deliciousness of French toast in casserole form.
A thick custard made from Egg Beaters® Original and milk coats slices of thick apple bread. Then the baked apple French toast casserole is topped off with lots and lots of cinnamon sugar apples.
The resulting dish makes a hearty comfort food breakfast casserole. It is a delicious holiday breakfast or special brunch dish.
Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole
This baked apple French toast casserole can be assembled the night before and baked in the morning. But the bread doesn’t need to soak overnight, so you can also bake it right away.
So if you are looking for a casserole to prepare the night before a special holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving this casserole works well. And if you just wake up in the morning and decide to make your family breakfast that works too.
Egg Beaters
The eggy custard that coats the bread in this French toast casserole is made from a mixture of Egg Beaters and milk. Using Egg Beaters makes preparing wholesome, homemade dishes easy. There is no cracking and cleanup required – their convenient packaging allows you to just open the carton and pour.
I used Egg Beaters Original as an alternative to eggs. It is made with all-natural egg whites and has 1/2 the calories of shell eggs. I found the Egg Beaters in their new bright yellow packaging by the eggs at Walmart.
And now Egg Beaters is coming out with a convenient new product, Egg Beaters Whole Eggs. And just like it sounds this is 100% whole farm fresh eggs, with no artificial flavors or colors. And since it is minus the shell there is also no mess! Look for this new product at Walmart to use in your breakfasts and baking.
Bread For Apple French Toast
I used an apple cinnamon brioche as the base for this baked apple French toast casserole. And while the bits of apples and swirls of cinnamon in the bread were delicious you could use almost any hearty bread for the dish. Sour dough bread or French bread would also work well. I wouldn’t make it with sandwich bread, because the slices would be too thin and fragile.
What Kind of Apples Should I Use?
For this dish I wanted apples that would stay firm and keep their shape after baking. I used Honey Crisp apples but any popular baking apple like Granny Smith or Braeburn would work well.
On the other hand you might want apples that are going to breakdown and be mushy, not crisp after baking. In that case a soft apple like Red Delicious or Macintosh would work best.
So base your apple selection on the texture you are looking for in the final casserole. Or just use whatever you have in the refrigerator, because either way the casserole will taste good!
How to Make Baked Apple French Toast Casserole
1. Slice the Bread
Slice the bread into slices that are 3/4 of inch or so thick. Thick slices will provide a nice solid base for the French toast casserole.
2. Prepare the Custard
The custard is a mixture of Egg Beaters, milk and vanilla with a little bit of brown sugar, cinnamon and salt added. I don’t think this breakfast casserole needs much added sugar. Apples are sweet and you are almost certainly going to serve this with added powdered sugar and maple syrup!
3. Dip the Bread in the Custard
Dip each slice of bread into the custard mixture and then arrange them overlapping in a casserole dish.
Make sure the bread covers the bottom of the dish. When you are done pour the extra custard mixture over the top of the casserole.
4. Prepare the Apples
Peel, core and slice the apples into slices about 1/4 thick. I have an apple peeler/slicer which quickly turns my apples into pretty, uniform slices. But you could also cut them into chunks if that is easier for you.
Then mix the apples with a little bit of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir the apples well and spread them out on top of the casserole. Then take the butter, cut it into small chunks and scatter it over the top of the apples. This will result in a layer of cooked but still fairly crisp apples on the final dish.
If you want the apples to be softer and sweeter you could saute the cinnamon apple mixture in the butter on the stove for 5-10 minutes before topping the casserole with the apples. Doing this will caramelize the sugar on the apples and make the entire dish more dessert like.
5. Bake the French Toast Casserole
At this point the casserole is ready to either bake or refrigerate until morning!
What to Serve With Baked Apple French Toast Casserole
Serve the casserole topped with powdered sugar and maple syrup. My kids insist on adding some whipped cream to this too. They consider this to be like apple pie for breakfast!
The final dish has eggy and squishy bread on the bottom topped with slightly crispy apples. It is a perfect fall breakfast comfort food, and would make an excellent holiday breakfast.
Looking for more versatile ways to use Egg Beaters? Check out these recipe ideas and don’t forget to look for the new Egg Beaters Whole Eggs!
Baked Apple French Toast Casserole
This baked apple French toast casserole is an easy to make breakfast casserole perfect for holiday breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
French Toast
- 1 1/4 cup Egg Beaters Original
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 pound Apple Cinnamon Bread
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
Apple Topping
- 3 large Honey Crisp Apples
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch salt
- 3 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F if baking the casserole immediately.
- Combine the Egg Beaters, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Slice the bread into slices 3/4 inch thick. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Dip each slice of bread into the Egg Beaters mixture, then arrange in the casserole dish. Overlap the slices of bread and be sure to cover the entire bottom of the dish.
- Peel, core and slice the apples.
- Put the apples in a bowl and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine.
- For crisper apples - Put the apples on top of the bread in the casserole dish. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter the butter over the apples.
- For softer apples - Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the apples. Saute, stirring for 5-10 minutes. Then put the apples on top of the bread in the casserole dish.
- If making this casserole ahead of time cover the casserole tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight. Finish the recipe by preheating the oven to 350 F and with starting with step 10 in the morning.
- If baking immediately cover the casserole with foil and bake, covered for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.
- Serve dusted with powdered sugar, with maple syrup or with whipped cream.
Notes
Any hearty bread will work in place of the Apple Cinnamon bread. Chose something like sour dough or French bread that you can cut into thick pieces.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 342 Total Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 11g Cholesterol: 32mg Sodium: 288mg Carbohydrates: 45g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 30g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 7g
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