“Sleep-In” Stuffed French Toast

As I’ve shared in previous posts, my family has grown at a rapid rate with two weddings in the last year. So, when the nine of us went away for a long Fall weekend at a lake home, it was decided that each couple would be responsible for a morning brunch to pitch-in. Being in charge of a brunch made for less pressure on any one person for meal planning, and it also gave each couple the opportunity to share their favorite style of breakfast. One couple made Pannekoeken (some people call it Dutch Baby), another couple made hash brown pie much like the Potato, Ham & Cheese Bake I shared not too long ago. But, I decided to take this opportunity to try something new.

I’m all about sleeping in when I’m on vacation, so Ryan and I selected Stuffed French Toast. It can be prepared the night before for an easy, stress-free morning. While Ryan helped man the camera, my youngest sister, Michelle, pitched in with the prep. And in no time at all, we threw together the ingredients for a double batch of Stuffed French Toast.

Start with the bread. You’ll need to cut it into twelve slices, followed by a three-inch slit in each slice. Our bread was pre-sliced part way through, so we just had to break it off at every other slit. These little bread "sandwiches" are what you’ll be stuffing. First, insert a slice of cheese.

Next insert a slice of Canadian bacon. Many hands make light work!

You should now have all of your stuffed French toast "sandwiches" ready to line your greased pan.

The next phase of the prep is combining your egg mixture. Get out your eggs, half & half, butter and vanilla.

Mix the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Ideally the bowl would have a spout for easier pouring when the time comes… I learned that the hard way! Beat the ingredients at medium speed.

Carefully pour the mix over the whole pan (this is where that spout would have come in handy!). Do your best to coat each piece of bread.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate the French toast for at least two hours or overnight. We put ours in the fridge, then went outside for a bonfire and s’mores before heading to bed.

The next morning as everyone lazily started their day, it was time to pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Uncover the pan of French toast and place it in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges of the bread begins to brown.

We set our pan of Stuffed French Toast out, buffet-style, with fruit and syrups so each person could choose how they liked to dress up their French toast. Here is my dad and Michelle dishing up as everyone else found their seats.

Enjoy this savory Stuffed French Toast at the next family gathering, bridal or baby shower you host. It’s a tasty, impressive-looking meal without the early morning!

After you prepare Stuffed French Toast, rate and review the recipe online.

Come back in a few days when Vicky will share a warming soup recipe.

Amanda is paid to write for the Land O’Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.