Breakfast casseroles feel like the holidays to me. It’s probably because holidays and special events are the main times when you might make a breakfast casserole. The biggest benefit, outside of it being totally delicious, is it can feed a crowd and be easily warmed up even an hour after it’s out of the oven.
I love this because it means you’re planning for friends, and you’re planning to spend some leisurely time with them. A laid-back weekend brunch has got to be in my top ten favorite things ever. Love brunch. Love the weekend. Next time you have friends in town, make them this casserole. The rosemary will make your kitchen smell amazing, and this warm, cheesy casserole is sure to be a big crowd-pleaser.
1 loaf day-old bread (I used an English muffin loaf)
5 tablespoons melted butter
4 eggs + 2 egg yolks
3 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rosemary, finely chopped
6 oz sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/3 cup shredded cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and mozzarella)
pepper
In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, eggs, yolks, milk, and salt. Be sure you allow the butter to cool before incorporating it, or else it may cause your eggs to curdle (as it will begin to cook the eggs if too hot).
Cut up the loaf of bread into small cubes. Place about half the cubes in a well-buttered casserole dish (see below).
Pour half the egg mixture over the bread. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes, half of the rosemary, and 1 cup of the cheese. Add the remaining bread cubes over this. Pour on the remaining egg mixture. Use your clean hands to press the bread cubes down, just enough so that all the bread gets soaked in the egg mixture. Top with the remaining cheese, a little pepper, and the remaining rosemary.
Bake at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-8 minutes before cutting into the casserole.
If you want to add even more flavor, add some sautéed mushrooms or cooked sausage. Make it your own. Live your life. 🙂 Happy breakfast! xo. Emma
Savory French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf day-old bread I used an English muffin loaf
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 eggs + 2 egg yolks
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons rosemary finely chopped
- 6 oz sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 1/3 cup shredded cheese I used a blend of cheddar and mozzarella
- pepper
Instructions
-
In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, eggs, yolks, milk, and salt. Be sure you allow the butter to cool before incorporating it, or else it may cause your eggs to curdle (as it will begin to cook the eggs if too hot).
-
Cut up the loaf of bread into small cubes. Place about half the cubes in a well-buttered casserole dish.
-
Pour half the egg mixture over the bread. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes, half of the rosemary, and 1 cup of the cheese. Add the remaining bread cubes over this. Pour on the remaining egg mixture. Use your clean hands to press the bread cubes down, just enough so that all the bread gets soaked in the egg mixture. Top with the remaining cheese, a little pepper, and the remaining rosemary.
-
Bake at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-8 minutes before cutting into the casserole.
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with Celeste of the Signature Collection.
50 Comments
OH.MY.GOD.
I… *drools*
Emma this looks fantastic for breakfast and so easy to do it 😉
YummY! Thanks for the recipe
Oh yum! This is such a wonderful idea for a morning meal, plus I feel like it saves time in the morning and cuts down on wanting to run through the drive-thru and grabbing something there.
That looks great! I just came home from work and would give everything for a portion of that!!!
Greetings from Germany,
http://lasagnolove.blogspot.de/2014/05/to-feel-me-again.html
Bambi
looks like the perfect, satisfying start to any day. thanks for sharing, emma!
xx
wow! what a great idea– looks delish!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
Yummy.
xx
http://www.fashiondenis.com/
Oh my goodness this looks good! I especially love the picture with the eggs cracked open 🙂 Your photos always brighten my day.
i will make this yum yum
thecertifiedlatebloomer.blogspot.com
This looks super amazing, and you are def. right, I can see this being a total crowd pleaser for a brunch with friends. I would love to just make this for me and the boyfriend on a lazy sunday as well though! Bookmarking this recipe!
rae of love from berlin
That looks delicious!! I’ll surely gonna try this recipe. Thanks for sharing this. <3
http://bittercozitsbutter.blogspot.com
That looks delicious!! I’ll surely gonna try this recipe. Thanks for sharing this. <3
http://bittercozitsbutter.blogspot.com
this looks so yummy
Anna x
MMMMM. I would add spicy sausage. I love pig.
Savoury french toast is called a strata.
That looks absolutely amazing. Man I miss eggs. My LO is allergic so there’s really no point in cooking with them if he can’t eat.
http://xfallenmoon.blogspot.com
nomnomnom!
http://www.nikitaandvesper.com
Mmmm looks so good. I am looking forward to making this.
