Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole – A make-ahead baked French toast casserole filled with brown sugar caramel sauce, sliced bananas, and a brown sugar crumble topping. Assemble this French toast the night before and bake it in the morning.
With Easter quickly approaching I figured now would be the time to share a fabulous make-ahead breakfast. Today I’m bringing you Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole. Sounds heavenly, right? It most definitely is. It’s a big dish of carby-sweet-caramely-goodness. Comfort food to the max.
Banana French Toast – The perfect make-ahead breakfast
This Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole is a twist on one of my favorite recipes, Cinnamon Vanilla Baked French Toast. My family always makes French toast casserole for holidays (like Easter and Christmas) when we want a special breakfast but but don’t want to spend the whole morning in the kitchen. All the work is done the night before, so all you have to do is place the French toast in the oven and bake it.
What makes this French toast different from my other version is the addition of brown sugar caramel and bananas. A quick “caramel” sauce is made on the stove top by combining melted butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Sliced bananas are tossed in the sauce and then layered between cubes of bread. The whole mixture is topped with an egg and milk custard and then refrigerated overnight. Although there are a few steps, this recipe is really quite easy – and the payoff is huge!
During baking, the French toasts puffs up and turns golden brown. The bread on the inside is tender and the pieces on top get slightly crunchy. Each bite has a sweet and subtle caramel and banana flavor.
Bananas Foster French Toast
This French toast walks a fine line between being breakfast or dessert. The flavors are similar to bananas foster, and it also has a bread pudding quality that could easily help it pass for dessert. But, we’re calling it French toast so we can justify eating it for breakfast. I know you’re with me on this. Dessert for breakfast? OK, twist my arm.
To serve, you can opt to drizzle this French toast with caramel sauce or with maple syrup. I used salted caramel sauce and it was unbelievably delicious. I also topped each serving with a dollop of freshly whipped cream (indulgent much?). Remember, this is an every once in a while/special occasion breakfast. We’re not topping our breakfast with caramel sauce and whipped cream every single morning. But today we are… and we’re going to enjoy every bite.
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Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast Casserole
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Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
Brown sugar banana filling:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- pinch salt
- 3 ripe-firm bananas peeled and sliced
French toast:
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup milk preferably whole or 2%
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- One 15 oz loaf French bread cut into large cubes (preferably a day or two old)
Topping:
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- To serve: maple syrup, caramel sauce, sliced bananas, chopped nuts, and/or whipped cream
Instructions
Brown sugar banana filling:
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In a skillet set over medium heat, melt 6 tablespoons butter. Add brown sugar, maple syrup, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly for a few minutes until the mixture is smooth. If there are lumps in your sugar you might need to use a whisk. Once the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and carefully stir in the bananas. Set aside and cool to room temperature while you prepare the French toast.
French toast preparation (allow time to soak overnight):
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In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, half and half, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
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Grease a 2 1/2 or 3 quart casserole dish and place half the bread cubes in the bottom. Spoon half of the banana-brown sugar mixture over the bread. Top with the remaining bread cubes.
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Pour the custard (egg mixture) evenly over the bread cubes. Lightly press down on the top of the bread to allow the top layer of bread to absorb some of the custard mixture. Spoon the remaining banana-brown sugar mixture over the top of the French toast. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Prepare the topping.
Topping:
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Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter, and using a spoon, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture resembles wet, clumpy sand. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake the French toast.
Baking:
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the French toast from the refrigerator (the bread will have absorbed most of the custard). Crumble the topping over the top of the French toast. Bake uncovered for 40-55 minutes, until puffed, golden brown, and set (check that the center is not too wet). Baking time will depend on how deep your casserole dish is and whether you prefer your French toast more well done. Serve immediately with syrup, caramel sauce, whipped cream and/or chopped nuts. Leftovers can be refrigerated.
This looks SO yummy!!! I normally pass on recipes with anything other than mashed up bananas, but… The various textures, gotta have! Pinned, printed and a making!! Thanks!
Hi Teri! I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Thanks for stopping by!
This is serious banana perfection!
