Baked Strawberry French Toast Casserole
This Baked Strawberry French Toast Casserole is incredibly delicious and a breeze to throw together! Made with fresh strawberries, buttery brioche and finished with a crumbly walnut streusel, this french toast is perfect for entertaining and easy enough for Sunday brunch with the family! Plus, a super quick and easy homemade strawberry syrup recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups Whole Milk *
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream (you can substitute whole milk or half-and-half)
- 6 large Eggs
- 3 TBS Light Brown Sugar
- 2 TBS Unsalted Butter – melted and cooled, plus more for greasing pan
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Vanilla Extract and Strawberry Extract
- Kosher Salt
- 1 loaf Brioche Bread – cut into 3/4’’ thick slices (can substitute challah)*
- 2 Cups Strawberries , divided - hulled and sliced, plus more for serving
Walnut Streusel:
- 1/3 Cup Walnuts – roughly chopped
- 5 ½ TBS All Purpose Flour
- 3 TBS Light Brown Sugar , packed
- 1 ½ TBS Granulated Sugar
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 ½ TBS Unsalted Butter , melted
Optional for serving: Confectioner's Sugar, Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Prepare the French toast mixture: In a large bowl or deep baking dish, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, melted butter, extracts and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Dip bread: Dip each slice of bread into the milk and egg mixture, turning over, until fully coated.
- Prepare the casserole: Transfer the dipped bread slices to the prepared baking dish, arranging the bread vertically in 2 overlapping rows standing upright. Pour the remaining milk and egg mixture evenly over the bread.
- Add berries: Tuck 1 cup of the strawberries in between the bread slices. Sprinkle the remaining cup of strawberries over the top of the casserole. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
- Prepare the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the walnuts, flour, both sugars and ¼ teaspoon salt. Drizzle in the melted butter and stir with a fork until both large and small chunks of streusel are formed. Set aside.
- Preheat oven: When ready to bake, remove the French toast from the refrigerator and set on the counter while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add streusel to top: Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the bread.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until puffed and golden. Loosely tent the top of the baking dish with aluminum foil during the last 15-20 minutes of baking if the top is browning too quickly.
- Serve: Remove the casserole from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, sprinkle with more berries and drizzle with maple syrup. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
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- Make sure you are using bread that is at least a day old! If you only have fresh bread, you can toast the bread in an oven preheated to 250 degrees F for 5-10 minutes, or until the bread is lightly toasted.
- Make sure your milk isn’t overly cold. If your milk is too cold it will re-solidify the melted butter.
- This French toast requires at least 1 hour of refrigeration for best results.
- The streusel can be made in advance and stored, covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- In a small saucepan, add the preserves, water and salt.
- Bring contents to a boil over high heat. Immediately reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Nutrition
Calories: 485kcal Carbohydrates: 41g Protein: 14g Fat: 31g Saturated Fat: 16g Cholesterol: 273mg Sodium: 357mg Potassium: 224mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 15g Vitamin A: 1085IU Vitamin C: 21.2mg Calcium: 127mg Iron: 1.8mg