Overnight Raspberry French Toast Casserole
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This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
It’s Brunch Week and I’m excited to be sharing another delicious brunch recipe today. This is one that I’ve had on my list of things to make forever but I haven’t had time to actually do it. It’s an overnight French Toast Casserole which is awesome because you can make it the night before company comes and then all you have to do is pop it in the oven in the morning.
There are so many different types of overnight French Toast casseroles and I had a hard time deciding which one I wanted to make. The decision was made for me when I went to the market and saw that raspberries were on sale. I love raspberries but they are often super expensive for such a small container so I don’t buy them very often.
So what made me decide to finally make this casserole? We had a dinner party last weekend and I sliced up a tasty loaf of Italian bread. At the end of the night there was still more than half a loaf of bread left over and it was already cut so I knew it would only last a few days. I was trying to figure out how to use it when I remembered that I wanted to make this Overnight Raspberry French Toast Casserole recipe.
The half loaf was just what I needed to make this recipe. Keep in mind that I made this for my husband and I so it’s a smaller portion. This recipe is easily doubled and can be made in a 9 x 13 pan to serve up to 12 people. I made ours in a 7 x 11 pan and we enjoyed it for brunch one day and then I ate the leftovers for breakfast over the course of the next three days.
This recipe is really easy and only has a few ingredients in it. It’s your basic French Toast recipe with the addition of raspberries and cream cheese. I added an entire block of cream cheese which made it really rich and delicious but feel free to only use half a block if you’d rather.
My favorite part of this recipe is the homemade raspberry vanilla syrup that gets poured over the top of the casserole. It helps to keep the French Toast moist and adds a ton of berry flavor to this casserole. I ended up pouring about half of it over top of the casserole and then put the remaining half in a dish on the side so we could add it in as we wanted. This also helped with the leftovers so the French Toast wasn’t too soggy the next day.
This casserole is really delicious and makes the perfect brunch option. The French Toast is sweet but not overly sweet and it bakes into a tasty breakfast casserole. The raspberry syrup adds in the perfect amount of sweetness and flavors of berries. This would be the perfect casserole for overnight guests since you can put it together the night before and then just heat it up in the morning once everyone is awake. I’ll definitely be making it again and might try it with strawberries or blackberries next time.
Overnight Raspberry French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
For the casserole:
- 14 slices of slightly stale bread cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese, cut into pieces
- 1 c. raspberries
- 6 eggs
- 1 c. milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the syrup:
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 c. water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 c. raspberries
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Spray a 7 x 11 pan with baking spray (or 9 x 9 if you don’t have the 7 x 11).
- Add half the bread cubes to the pan. Place the cream cheese pieces on top of the bread in the pan and then sprinkle with the raspberries. Top with the remaining bread. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl beat the eggs. Add in the milk, vanilla, brown sugar, and cinnamon and mix well.
- Pour the mixture over top of the casserole, making sure to get it all over the casserole.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Thirty minutes before baking remove the casserole from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake the casserole, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the sugar, water, cornstarch, and raspberries in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool.
- Pour half of the syrup over top of the casserole and serve the remaining syrup on the side.
Notes
Take a look at what the #BrunchWeek Bloggers are creating today!
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Almond Joy Iced Coffee from Hardly A Goddess
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BrunchWeek Main Dishes:
Apple, Grape, and Walnut Chicken Salad from Love and Confections
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BrunchWeek Desserts:
Champagne Pound Cake with Rose Water Frosting from Sweet Beginnings
Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits from Cookaholic Wife
Lemon No Bake Cheesecake from Feeding Big
I Love French toast casserole but have never thought to include cream cheese. Genius!!
I love the addition of raspberry! This looks fabulous!