Maple Bacon & Sausage French Toast Bake

With the holidays upon us, I have been dying to make a big ol’ breakfast casserole – that could feed a bunch of people. I settled on doing a cinnamon french toast bake – but you know me – I can’t JUST do cinnamon french toast! I had to add bacon AND maple sausage! Yum!

This is a super simple breakfast to put together and it’s a french toast bake without having to leave it sit overnight. I really don’t eat much bread – so I didn’t want to buy a whole loaf of bread – so I bought some giant cinnamon donuts from Meijer (using Shipt of course) and used those!

How to bake french toast casserole?

French toast casserole – or you can also think of it as a breakfast bread pudding – is really simple! You chop your “bread” – I’m using donuts but you can also use bread – into large pieces and place it in your baking dish. Add your extras – like bacon and maple sausage (or regular if you don’t have the maple) – next time I’m doing blueberries!

Then you mix up your egg mixture – it’s eggs, cream, half and half and some seasonings – like what you would use for french toast dipping – and then pour that over your bread & extras. Make sure all the pieces of bread are in the egg mixture otherwise they’ll dry out. Then bake it! That’s it! It takes maybe 10 minutes to put together – so easy!

I used cinnamon glazed donuts when I made this french toast bake – but there are options! You can swap out the donuts for leftover cinnamon rolls, Hawaiian bread or rolls or even regular glazed donuts. Just make sure you have enough for 5-6 cups of cubed “bread”. That’s the nice thing about this kind of recipe – it’s very flexible – you can even mix if you have some leftovers of multiple items!

This French Toast bake is the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning! You’re all warm and cozy and this is perfect to get you through the excitement of opening presents – but tide you over until your big dinner that afternoon or evening.

We’re a Christmas morning kind of family for opening gifts – how about you?

This easy french toast bake is made with no flour and no sugar. I love how simple it is – After you brown the sausage and cook the bacon – you can have it together in just a few minutes! Be sure to undercook your bacon a little – mainly you just don’t want it crispy – because it will continue to cook a little when you bake it.

This maple sausage and bacon french toast bake is so delicious – I promise the whole family will love it! But if you want some other options for a big family breakfast – here are some of my favorites!
– Breakfast Gumbo
– Loaded Farmhouse Breakfast Egg Casserole
– Copycat Sunliner Diner Corned Beef Hash
– Baked Scrambled Eggs

Maple Bacon & Sausage French Toast Bake

Yield: 6-8

Author: Food Hussy

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 55 M

If you’ve got a crowd for breakfast, this French Toast Bake is just the dish! It’s like french toast kicked up about 10 notches! Filled with maple deliciousness as well as bacon AND sausage – there will not be ANY leftovers. And…it is SUPER EASY!

ingredients:

1 lb. of breakfast sausage
3 slices bacon, diced in large chunks
5 large cinnamon glazed donuts, cut into 1” cubes (You can also use LARGE regular glazed donuts, cinnamon rolls or even thick Hawaiian bread slices)
1 cup half and half
1 cup heavy cream
6 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp. Vanilla
2 tsp tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt

instructions:

How to cook Maple Bacon & Sausage French Toast Bake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Brown bacon and drain (undercook it)
Brown sausage and drain (I tried doing them together – the bacon takes about 3 minutes longer)
Place cubed donuts in baking dish and set aside.
Add sausage and bacon to donuts
In separate bowl, whisk half and half, cream, eggs, syrup, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
Pour egg mixture over donuts and gently press all bread into liquid until all bread is coated.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes for easier serving.
Top with maple syrup and enjoy!

NOTES:

– You can use any variety of sweet breads for this french toast bake – I love these giant cinnamon glazed donuts that I get at Meijer – they’re usually 4 for $2 – but you can use whatever you have or like – regular glazed donuts, Hawaiian bread, etc. You need about 5-6 cups of largely diced bread.
– Not a fan of sausage or bacon? You can just use all bacon or all sausage. If going with all bacon – I would double the bacon to 6 slices.
– Be sure to UNDERCOOK the bacon a little – you don’t want it crispy – it will continue to cook when you bake it.
– Splurge and use real maple syrup – it’s worth it!

Comments

Phyllis says

November 10, 2020 at 3:43 pm

What would be your suggestions as to what to serve with Maple Bacon & Sausage French Toast Bake if having a brunch?

- FoodHussy says
  
  November 10, 2020 at 10:25 pm
  
  I would definitely do some scrambled eggs (i have a great baked scrambled egg recipe) – i think fruit would be a great balance too – and maybe some avocado toast? Let me know when I should be there! 😉