Here’s the thing: I’m not much of a meal planner.
When you’re not a meal planner, then you have to be quick on your feet when coming up with homemade meals. It means your pantry better be stocked with the basics, and you need to have some recipe ingenuity!
Kind of tired of the same ol’ weekend breakfast go-to’s, this past Saturday I perused a few recipes online to create something I could throw together and then bake in the oven.
Here’s what I came up with – and unlike a lot of baked bread-based breakfast casseroles, you don’t need to let it soak for hours and hours beforehand.
That means no planning; you can make it on a whim!
Walnut French Toast Bread Pudding Casserole
Yield:
4
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
50 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour
This walnut French toast bread pudding casserole combines chunks of sandwich bread soaked in a rich custard of eggs, whole milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Topped with a cinnamon-sugar mixture and baked until golden, it's a delightful breakfast or brunch option that doesn't require overnight soaking.
Ingredients
- 6 slices sandwich bread, cut in 2″ pieces (or the equivalent in whatever kind of bread you have around)
- 3 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- zest of one lemon
- 1 cup walnuts or sliced almonds*
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- butter for greasing
Instructions
Notes
*I originally used walnuts in my recipe, but I found their flavor to be a bit overwhelming. And, while it was good, I would prefer the milder taste of sliced and toasted almonds – the nutty crunch would go really well with the cinnamon and sugar.
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