French Toast Casserole | Instant Pot Breakfast
This French toast casserole is actually more of a bread pudding. A rich eggy custard is dumped into a cake pan and stale or older bread is allowed to soak up all the eggy goodness. It’s a simple easy brunch recipe made even better by how quickly and easily it cooks in the Instant Pot. French toast casserole is all the good things about French toast, but even richer and creamier.
Although not everyone in our family is able to eat gluten, my husband, a gluten-ivore, has fallen in love with organic par-baked sourdough loaves. The problem is that he can rarely finish one before it goes hard and stale. I got the idea to take some of his old bread and give it some new life via a French toast casserole, which is similar to bread pudding. In fact, the French term for French toast is Pain Perdu, which means lost bread. The gluten eaters in the family devour it. I like that this recipe isn’t very sweet. A touch of maple and butter can be added after cooking (just like with French toast) to control the sweetness of the dish.
What also nice is this dish could also be made with gluten free bread like Shar brand. I would toast it first and tear it into large pieces before being added to the custard. You can add fresh or frozen fruit to the casserole or enjoy it plain.
To make this you will need a pot-in-pot dish. You can use a casserole that will fit into your Instant Pot, or purchase pans specifically made for this purpose here:www.toris8.sg-host.com/accessories
Once the casserole is cooked you could serve and eat it immediately or you can top it with pads of butter and put it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown it a bit. This is what I usually prefer to do but it is delicious either way.
French Toast Casserole | Instant Pot Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 loaf sourdough bread, cut into cubes
- 5 eggs
- 1 1/2 c cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/2 c berries or other fruit
- toppings:
- butter
- maple syrup
- fresh fruit
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Step 1: Cut a loaf of old bread into cubes. Place it inside of a casserole, which will be placed inside the main insert of the instant pot. Layer bread with fresh or frozen fruit.
- Step 2: Mix together eggs, cream, vanilla, and sugar; pour over bread and fruit.
- Step 3: Let the custard mixture set with the bread for at least 20 min to let the bread absorb the egg mixture. You can also place the casserole in the refrigerator overnight to absorb the custard and cook it in the morning for a quick breakfast.
- Step 4: Add 2 cups of water to the main insert of the Instant Pot, and place the rack inside. Place the covered casserole inside the Instant Pot. Cook under pressure for 40 mins and immediately release pressure.
- Step 5: You can serve immediately or you can add pads of butter to the top and pop the insert under the boiler for a few moments and brown the top a bit.