LOVE. Pinning this now, must remember it for Saturday family brunches.
Muito legal, super curti o teu post! ♥
~ gislei.com
Oh I’d love to try this with dark bread. Should be delicious!
Now I’m hungry! Delicious!
http://weareatlove.com
WEAR EAT LOVE
“Make it your own. Live your life.”
Oh Emma I just love your writing style! It’s so droll and humourous; always love reading your posts to see what funny witticisms you’ve managed to slide in.
This looks so gorgeous and delicious! If we ever have brunch at my house this will be the first thing that gets cooked 🙂
Looks absolutely scrumptious! I’d totally top that off with grilled tomatos and mushrooms!
Perfect. Now my egg casserole recipe for Mother’s Day brunch is been decided!! 😀
Brillant idea! Very good work
Kisses from Poland
Magda and Agnes:)
yum!
This sounds delicious! I love the idea of a savory French toast casserole…then you don’t end up with too many sweet things (I’m highly susceptible 🙂 but you have a savory dish that’s not a quiche (I don’t like eggs). Yum! But on that note, for someone who doesn’t like eggs but likes French toast, would this be very ‘eggy?’
I definitely just made this, this morning! I didn’t add any cheese, but it was still marvelous!! Thanks ♥♡♥♡
Hold on, English muffin loaf?!?! I live in England and have never seen such a thing! I’m baking myself up a loaf this weekend for sure! <3
oh man, I’ve been having the worst french toast craving and this just looks like absolute heaven!
This sounds SO GOOD! We always make a big breakfast casserole for Christmas morning (eggs, cheese, sausage, Texas toast) so I know what you mean about casseroles and the holidays. I’ll have to show my dad this recipe, I bet he’ll love making it this year. 🙂
xoxo Mandy
http://mandyleighblog.com
This is the first savoury French toast recipe I’ve seen, and it looks delicious! What a great way to spice up a recipe – another easy student supper to add to my repertoire!
What a dream! What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
http://sometimesgracefully.com
This is beautiful and the flavor combination sounds heavenly.
When I initially saw the first image, I thought the red chunks were bacon and I was going to click away (vegetarian)…I’m so happy I stuck around and was wrong. Sun-dried tomatoes are one of my recent obsessions and I’m sure they make a fabulous addition to the casserole. 🙂
http://buildyourbliss.wordpress.com
I haven’t made a casserole in a long time but this makes me want to! 🙂
http://everydayingrace.blogspot.ca/
Any chance this can be prepared the night before? I love these types of dishes and it seems like most of them only benefit from soaking overnight but I wanted to double check. Yum.
I’m a serious breakfast person, and a serious casserole person, so this is just blowing my mind. Must-make.. Looks delish! Thanks Emma 🙂 Always love your recipes. I’ve even stolen a few (hehe) still dreaming of that kale gnocchi bake… mmmm
http://www.dancingthroughsunday.typepad.com
OH MY GOODNESS!!! i love the dessert “bread and butter pudding” so now with this recipe i can have it as both courses! lol!!
This looks great! Perfect for brunch at the weekend 🙂
http://www.laurelloves.com
This looks so good! I like the idea of adding mushrooms to it, and also possibly some bacon! 🙂
Aaaaahhhww!!! That looks so yummy!
H a v e . t o . t r y !
http://CoralynxBlog.com/
I love a good casserole and this one looks delicious! I’ll have to try it out next time we have people over for the night.
xoxo
Taylor
My husband likes French toast. I’m not a big fan of sweets in the morning. I think this might fix that problem! Pinning. 🙂
Mmmmmmm looks so yummy, it’s making me hungry!
Looks really good, might try making it for mother’s day! Heads up though guys, it would be really nice if you could update the recipe page, links to many of your newer recipes haven’t been added there for a long time!
I made this for my mum on mother’s day. I subsituted sundried tomoatoes for mushroom and bacon. She loved it!! Will do more experimenting in the future! I also reckon any left overs will be really nice the next day! Thanks for the recepie
Just stopping back to say that I made a version of this casserole. It turned out so well. Thanks for the inspiration. http://celestialpastryexercise.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/breakfast-for-dinner/
Whoooo, cannnnot wait to try this!!! Sounds INCREDIBLE!