Don’t throw out the sandwich bread crusts and heels that your kids won’t eat! Turn them into a simple, fast French toast casserole that’s crunchy, eggy, cinnamon-y, and caramel-y.

Take me to the recipe!

Why don’t kids like bread crusts? Is that universal? I thought it was bullshit until I had kids of my own and one day, the older one disavowed bread crusts FOR NO REASON.

Funnily, my husband was horrified when M started insisting that the crusts be cut off because he was like, “that’s where all the fiber is!” To which I laughed in his face because what?! Bread isn’t an apple.

Anyhoo, this recipe is the perfect way to use up bread scraps. However, this isn’t a good recipe for that rock hard baguette or formerly crusty loaf that you forgot about. This is for the ever-so-slightly tougher outer layer of sandwich bread that you’ve been saving in a bag in the fridge so it didn’t get too stale.

Why do I advocate for using softer, fresher bread? I’ll tell you! Because most French toast casserole recipes require an overnight soak. But I, for one, am way too tired at the end of the day to plan for tomorrow’s breakfast. This recipe requires no waiting, something I am not very good at anyway.

A couple of notes:

• Amounts: As always, the amounts listed here can be considered guidelines or ratios more than hard and fast rules. If you want the caramel on the bottom to be more like what you’d find in a sticky bun, feel free to increase the butter and sugar! Or if you have more or less than 6 cups of bread, adjust accordingly. This one is very forgiving.

• Eggs: You want the egg/milk/vanilla/cinnamon mixture to come up about 3/4 of the way to the top of the bread. But pour in the amount listed and squish the bread down gently with your hands. If you can easily see the liquid underneath, you have enough. If you have to push down more firmly to see any liquid or if it just doesn’t feel like enough to you, add more. It’s better to have a little too much liquid than not enough. But DO NOT cover the bread with the egg mixture.

French toast casserole 

 Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 large servings

Adapted from https://belleofthekitchen.com/french-toast-casserole/

4 Tbsp butter 
½ cup brown sugar + 1 Tbsp (reserved for later)
6 cups roughly torn bread hunks
2 cup milk 
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 tsp cinnamon (or any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and cloves)
3 Tbsp coarse sugar (or substitute with granulated)  

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a large ceramic baking dish (though if metal is your only option, melt the butter and sugar in a separate bowl and then add to the baking dish), combine the butter and ½ cup of brown sugar. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until the butter has just melted. Stir for 1 minute or until the butter and the sugar are mostly combined. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your baking dish.

Top the melted butter and brown sugar with the roughly torn bread cubes. 

In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Whisk until all of the ingredients are incorporated. 

Pour over the bread cubes. Push down gently on the bread to assess how much liquid is in your baking dish. If the liquid doesn’t come up about ¾ of the way to the top of the bread cubes, whisk together another ½ cup of milk and 1 egg and add as much of the mixture as needed to achieve that depth of liquid.  

Combine the remaining 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and the coarse sugar and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the middle puffs up and doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake the baking dish.