Challah French Toast Casserole

Challah French Toast Casserole

This challah French toast casserole is the best easy brunch recipe for entertaining, ready in just 50 minutes with challah, fresh berries, and a crunchy streusel topping for a breakfast casserole that's certain to please.

Course Breakfast, Main

Cuisine Breakfast, Christmas, Holiday, Sweet

Diet Low Salt

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 342kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

Baked French Toast:

6 large eggs
2 ½ cups whole milk
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pinch Kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups berries divided (I used raspberries and blueberries)
1 loaf stale Challah cut into 1 ½ inch cubes (I cut mine and left it out overnight with a couple pieces of paper towel placed on top)

Alton Brown's Streusel Topping

½ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoon salted butter softened

Instructions

Baked French Toast:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray the 9" x 13" baking pan with cooking spray.
In a separate bowl mix the first five ingredients and whisk until well combined.
Put half of the Challah pieces into the baking pan and top with half of the berries.
Then put the rest of the Challah into the pan and top with the rest of the berries.
Pour your egg mixture evenly over the Challah and berries.
Top with wax or parchment paper and weigh down with another pan for 10 minutes (I happen to have multiple 9" x 13" pans and I put books in the empty one to weight it, but whatever will fit works).
Remove the pan and the paper and top the Challah with Streusel topping (recipe below).
Bake uncovered for around 50 minutes- 1 hour or until nicely browned. Allow at least 20 minutes to cool and then slice and serve.

Streusel topping:

Mix all ingredients together until well combined and "crumbly."

Notes

If you don’t have time to let the bread dry overnight, toast the challah cubes in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes to dry them quickly.
Watch closely toward the end of baking, since it can go from golden to overly browned quickly in the final stretch.
Weigh the pan down for the full 10 minutes so the custard soaks evenly into every piece of challah.
Cut the challah into similar-sized cubes so it soaks and bakes evenly throughout the casserole.
Let the casserole cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing, so it holds together better when served.
Ingredients to prep ahead- Make the streusel topping and cut the challah into cubes up to a day in advance.
Leftovers and storage- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Nutrition