During the week I’m not much of a breakfast person. I usually grab a piece of toast or a granola bar and head out the door. Recently, though, a friend shared a French toast bake recipe with me that I couldn’t wait until the weekend to make. It’s a unique twist on French toast, using bagels instead of bread and ricotta cheese and bananas, but it is delicious. The best part of this dish is that you can make it the night before and then bake it in the morning while you are getting ready. It’s perfect for a lazy breakfast person like myself.
For this recipe you are going to need at least 12 bagels, ripe bananas, and fresh ricotta cheese. I grabbed a mix of plain bagels and cinnamon raisin bagels from Pearl Street Bagels and thought the mix was a good choice. I cut my bagels into small 1/4 inch pieces. After dipping my bagels in the French toast mixture I laid them in a rectangular casserole dish. Then I did a layer of ricotta cheese, sliced bananas, then another layer of bagels. Think of it as maxing a French toast lasagna.
I soaked each bagel for about 15 seconds in the French toast mixture before layering and then poured the excess mixture on top. When my French toast lasagna was complete I drizzled some maple syrup over it, covered it, and then stored it in the refrigerator to soak. The next morning I turned the oven to 350 F and let the French toast casserole bake for about 30 minutes. Not only did my house smell amazing, but it was also the most delicious breakfast I have had in a long time. I froze the leftovers, and I’m sure they will be good for many other lazy morning breakfasts. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- Butter (for preparing baking dish)
- 12 bagels, plain or cinnamon raisin
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Dash salt
- 2 bananas, ripe
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
Instructions
- Butter casserole dish.
- Slice bananas into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.
- Combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until mixed.
- Cut bagels into 1/4 inch size pieces.
- Soak bagels for 10 seconds or until saturated.
- Layer bagels, ricotta cheese, and banana like a lasagna until casserole dish is full.
- Place in refrigerator overnight.
- Heat oven to 350 F and bake casserole for 30 minutes covered. Bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.
