Easy Gluten Free French Toast Casserole {Dairy Free}
Drizzled with maple syrup, this gluten free French toast casserole is a delicious duo of cinnamon and bread… what could be better?! And you can make it ahead of time so there’s no morning prep!
There's a secret in this recipe that takes it over-the-top delicious - it wasn't in the original recipe (posted 8/2020) but after some tweaking, I decided it was worth sharing! It's only one extra step but it's so worth it.
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While something this impressive would typically be reserved for holidays or to serve to a crowd, there’s no need to wait till then to make it! These big, thick pieces are the perfect way to please hungry tummies, whether it's a table full or just a small gathering. And because the recipe can be made ahead of time, there’s literally nothing to do but grab the syrup! (Check out these make-ahead breakfast sandwiches too!)
Why this recipe is the best!
This recipe exactly what a French toast casserole should be – not mushy or overly wet. Not dry. But just perfectly balanced with a beautiful golden brown top and a smell that will tempt everyone’s tastebuds! If you’re a fan of cinnamon and bread, you will LOVE this easy, make ahead breakfast.
Baking pro tips
The recipe itself isn't complicated but it's important to follow the method to making it. Unlike this zucchini muffin recipe or these biscuits, the ingredients for this recipe don't have to be room temperature, but here are some other pro tips that will ensure you have the best tasting, fluffiest French toast casserole ever:
Measure by weight
A good rule of thumb for gluten free baking is if the recipe offers measurements in weight, pull out that digital scale and measure by weight. Weight is a more accurate measurement than cups so typically things like flours and even sugars should be offered in weight measurements (usually grams). Things like baking soda and baking powder are often in teaspoons which is ok. But flours definitely need to be measured by weight.
Use French bread
French bread has that texture we're looking for - sturdy, not crumbly, crusty exterior with a soft interior. And it holds up extremely well when soaked with the egg mixture. This French bread is the recipe I use. The recipe makes 2 good sized loaves so there's one for dinner and one for this this recipe!
Don't try to use a storebought gluten free sandwich bread - it will not turn out. Other bread recipes, sliced thick, might work, but I have not tested them. (This white bread would probably be closest).
Use stale bread
This is one of the firsts... first time that gluten free bread actually has the advantage! We really don't have to try very hard to get stale bread, but you'll want to make sure that your bread is at least a day old (I've used 2 day old and it's wonderful). The stale bread is easy to cut and soaks up the bread wonderfully.
Let the casserole soak overnight
This is where the ease of prep comes in - make the casserole the evening before, cover it and pop it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, remove it, heat up the oven and bake.
This refrigeration time does two things: 1. it gives the bread a chance to soak up the egg mixture and 2. it makes for an easy meal in the morning.
Don't put the cold glass dish directly into the hot oven
Glass doesn't handle temperature changes well, which translates to: 'it might break and shatter, ruining your meal and kitchen!'. The best thing to do would be to remove the dish from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking to get the chill off.
Essential tools and ingredients
For the absolute best French toast casserole, make sure you have these tools handy:
- Digital scale - this is the one I've used for years.
- 9" x 13" baking dish - these glass dishes also come with lids!
- Small saucepan - something heavy duty so it prevents burning.
- Rubber spatula - this set comes with small sizes and large sizes.
And these ingredients:
- Vegan butter - Earth Balance is a great brand
- Almond milk - other types of milk would work equally well
How to make the best gluten free French toast casserole
The ingredients
Besides the bread, the short ingredients list is just 6 items – milk, eggs, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. If you don’t need dairy free, then use dairy milk, no other recipe changes needed.
Prepping the bread
The bread just needs to be dry. So if you make the French bread and slices up the loaves into 1 inch chunks and let them sit out for a day, you’ll have perfect bread. BUT, if you don’t want to wait that extra day of ‘drying time’, then here’s a pro tip:
Make the French bread recipe, then once the loaves are cool, chunk 9.5 ounces of it into 1 inch cubes and lay them out on a dry baking sheet. Heat the oven to 300 F and bake for 15 minutes to dry them out. Then they are ready to use!
Prepping the casserole
Remember I mentioned a secret for this casserole that will take it over-the-top-delicious? This is it... It's a simple but super tasty brown sugar mixture, melted on the stove and poured into the bottom of the baking dish before adding the bread cubes. As simple as it is to make, it is a decedent addition.
Just melt the butter in a small saucepan (image 1), then add the brown sugar and stir until fully melted. Pour his mixture into the buttered glass dish (image 2) and then sprinkle the bread cubes on top (image 3).
In a medium bowl, mix the milk, eggs, vanilla and 1 teaspoon cinnamon (image 4). Then pour this mixture over the bread cubes (image 5) and use the back of a spatula and pat down the bread chunks to make sure each one has been coated with the egg-milk mixture. They may not stay submerged, but that’s ok, as long as they get coated.
Refrigeration time
Once the casserole is prepped and ready, simply cover it with a lid or foil and refrigerate for 6-8 hours to give the bread time to absorb the liquid.
Baking
Ready to enjoy all the decadence that’s about to unfold? Just remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to get the chill off.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F. Mix the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the casserole (image 6). Cover with foil and bake at 400 F for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean, without any egg on it.
FAQ's about this recipe
I use my French bread loaves in this recipe (which is a great, anytime bread, by the way) and cut the loaves into 1 inch chunks. Then let it sit out for a day to dry out. Don't want to wait a day for it to dry out? See my tip below with a quicker method!
I highly recommend using either a French bread or another bread you can slice thick. Regular storebought, sandwich bread works ok, but a thicker, white bread is best.
Sure! So to cut it down to make 6 servings, simply cut the ingredients down by half. Use an 8 inch casserole dish, but everything else is the same for refrigeration time and baking time.
While you can bake it immediately, I wouldn’t recommend it - let it refrigerate to absorb the liquid for 4 hours at the very minimum. Otherwise, you run the risk of it being too eggy since it doesn’t have time to absorb all the delicious egg-cinnamon mixture.
If you’re making my French bread recipe, each loaf comes out to between 12.5 and 13.9 ounces in weight. So you’ll need about ¾ of a loaf. Weighing the bread will give you the most accurate measure but 9.5 ounces equals 5-6 cups of cubed bread.
If you have some left over (yay, right?!) The best way to store it is to cover it with foil or a casserole lid and refrigerate. To warm it up, just microwave slices of it for 30 seconds to a minute.
Enjoy yummy pieces of this gluten free French toast casserole served alongside maple syrup and fruit!
Recipe
Easy Gluten Free French Toast Casserole {Dairy Free}
Ingredients
Method
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in 210 grams of brown sugar until melted.
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 9"x 13" glass baking dish.
- Pour brown sugar butter mixture into the baking dish.
- Cut French bread into 1 inch cubes.
- Place cubed bread in prepared casserole dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and vanilla extract.
- Pour custard over bread, lightly tapping bread down to be fully coated in custard.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 - 8 hours.
- Remove the dish from the refrigerator and let it sit for 30 minutes to warm slightly.
- Mix together remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 Tablespoon brown sugar. Sprinkle over the casserole.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and cover with foil. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 15 minutes.
- Serve warm with maple syrup.
Video
Notes
- Use a French bread that can be sliced thick
- Make sure to use day old bread
- The refrigeration time is necessary for the bread to absorb the egg-milk mixture
- Bake covered for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake an additional 15 minutes.
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