Overnight French Toast – a Holiday Favorite!

By: Jamie Kaun

The holidays are a wonderful time for connecting with friends and family. But they can also be exhausting because there’s so much busyness and activity. Let’s face it…making meals anytime of the year can be challenging for busy families, but it can be even more stressful during the holidays when you want to make something special.

If you need a breakfast idea (or really, this can be enjoyed anytime of the day!), overnight French toast is incredibly tasty, fairly simple to put together and always a crowd-pleaser. My kids look forward to it every Christmas morning and were quite unhappy with me the one year I decided to try something different. It’s quite rich and obviously far from low-carb, so it’s a breakfast treat that we enjoy on special occasions. And what could be more special than celebrating the birth of Jesus!

We’ve tried multiple versions of overnight French toast over the years and our favorite has been one that I’ve adapted from this recipe. Included with the copy below are several variations that we’ve tried as the basic recipe can be altered multiple ways to change up the taste just a bit.

Overnight French Toast (serves 8)

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of dense bread (such as sourdough, brioche or challah – soft, squishy bread doesn’t hold up well with the egg mixture)
• 8 eggs (we’ve used a little more than a loaf at times – we often add 1-2 additional eggs to ensure the bread is covered)
• ½ c heavy whipping cream (or substitute)
• 2 c milk (you can substitute egg nog or a milk alternative)
• ¾ c sugar (I often cut back on this or omit it, depends on how sweet you want it. You can add a little cinnamon for more flavor.)
• 1 TB vanilla extract

Topping

• ½ c all-purpose flour
• ½ c brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (we often add a bit more)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ c butter cold, cut into pieces

Instructions

1. Cut bread loaf into cubes. Place evenly in a greased 9x13 pan.
2. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread.
4. Mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Cut butter into this mixture until crumbly. Place in a zip top bag and refrigerate overnight.
6. When ready to bake, take the pan out and sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the top of the bread.
7. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how soft you want your French toast.

If you want to make the dish ahead of when you need it, you can freeze it before or after baking. Wrap the dish in plastic wrap and then foil. It can keep up to 2 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to bake it, thaw it overnight in the fridge. Remove all the wrapping. If it’s been pre-baked, cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. If it has not, follow the baking instructions above.

If this rich (and incredibly tasty) dish gives you the urge to exercise to mitigate some of those calories, you can find the Dayton Y’s holiday hours here. Remember, you don’t even have to leave your home to use the Y’s 360 program (this blog has more info too!). And if you would like some additional recipe ideas (including healthy options) check out the Dayton YMCA recipe page.

Whatever you choose to eat or however you celebrate, happy holidays to you and your loved ones!