Overnight French Toast Casserole
A Perfect Bread Pudding
This Overnight French Toast Casserole is a recipe that anyone can make and everyone will love. You make this French toast casserole using a specialty food item made here in Chicago called Chateau Bread Dumplings.
Bread dumplings are a Czech food. They are similar in size and shape to French bread but they have a completely unique taste and texture.
What makes bread dumplings special is their ability to absorb liquids without falling apart and getting soggy. This is why bread dumplings are what make this recipe special.
Once you make this Overnight French Toast Casserole with the bread dumplings you will see why.
Chateau Bread Dumplings
Chateau dumplings are a Chicago staple. They make handmade bread and potato dumplings.
Bread dumplings are a Czech staple and have traditionally been used to serve with meat and roasts because they absorb all the flavorful juices and gravies.
I partnered with Chateau Dumplings to help them create recipes with their fantastic bread and potato dumplings. This past Thanksgiving I used the bread dumplings to make the World’s Best Stuffing recipe that went viral on the Internet.
This recipe is so delicious that I make it several times a month even when it’s not Thanksgiving, and it’s not Thanksgiving most of the time!
After seeing the way the bread dumplings worked for the stuffing, I had an idea that the same dumplings would be perfect for an Overnight French Toast Casserole.
The Invention of Overnight French Toast Casserole
We have always had a recipe for French toast on Chateau Dumpling’s website but we didn’t have a casserole.
I thought about how great the recipe for the stuffing came out after using the bread dumpling cubes and thought that it would also work for an Overnight French Toast Casserole.
The dumplings being cubed help them to absorb all the delicious batter and make it more enjoyable to eat. This is an especially helpful if you are feeding small children as it has all of the taste without as much mess.
The casserole tastes better the longer it sits in the batter. I suggest letting it sit overnight, up to 24 hours for it to be perfection. After all, there’s a reason it isn’t called “One Hour Casserole.”
I Can’t Find The Bread Dumplings
A lot of people will ask me what they can substitute if they cant find the bread dumplings.
I wish I could offer a substitution for this recipe but I cannot. The texture and handmade quality of the bread dumplings are what make this casserole so delicious.
The dumplings are carried in many grocery stores across the country. You can find out where by using this interactive map. They are always kept in the frozen food section of your local grocery store.
Chateau would love to be in more stores, so if they are not available in your local grocery store, please ask the store manager to order them. You can direct them to Chateau Dumplings website.
If you’re with me in Chicago, you can find the dumplings at Jewel, Mariano’s, Tony’s Fresh Market, and lots of other grocery stores.
Let’s Get Cooking
Overnight French Toast Casserole
A make ahead breakfast casserole using Chicago's very own Chateau Bread Dumplings as the base. This french toast casserole will be a new family favorite. The dumplings are what makes this recipe great. Flavors of vanilla and brown sugar plus rich butter make this delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 Boxes of Chateau Bread Dumplings
- 6 Eggs
- 2 Cups of Whole Milk
- 1 C of Heavy Cream
- 1/3 C of Light Brown Sugar + 2 Tablespoons
- 1/2 t of Vanilla Extract + another 1/2 t
- 1/4 t of Almond Extract
- 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
- A couple of shakes of nutmeg
- 1/2 t of salt
- 1 Stick of Butter
- Maple Syrup & Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Thaw and cube your bread dumpling, we like to cut them into small bite sized cubes so that it is kid friendly.
- Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, 1/3 C of brown sugar, vanilla and almond extract until well combined.
- Melt 2 T of butter and pour into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Add your cubed dumplings to the dish and pour the batter over it. Give it a few tosses to make sure all the dumplings are soaking in the batter.
- Cover and into the fridge overnight and up to two nights.
- When ready to bake, remove from the fridge, melt the remaining stick of butter and the 2 T of brown sugar and pour over the top of the casserole, drizzling it as you go.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. You will know when its done when the casserole is firm in the center.
- When you remove it from the oven, drizzle it with syrup and sprinkle it with brown sugar, then let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve by scooping it out like bread pudding.
- Serve with syrup powdered sugar, fresh fruit or whipped cream.
- The steps for this recipe are very simple. The key is making the casserole ahead of time so that the batter has time to soak up into our delicious dumplings. There is no substitute for the dumplings in this recipe because no other bread holds the batter the way the bread dumplings are designed to. The dumplings make the difference in this recipe. Bread dumplings are available in lots of grocery stores, if your store doesn't carry them, ask them to order from Chateau Foods in Chicago.
This recipe is very simple to make. As mentioned, I recommend making it ahead of time and letting it sit up to 24 hours before baking.
If you want to make this recipe and don’t have access to the dumplings you can order dumpling online, by the case. Shipping can be expensive but it is worth it.
If you order a case, you can make the stuffing too!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Thank you for reading and happy eating!
Love, Tipsy
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1 Comments
Easy Eggs Benedict Casserole – The Tipsy Housewife
December 4, 2020 at 2:52 pm
[…] I can make at night and that requires the bare minimum in the morning. I started to think about my overnight french toast casserole recipe that I make with Chateau Bread Dumplings. Chateau Bread Dumplings are a specialty food item […]