How to make a deliciously easy French toast casserole, the best make ahead recipe that’s perfect for a crowd and makes a quick breakfast on busy mornings.
Cube the bread into small 1-inch cubes, and layer it with the pecans in your slow cooker.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, real maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread and pecans in the Crock Pot, and give it all a gentle toss. Make sure all the bread is good and soaked.
Mix the sliced butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small mixing bowl.
Crumble the cinnamon brown sugar topping over the entire casserole. It’s a really moist mixture, so it’s more like clumps of cinnamon brown sugar.
Place the lid on your slow cooker, and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours… Or you can cook it on low for 3 to 4 hours.
To make sure it's done, I use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature and make sure it's up to the proper temp for eggs.
You can slice it and serve it with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup. Keep the rest of your casserole warm, using the “Keep Warm” setting on your slow cooker, if applicable.
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Notes
*While you can make a Crock Pot French toast bake with Texas toast, sourdough, challah bread, French bread, or really any other type of fresh baked bread, I usually use a regular loaf of plain sandwich bread.*If you need this to be a gluten-free French toast casserole, substitute in your favorite gluten-free bread in place of the regular sandwich bread included in the ingredients. Depending on the bread you use, it may be a bit more crumbly, but it's just as delicious. Also, be sure to check labels on your spices and other ingredients, just to be on the safe side, and make sure they are really gluten-free.**You can totally leave out the pecans altogether. OR you can add a different kind of nut like walnuts.***Be sure to use real maple syrup. Table syrup will likely change the recipe.CAN YOU USE STALE BREAD FOR FRENCH TOAST?Yes, in fact, it's actually the best thing to use stale bread because…
Fresh bread can actually make really soggy French toast.
And the dry, stale bread really soaks up the egg mixture well, leaving little to no liquid around the bread cubes in the slow cooker.
If your bread is really fresh, you can always let it sit out for a couple of hours before making the casserole. Or if it's the night before, just leave the bag open overnight and let the bread air out.If it's the morning of and you need it dried quickly, put it in a low temp oven (about 250° F) for a short time, until the bread has dried just a bit.