This is some serious breakfast comfort food! I wish I had a spoon and could reach through the computer screen and eat those bananas in the caramel sauce!
Oh my goodness I’m totally drooling over this! You took a French Toast Bake to a whole new level!
Oh my gosh my mouth is literally watering right now! This sounds/looks absolutely amazing! Will definitely be giving this a try soon!
This breakfast dish is absolutely delicious. A great recipe to serve when you have guests.
This french toast recipe was the best!!! OMG. I mean seriously OMG! Everyone loved it!
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and let me know. 🙂
Hello! I’ve made this casserole twice now and I absolutely love the flavor and love the top layer…but the bottom I can’t seem to get right. Maybe it’s just supposed to be a little mushy but that texture is tough for me to eat. After my first try I did lots of research on tips to make it less mushy. This time I tried leaving the bread out all day to get stale, I tried giving some time between refrigerator and the oven, and I tried cooking a little longer with some foil on top. Like I said I LOVE the top layer, just wish the whole thing had the same texture. Any ideas? Thanks so much!
Hi Lacey. Yes, the top texture will definitely be more dry and the inside more soft/wet (similar to bread pudding). My first suggestion would be to use firmer, slightly stale bread, but it sounds like you tried that. My next suggestion would be to bake it in a larger shallower baking dish. This will make the casserole thinner and it since it won’t be as deep you’ll get more of the top layer that you like and less of the soft underneath layers. Hopefully that makes sense. You’ll probably need to cook it a little less, just keep an eye on it. Best of luck!
Best French toast ever. I used a whole grain sourdough torn into pieces rather than cut. And added a handed a handful of sliced almonds on top for the last 15 mins which added an extra dimension of texture and flavor. The bananas added flavor throughout the casserole without overwhelming it. I also added a smidge of cayenne and a couple sloshes of bourbon to the custard. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly 😉
Hi Amanda! Your additions sound delicious! I’m so glad that you like this recipe, it’s one of my favorites. Thanks for stopping by!
Just made this for company and it was fantastic! Hardly any left over! Will make again and again! Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked it. Thanks for stopping by!
This looks amazing! Can I prep this and leave in the refrigerator overnight and bake the next morning? Thanks!
Hello! Yes, the instructions suggest that you refrigerate overnight. It gives the bread time to soak everything up. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! Serving tomorrow, will refrigerate tonight.
Has anyone ever made this dairy free, say with almond milk? Or gluten free? Some dietary restrictions in our family.
Hi Danielle! I have not made this version dairy free, but I have made my Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast Casserole dairy free (check out that bottom of that recipe for instructions; the link is below). I have not tried gluten free. If you do, let me know how it goes. Best of luck!
http://celebratingsweets.com/cinnamon-vanilla-baked-french-toast/
Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole is so amazing, husbands favorite!! 2nd time I made it added 8 oz cream chez blended with 1/3 c sugar and spooned into with banana mixture and baked an extra 15 minutes. Talk about a wonderful recipe
The addition of cream cheese sounds delicious! I’m happy that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! 🙂
I used challah instead of French bread and it came out freakin amazing!
It’s Going to be my new overnight holiday breakfast!
The bananas and brown sugar are Just perfec!
Challah sounds great! So glad that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Hi, I have made this before and it was GREAT. This time I have guest coming and dont want to be in the kitchen much. Could it refrigerate from Friday morning to Saturday morning? Or is that too long for the bread to sit in the mix?
Hi, Savannah. I’m happy to hear that you like this recipe – it is one of my favorites. I would not recommend letting this sit for longer than overnight. I would worry that the bread would get too soggy and the bananas might brown.
If you’re looking to do some of it ahead of time, you can cut the bread into cubes and store it in a covered container. You could also whisk up the custard/egg mixture and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the french toast. Lastly, you can make the crumb topping a day or two ahead of time, just store it in the fridge. Enjoy!
I love this recipe! I made it but instead of putting it in the fridge, I placed it in the freezer. I took it out the night before I wanted to use it and placed it in the fridge. Then followed the directions as written. Perfect! You don’t lose any texture and everything is beautiful. Very versatile! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your adaptations. I’m glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to stop by.