French Toast with Brioche and Banana
A heartier take on French toast and banana bread, this French Toast with Brioche and Banana recipe features brown sugar custardy brioche slices baked to perfection to create a rich breakfast, or fabulous dessert. It’s a sweet and satisfying way to wow your guests!
I love a good French Toast casserole. Especially if you can prepare it night night before, and then pop it in the oven in the morning. With this French Toast with Brioche and Banana recipe, it’s a great way to get your house smelling good. We love any kind of recipe that tastes like banana bread (with sweet bananans, brown sugar, and cinnamon).
French Toast with Brioche and Banana
Indulge in a delightful brunch treat with this simple French Toast with Brioche and Banana. This easy-to-make breakfast dish uses brioche bread, cream, and bananas to create a rich breakfast that’s perfect for special occasions or holiday mornings. We specificially love it served with bacon!
Read more: French Toast with Brioche and Banana
French toast is one thing, but baked, or stuffed French toast is another! The brown sugar and butter melt with the bananas to create a syrup on the bottom of the French toast. The walnuts provide a crunchy texture that contrasts wonderfully with the custardy brioche slices.
Why I love this recipe
- Baking French toast in a casserole dish makes it much easier to serve and enjoy!
- When mornings are busy, this dish eliminates the fuss of making individual French Toast slices.
- It’s an elegant breakfast or dessert, delicious served warm with a dash of powdered sugar on top.
Gather these ingredients
- Eggs
- Kosher salt
- Vanilla
- Heavy cream
- Half and half or whole milk
- Brioche bread: optional to use plaine or you can buy cinnamon brioche
- Brown sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Cinnamon + nutmeg
- Walnuts or pecans
- Bananas: the more ripe, the sweeter
- Powdered sugar to garnish
How do you make French Toast with Brioche and Banana?
- Lay bread slices onto a large sheet pan in a single layer. Set aside.
- Soak the bread: Mix eggs, yolks, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp kosher salt, heavy cream, and milk together in a bowl. Whisk until well combined, then pour over the bread slices. Flip the slices to ensure they are fully saturated. Allow bread to soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour if your bread slices are especially thick) in the refrigerator.
- With butter or cooking spray, grease a round 12’’ (or similar size) stone or ceramic dish.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- With about 10 minutes of soaking left, begin to make the brown sugar syrup.
- Make brown butter sauce: In a medium skillet, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and once they are well combined, add vanilla, 1 tsp salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of the greased dish.
- In a single layer, spread out the banana slices and walnuts on top of the brown butter sauce. Set aside.
- Cut the brioche: Using kitchen shears, cut the soaked brioche slices into thirds, then layer them in a circular fashion on top of the banana slices, starting on the outer rim and working your way towards the center, until the bananas are covered. Sprinkle the 3 Tbsp of brown sugar on top, then place in the oven on the center rack.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the bread is golden on top.
- Serve warm with a sprinkle of powdered sugar!
Tips and substitutions:
This recipe belongs on the breakfast table this year! Anything with brown sugar and butter and walnuts is, well, heavenly! The smells and tastes just make me happy! :)
- Add cardamom for an extra delightful flavor!
- When we make French toast, it’s typically made with leftover day-old bread, like a French bread loaf. But lately we’ve been loving brioche bread! Here’s a tip: Most grocery stores carry brioche bread, especially during the holidays.
- This is not necessarily an “overnight” breakfast casserole, but you can prepare it the night before. You will need to adjust the baking time for an extra 10 minutes or so, if setting a cold dish in the oven.
- Optional to serve with extra jam, syrup, or even a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
How do you serve a Baked Brioche French Toast?
Fancy up your breakfast table for the holidays with this easy recipe, and set out maple syrup and powdered sugar for dusting! You can even serve this dish with jam and fresh squeezed lemon.
For the holidays, we love this stuffed French toast with a virgin mimosa, this fruit salad, and this side egg and onion casserole! So wonderful and comforting!
More French toast recipes that you may enjoy:
- Baked Berry Stuffed French Toast
- French Toast with Grand Mariner
- Stuffed Strawberry French Toast
- Hawaiian French Toast
- French Toast Cupcakes
- Air Fryer French Toast Sticks
Get the Recipe:
French Toast with Brioche and Banana
Ingredients
- 8 eggs, 5 whole plus 3 yolks
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ c heavy cream
- ½ half and half or whole milk
- 10 slices brioche bread, plain, but optional to use cinnamon brioche
Banana Brown Sugar Syrup
- 1 c brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla, divided
- ½ c chopped walnuts or pecans
- 4 bananas cut into 1’’ rounds
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- Butter or spray for greasing
- Powdered sugar to garnish
Instructions
- Lay bread slices onto a large sheet pan in a single layer. Set aside.
- Mix 5 whole eggs, 3 yolks, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp kosher salt, heavy cream, and half and half together in a bowl; whisk until combined. Pour over the bread slices. Flip the slices to ensure they are fully saturated. Allow bread to soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour if your bread slices are especially thick) in the refrigerator.
- With butter or cooking spray, grease a round 12’’ (or similar size) ceramic dish or baking pan.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- With about 10 minutes of soaking left, begin to make the brown sugar syrup.
- In a medium skillet, melt the butter and brown sugar together. Once melted add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of the greased dish.
- On top of the brown sugar mixture, in a single layer, spread out the banana slices and sprinkle with walnuts. Set aside.
- Using kitchen shears, cut the soaked brioche slices into thirds, then layer them in a circular fashion, starting on the outer rim and working your way towards the center, on top of the bananas, until they are covered. Sprinkle the 3 Tbsp of brown sugar on top, then place in the oven on the center rack.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the bread is golden on top.
- Serve warm with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Looks very delicious and I plan to make it soon. You don’t say where / when to add the cinnamon and nutmeg but I assume it’s somewhere in the skillet after the butter, brown sugar and vanilla.
We fixed the recipe. Enjoy!