OVERNIGHT BANANA FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
At this point, it’s no secret that I love a good breakfast casserole. They let you sit down to a scrumptious and filling breakfast but take most of the work out of it. Even better when it’s an overnight option that lets you get all the prep done the night before! This breakfast casserole is great for all of those reasons, but mostly because of its sweet and cinnamon banana flavor. It’s a soft and comforting French toast bake, and if you love bananas, it’s certain to become a favorite of yours from the first bite.
French toast bakes are nice because while you’re still getting that moist, custard soaked bread but you don’t have to go to the trouble of cooking individual slices. You just cube up some bread…
… slice a bunch of bananas, and then mix it all into a sweet and eggy mixture of milk and cream.
You can stop there and chill the whole thing overnight and bake it in the morning, or you can get it in the oven straight away. In either case, it will bake in two phases – once to set and once to brown the streusel topping. (Because why wouldn’t you want a buttery, golden brown sugary topping? Exactly.)
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb loaf French bread, cubed
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6-7 bananas, 1 sliced, the rest chopped
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup salted butter, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugars, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
Add bread and chopped bananas and stir to combine. Pour into prepared baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate overnight if desired.
Bake, covered, until set, 35-40 minutes. Meanwhile, make the streusel:
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and mash until mixture is crumbly.
When casserole is nearly done, top with streusel and sliced banana and bake uncovered until golden brown, 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!