Simple Sundays | Baked Buttermilk French Toast with Oat Streusel
When you need to feed a crowd, Baked Buttermilk French Toast with Oat Streusel is a sweet (and simple!) start to the day.
When you need to feed a crowd, Baked Buttermilk French Toast with Oat Streusel is a sweet (and simple!) start to the day.
When you have a gaggle of your children’s friends sleeping over, are pet sitting friend’s pups, and the house is bursting at the seams, you need to keep things sweet and simple, not to mention your sanity. Seven kids, three dogs, 1 cat, and a gopher who thinks he’s moving into the backyard – our home was filled with giggles and laughter, and it was one big hurrah for all, the weekend before school starts this week.
Pancakes are usually my go-to for sleepover breakfasts, but after a little poll from our guests, french toast was apparently in high demand. This, I was happy to oblige, because I had baked several loaves of fluffy challah bread (recipe here!) and they were begging to be transformed into something rich and custardy.
As the games wound down and the kids whispered in their sleeping bags, shushing each other as the crescendo of their voices rose, I prepared this overnight Baked Buttermilk French Toast with Oat Streusel.
Overnight Baked Buttermilk French Toast with Oat Streusel
It took just a few minutes to slice the challah into cubes and smother them with a bath of buttermilk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
And the following morning, as I tiptoed downstairs to preheat the oven, I tried my best not to wake them as I sprinkled a buttery oat streusel on top of the challah that had chilled and soaked in all the goodness overnight.
Rather than spending my first waking hour at the stove flipping toast, I was able to enjoy my coffee as the oven worked its magic, the scent tempting me to peek every few minutes through the oven window.
It seemed to be the first time many of our little friends had tried a baked french toast – and some were a little dubious of the streusel, including my daughter.
“Oatmeal? Is that oatmeal?” was followed by “May I please have a little more?” and even “Can I bring some home?” I’ll say it was a hit, and I hope you and your guests feel the same way, too.
More Ideas for Breakfast
Gingerbread French Toast
Coconut Hazelnut Eggnog French Toast
Hot Cross Bun Pain Perdu
Sheet Pan Banana Pancakes
Spanish Coffee Cake
Baked Buttermilk French Toast with Oat Streusel
Ingredients
For the Baked Buttermilk French Toast:
- 1 loaf challah bread about 1 lb
- unsalted butter room temperature, for baking dish
- 2 1/3 cups buttermilk
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Oat Streusel:
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
- 1/4 cups oats
Instructions
- Slice the challah into 1 inch cubes. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish and arrange the cubes of bread in a single layer.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over the bread, coating it evenly. Gently press the bread down to let it all soak the custard. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight (or a minimum of 30 minutes if not preparing the night before). In another small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry cutter, two forks or your fingers, cut in the butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Stir in the oats. Cover the streusel topping and chill in the refrigerator as well.
- The following morning, preheat the oven 350° F.
- Sprinkle the oat streusel over the soaked bread, pressing down gently with your hands. Bake the french toast for 45 minutes or until it is just firm.
- Serve with fresh fruit and warm maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
This was a delicious way to use the other half of the loaf leftover from our French bread pizzas. I made about half the recipe, used a smaller baking dish, baked for 30min. We found it was plenty sweet without syrup – just a pat of butter. Thanks for an excellent make-ahead recipe!!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Amanda — it must have been so good with the French bread!
Oh I have a weak spot in my heart for french toast. Although I admit that sometimes I find it a bit gummy for my liking. So the streusel topping here is genius and gives just the perfect bit of texture. Love it!
I love the idea of streusel on top of a baked French toast! Brilliant!
This is my kind of breakfast recipe! Prep in the evening and no work in the morning!
French toast alone is delicious, but this jazzed up baked version has me drooling!! A Buttermilk, vanilla soak overnight with an oat struesel topping sounds simply wonderful! It’s not hard to see why this was a huge hit at your lil shindig! Pinned! Cheers and thanks for sharing the yum!
Thank you, Cheyanne! It was definitely a hit, and I’m so glad. Kids can be harsh critics ;)
This is exactly the kind of recipe every mom with kids at home needs. When my boys have a bunch of friends over, I need something I don’t even need to think about in the morning for breakfast. It looks fantastic, is made from ingredients I can find about anywhere, and looks like it’ll please a crowd!
Rebecca, you’re so right. I especially love that no one is waiting for their breakfast to come off the stove – everyone can eat at once!
thanks
Ummm yes! So, I have to admit that I used to be in the camp that found French toast to be a bit overrated. Until I made it at home and was absolutely blown away by how decadent it could be. And isn’t it fun to watch your friends and family going crazy over it? That makes me so happy.
Same here! I distinctly remember the most memorable french toast I tasted, and that changed everything for me. It really is so nice (and a relief!) when guests go gaga over something you serve – I even packed up the rest for the biggest fans to bring home :)