My Gingerbread French Toast Casserole is a delightful and festive twist on classic French toast. The perfect dish to serve on a cold winter morning or during holiday season that the whole family will enjoy.
This delicious casserole dish combines the cozy flavor of gingerbread with the comforting appeal of French toast, making it the perfect Christmas morning breakfast or brunch. Saturate these pillow of delight with melted butter, a generous dusting of organic powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup and you have a gingerbread French toast bake that can be enjoyed any time of year.
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🧾 Ingredient List (With Substitutions)
- Vegan French Bread - torn or cut into bread cubes as pictured above. You can also use sourdough or any available crusty bread. Stale or day old bread that's left out overnight works great in this recipe.
- JUST Egg - this is the main ingredient for your eggless egg custard mixture.
- Non-Dairy Milk - I use Oat Milk in all my recipes but you can use any plant milk you have on hand.
- Ginger- for best results, use ground ginger.
- Molasses - please note, not all brands are vegan.
- Cinnamon - ground cinnamon works best. You can also add other spices such as nutmeg, allspice or cardamom.
- Pure Vanilla Extract - optional, but highly recommended. Simply add a teaspoon or two into the JUST Egg mixture and whisk away.
Exact ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below!
⏲️ How To Make This French Toast Casserole
Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350F/177C.
Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or vegan butter and fill with cubed bread. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients, including JUST Egg, plant milk, molasses, cinnamon and ginger.
Pour evenly over cubed bread, gently toss to coat and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until bread cubes are golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. Garnish with fresh cranberries and Vegan Gingerbread Cookies. Serve immediately with a side of maple syrup. Enjoy!
👩🏿🍳 Expert Tips
- You can refrigerate for up to 24 hours. By refrigerating the French Toast Casserole for at least 2 hours, the JUST Egg mixture has more time to soak into the bread making a more evenly cooked casserole.
- This baked French toast casserole is the best way to use up stale bread. Just allow it to refrigerate for a few extra hours so the JUST Egg mixture completely soaks into the bread.
- This recipe calls for French bread, however you can use sourdough, brioche or Italian bread, if preferred.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to dry out the bread is to break into cubes and place on a baking sheet on the counter, uncovered, overnight. If you forget or don't have time for that, spread the cubes onto a baking sheet and place in the oven at 300F/C for 15 minutes.
Although French bread or sourdough works best, you can still make this recipe with whatever bread you have on hand.
There are 2 possible reasons your French Toast Casserole came out soggy: the bread is not dry enough or you didn't soak it long enough. For best results, make sure the bread is dry enough to allow it to absorb all of the lovely liquid and soak it for at least 2 hours; overnight is even better.
🍞 How To Make Overnight Gingerbread French Toast Casserole
To make 24 hours ahead, mix the JUST Egg custard mixture in a small bowl (or any size). Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until the next day. Tear the bread slices into cubes. Place on a baking sheet and leave out on your counter. When you're ready to bake it, place bread in casserole dish, pour custard mixture over top, stir until evenly coated and allow to sit for at least 2 hours before baking.
🌡️ Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. For best results, don't add any syrup to the dish before storing.
To reheat, simply place on a microwave-safe dish and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. Or, if you prefer, reheat in the oven at 350F/177C.
☕ Serving Suggestions
- Just Egg Frittata
- Banana Peel Bacon
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash
- Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Vegan Orange Julius
- Vegan Eggnog
🥞 More Delicious Breakfast Recipes
Have you tried this? Why not leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and sign up for my newsletter!
📖 Recipe
Gingerbread French Toast Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 oz French bread cubed
- 1 ¼ cup JUST Egg
- 1 ½ cup plant milk
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/177C. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or vegan butter and fill with cubed bread. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients, including JUST Egg, plant milk, molasses, cinnamon and ginger.
- Pour evenly over cubed bread, gently toss to coat and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Remove from refrigerator and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until bread cubes are golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. Garnish with fresh cranberries and mini gingerbread men. Serve immediately with a side of maple syrup. Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutrition information is an estimate
- You can refrigerate for up to 24 hours. By refrigerating the French Toast Casserole for at least 2 hours, the JUST Egg mixture has more time to soak into the bread making a more evenly cooked casserole.
- This baked French toast casserole is the best way to use up stale bread. Just allow it to refrigerate for a few extra hours so the JUST Egg mixture completely soaks into the bread.
- This recipe calls for French bread, however you can use sourdough, brioche or Italian bread, if preferred.
nancy says
wow! this totally made my morning! So easy to make
Deborah says
Thanks so much, Nancy.
Elizabeth says
Such a cute brunch recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Deborah says
You’re so welcome Elizabeth.
Alexandra says
This is so delicious for brunch! I love gingerbread flavours any time of the year, and it is wonderful to have such a comforting plant based version of a classic dish. Love it!
Deborah says
Glad u loved it. Thanks Alexandra.
Dalya Rubin says
Wow, I love how this casserole only has a few ingredients! I think I'm going to try and make it with gluten free bread this week. Thanks for the recipe!
Deborah says
I’m sure it will be delicious with gluten-free bread as well. Thank you Dalya.
Marina Shalneva says
My family loved the gingerbread french toast casserole, this was a fantastic surprise for my daughter. She is asking me to make it every morning!
Deborah says
So happy to hear that. Thank you Marina.