Triple Berry French Toast Bake
If you’re looking for a delicious breakfast casserole that everyone will love, this Triple Berry French Toast Bake is for you! It has so many delicious elements: A buttery brown sugar layer on the bottom, perfectly baked (and not soggy!) French Toast pieces, a flavorful mix of berries and a cinnamon streusel topping! Made in a big 7-quart cast iron Staub pan, it bakes up perfectly and will feed a small army!
French Toast Casseroles are a great way to combine all the elements of French Toast into one easy-to-serve dish! But more often times than not, they can come out really soggy in the center…a huge disappointment when you’re really wanting a fluffy, perfectly baked piece of French Toast!
My frustration with soggy French Toast casseroles inspired me to create this recipe! No need to overnight soak your bread…you can put it all together in less than 20 minutes and bake! My family LOVES this French Toast Bake! Everyone always wants seconds, so I bake it in my large 7 quart Staub cast iron pot to make sure there’s plenty for everyone! This big recipe would be a great portion to take to a potluck too! If you don’t have a large 7 quart cast iron pan, you could easily half the recipe for a 9×9 baking dish.
I love a good French Toast! For me, there are a few key elements that are key to making it delicious.
- It’s all about the bread! Use a quality, Artisan loaf like my recipe for French Bread, my Beginner Artisan Bread, Challah, Brioche or even Sourdough. An Artisan Bread has great flavor, plus it has the type of crumb that will hold up to the milk and egg mixture.
- Cinnamon and Vanilla mixed into the milk and egg mixture add a delicious, sweet flavor!
- Toasting it in a good amount of butter!…because, duh. Butter!
This recipe will incorporate all of those delicious elements and more!
Get started by slicing up your bread. I cube them into pieces about 1 1/2 inches. It’s just the right size for the bread to easily soak up all of the liquids, but to keep it’s shape for a fluffy baked French Toast! I like to cut up the bread about an hour before putting it all together. It dries it out a bit to help it hold up to the milk and eggs.
This recipe can be easily put together in 20 minutes and baked all together in one pan! No need to soak this bread overnight!
Steps for this recipe…
- Cube the bread
- Remove the frozen berries from the freezer to defrost before baking
- Spread the brown sugar/melted butter mixture on the bottom of the pan
- Toss the bread with the egg/milk mixture and pour into the pan
- First of two bakes to slightly toast the bread
- During the first bake, prepare the streusel topping
- Add the berries and streusel topping
- Continue baking until streusel is slightly golden
- Serve warm and enjoy!
The first layer that goes into the pan is this rich, delicious brown sugar and melted butter mixture. Whisk it together and it becomes a paste you can spread onto the bottom of the pan. This is going to bake along with the French Toast layer and slightly caramelize as it bakes, creating an ooey gooey layer of yumminess on the bottom layer of bread! It’s such a delicious addition that gives this bake a rich brown sugar flavor!
An important element of this recipe is baking the French Toast before adding the toppings. This will give it that fluffy French Toast texture and keep it from getting soggy from those juicy berries and rich streusel topping.
Berries are always a great idea for French Toast! I love a triple berry mix, but use whatever kind of berries YOU like! I love to use frozen berries. They are more convenient, available year round, usually more inexpensive and the flavor is sweeter than fresh berries. If you have fresh berries to use, you could definitely use them instead of frozen.
When using frozen berries, it’s a good idea to let them thaw before adding to the French Toast. This will help them warm up just right during that second bake.
Can we talk about the streusel topping? It’s going to be the first thing you taste when you take a bite…this buttery, brown sugar, cinnamon crumble – it’s amazing! I use this streusel on top of other baked treats like my Apple Streusel Muffins (you MUST try!!). It’s a simple topping of flour, brown and white sugars, cinnamon and melted butter.
We’re baking this uncovered, but be sure to put the lid on during either two stages of the bake if it is browning too quickly. I always make sure to put the lid on right out of the oven, to keep the heat in while it sets for five minutes before serving.
Serve it along with some whipped cream or sprinkle on some confectioners sugar -however you like it! It’s the perfect one dish recipe to feed a hungry bunch. Trust me, your family will love this and will be asking for seconds!
Post your creations to Instagram and tag me to show me how you make it your own!
Triple Berry French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup packed golden brown sugar
- 14 oz French bread cubed
- 6 large eggs slightly beaten
- ¾ cup milk 2% or whole
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 12 ounces frozen triple berry mix
Streusel Topping:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack for baking on middle rack. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- With a bread knife, cube the French bread into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Place in large bowl and set aside.
- Remove frozen berries from freezer to defrost while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine the 4 Tablespoons melted butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Spread mixture inside the bottom of a large cast iron pan (5-7 quart). This will create a yummy caramelization on the bottom of the French Toast Bake!
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs, milk, vanilla and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon. Pour evenly over the cubed bread, slightly tossing to coat all of the bread.
- Pour coated bread into the cast iron pan over the brown sugar mixture and spread it out evenly. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. (If bread starts to brown too much, cover with lid.)
- While bread is baking, prepare the Topping. In a small bowl, combine all Topping ingredients and set aside.
- After the bread has baked for 30 minutes, remove from oven. Sprinkle the berries on top of the bread. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the berries. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, an additional 30 minutes. (If topping or fruit starts to brown, place lid on pan.)
- Remove from oven, place lid on pan and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- Best served warm! (Tastes so yummy with whipped cream!)
Notes
- Baking the coated bread before adding the toppings is key to preventing the bread from getting too soggy. The bake should slightly toast the bread, creating a barrier to keep it from absorbing too much of the berry juices during the second half of the bake.
- Use any type of berry you like for this recipe! Adapt it to use what you have on hand or what you love. Fresh berries can also be used instead of frozen.
- Use any type of artisan bread you have on hand like French, Brioche, Italian, Sourdough, or Challah. Avoid using soft sandwich breads-they aren’t able to absorb liquids the same as Artisan breads. See thatbreadlady.com for an amazing French Bread recipe!
- You can half this recipe and bake in a 9×9 inch baking pan.
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