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
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.
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.
You might also like:
Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast Casserole
Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Caramel Pecan Monkey Bread
Homemade Banana Pudding
Brown Sugar Substitute
Recipe
Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
Brown sugar banana filling:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ 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:
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ½ 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:
- 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):
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, half and half, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
- Grease a 2 ½ 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Hedy
Fantastic breakfast. This is a keeper. We got tired of the peach version. Banana takes flavor to a new level with this recipe.
Celebrating Sweets
I’ so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Megan
Hi there, I’m in the process of making this recipe and for some reason my sauce hardened as it cooled, almost like candy— do you know why this might have happened? I can’t wait to try!!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Megan. I apologize for not responding sooner. The banana-caramel sauce shouldn’t harden. Mine thickens a little bit as it cools, but it is definitely still a sauce. Are you sure you used SIX TABLESPOONS of butter? Also, was your brown sugar dry and hard? That might have affected it too. This isn’t a problem I’ve had before so I can’t think of what else it could be. Hopefully you were able to salvage some of it and enjoy the french toast. Thanks for stopping by!
Alejandra
Hello Dear, since I saw your posted recipe my mouth and eyes went totally open ? Everything is in the refri right now, the only problem is that I’m not going to wait until tomorrow…just few hours and get it done. I will let you know how it came out…. ??
Celebrating Sweets
Enjoy! I hope it came out delicious!
Alejandra
Wow… This is absolutely amazing! I love your recipe. I will make it for my family and friends!!! Thank you ???
Lil Mama
This is amazing ! I’ve made it several times for inservice days at school and it is the first to get eaten! I get request for it every inservice now. The only thing I did different was add Rum extract to the sauce and egg custard mixture. So good!!!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that. I’m glad everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!
Alli
Huge hit for Thanksgiving Brunch! The perfect amount of sweetness as is. An impressive recipe that was easy to put together. Will definitely make again.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for stopping by. Happy holidays!
Miriam
Hello, this looks scrumptious! I am making for our Christmas breakfast with our grandkids. Could I used brioche or should I stick with baguette?
Thanks!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Miriam. Yes, brioche would be delicious. Just make sure that it is dried out a bit. If it is too soft the french toast could get mushy. I’d recommend cubing the brioche and letting it sit out overnight to dry out. Enjoy!
Miriam
Wonderful! Thank you for the reply!
Chris
Has anyone tried freezing this?
Celebrating Sweets
I have not. Sorry! If you try it, please let me know how it goes.
Susan E McIntosh
This was a huge hit at my brunch this morning. Everyone wanted the recipe.
It is absolutely delicious. Easy to prepare. Nice presentation.
Nice change from other recipes I’ve over the years with apples or blueberries.
Thank you.
I will be making this again. I give it 5 stars.
Celebrating Sweets
Thank you for the kind review, Susan. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Happy holidays!
Sheila Carroll
Hello! This is a wonderful recipe, thank you so much for posting! How far in advance can this be made? I know it says overnight, just wondering if prepping it about 22 hours in advance would be too much? If so, what do you think would be the maximum amount of time to prep ahead? Thank you for your help!
Celebrating Sweets
I have always baked it within 12 hours, so I can’t say how it will be if it sits longer. My main concern would be that the bananas would brown and the bread would get too mushy. Sorry I can’t give you a better answer. If you try soaking it longer, please let me know how it comes out. Happy holidays! -Allison