It’s always fun to kick off the weekend with a massive breakfast feast. But sometimes when Saturday morning rolls around, the last thing you want to do is destroy the kitchen with a morning of cooking.
Make it easy on yourself — and feed a crowd — with this easy French toast bake recipe from the Passionate Penny Pincher. You can prepare it the night before and have it ready to go first thing in the a.m.!
Or, if you’re a breakfast-for-dinner kind of family, Laurie Hise (the writer behind the blog) suggests making the French toast bake in the morning. Pop it in the oven at dinner time and serve with protein-packed eggs and fresh fruit for the full breakfast experience.
The recipe suggests using thick-cut bread for the French toast bake — you’ll need that extra thickness to absorb the egg mixture. Other ideas: use croissants or cut-up cinnamon rolls.
First, you’ll make a melted-butter-and-brown-sugar mixture in the microwave, then pour it into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Make sure the whole dish is evenly coated.
Next, you’ll beat together eggs, milk and vanilla, then place a layer of bread in the dish. Pour about half of the egg mixture on top of the bread, then add a second layer of bread on top of that (we told you this would feed a crowd!).
Pour the rest of the egg mixture on the second layer, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Believe it or not, that’s it!
Cover and refrigerate the dish for at least six hours, or overnight if you’ll be eating the bake the next morning.
About an hour before go-time, preheat your oven and pop in the baking dish. Keep the dish covered with aluminum foil for about half of the cooking time, then remove for the final half. The dish bakes in about 45 minutes.
Finally, top the bake however you wish — powdered sugar and strawberries, perhaps? — and serve slices with maple syrup. Yum!
Read the full recipe from Passionate Penny Pincher for all the details. And enjoy!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
