Made with Challah, the almond berry french toast casserole is full of vegan creamy custard, sweet seasonal berries, and topped with a crunchy oat and almond crumble.
So If you haven’t noticed I made a patreon! And the first recipe I made for that was a water challah. What is water challah good for? French toast. So I decided to make this almond berry french toast casserole to use up any challah left over from your bake and to be the brunch special for Easter this year.
Now you absolutely don’t have to go and pay for my patreon recipe. You have the option of buying store bought, using a different bread, or even make your own with a different recipe. The only thing that is required of the bread you use is that it needs to be stale for this recipe.
How do you make a vegan custard?
Usually custard is made with a lot of eggs, milk, and butter. With this recipe? I used banana and almond butter. Not only does the banana act as a base to this custard but it adds sweetness without adding sugar.
The almond butter is what really stands this dish out. It adds this savory and hearty feel to the whole thing. It honestly rounds the sweetness from the custard base and the tartness from the raspberries and blueberries.
This dish is partially made the night before. Just combine your stale bread and custard together, your stale bread and custard together, cover, and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning, add the fruit and your oat topping and bake until golden.
The longer your bread sits in the custard, the more absorbed and delicious it will be. I recommend at least 4 hours in the fridge if you are pressed for time. But 8 hours or over night is the best for this recipe.
You can use either fresh or frozen berries for this recipe. I used frozen because I didn’t want them to stain the end result but either option are good to use.
I love to add more fruit, or maple syrup. This dish is also a great side for other breakfast foods like scramble (vegan or not), sausage, etc.
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you are celebrating Easter or even having brunch this year. If you make this leave a comment or tag me on instagram with @kitchencliffnotes or using the hashtag #kitchencliffnotes or #kitchencliffnotesrecipe. These Easter recipes have been really fun to make this year. I also been enjoying making content on patreon as well. I hope to be back to a regular posting schedule after this week so that way it’s not all over the place for ya’ll.
Almond Berry French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
Banana Custard
- 2 ripe Bananas
- 1/2 cup Almond Butter
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 cup Non-dairy Milk I used oat milk
- 1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Lemon zested
- Salt to taste
Oat and Almond Crunchy Topping
- 1/2 cup Vegan Butter
- 1/2 cup Almond Flakes
- 1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/4-1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Assembled Bake
- 16 oz Challah or Bread of Choice cubed and dried out
- 1 cup Blueberries fresh or frozen
- 1 cup Raspberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
To Make the Banana Custard
- To make the banana custard, combine your 2 bananas, 1/2 cup almond butter, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 2 cups or non-dairy milk, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and lemon zest in a blender. Blend until a smooth and slightly thickened custard is formed. Add a dash of salt to taste.
- In a 9×13 in baking dish, pour your banana custard over your 16 ounces of stale challah or bread and mix until the bread looks evenly coated. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
- In the morning, preheat your oven to 350°F. Add your 1 cup each of blueberries and raspberries. Mix until your fruit is evenly combined. Set aside and make your oat topping.
To Make the Oat and Almond Topping
- To make the oat and almond topping, add your 1/2 cup of vegan butter to a sauce pan and melt completely.
- While your butter is melting, in a medium bowl, add your 1/2 cup of almond flakes, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Once your butter is melted, pour it over your almond and oat mixture. Mix until a crumble begins to form. If your mixture seems a little wet, add the other 1/4 cup of all purpose flour one tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. It should still stick together but have a slightly damp look to it.
To Assemble the Casserole
- Once your topping is the right consistency, sprinkle it over the top of your french toast casserole. Clean up your edges of the baking dish and place in the oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the casserole feels set.
