Baked Banana Macadamia French Toast

Baked Banana Macadamia French Toast with cream cheese filling and pure maple syrup is prepared the day before, soaked over night, and served in the morning.

Mini tropical flavored french toast casseroles are the best breakfast to wake up to! If you love french toast, you'll also love Crème Brûlée French Toast, Grand Marnier French Toast, and Baked Challah French Toast!

Overnight french toast casserole.

My family loves french toast. So do I.

But the french toast I love the most is the kind that I can make the day before and then simply set in the oven when I wake up for a delicious breakfast treat.

The reason overnight french toast is so wonderful is because:

• The egg mixture fully absorbs into the bread. This makes the most heavenly french toast and ensures every bite is moist and full of flavor.
• Any breakfast that is prepared ahead of time means no kitchen mess in the morning. For some reason that makes it taste even better!
• This recipe, in particular, uses individual ramekins instead of a large casserole dish. That not only makes them bake faster, but for some reason individual servings make them more fun!

Rich, tropical flavor in every bite.

When we go to Hawaii, we eat a ton of bananas and macadamia nuts. Not only are they plentiful in the tropics, but they taste so much better when they're fresh.

Adding both banana and macadamia nuts to this french toast casserole brings me back to our vacation days.

The addition of cream cheese purely adds to the richness of the dish. If you've never had cream cheese stuffed french toast, just think of how delicious a cheese danish tastes. That's what it's like.

Baked Banana Macadamia French Toast

Baked Banana Macadamia French Toast with cream cheese filling and pure maple syrup is prepared the day before, soaked over night, and served in the morning.

5 from 10 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Soak time: 10 hours

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Hover to scale: 6 servings

Author: Krissy Allori

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 12 ounces bread (about 5 cups cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes, see note)
• 1 large ripe banana (sliced)
• 1/2 cup macadamia halves
• 3 ounces cream cheese (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups half and half
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Instructions

The night before:

• Grease six (6 ounce) ramekins with butter. Place in baking dish (I used two round cake pans).
• Place half the bread in the ramekins.
• Top the bread with banana, macadamia nuts, and cream cheese, dividing evenly between each dish.
• Cover with remaining bread.
• In separate bowl, whisk eggs, half and half, vanilla and maple syrup until well combined. Slowly pour over each ramekin, dividing the liquid mixture evenly between each dish. You might have a small amount of liquid left over, but try to get as much as possible into the ramekins.
• Cover baking dish(es) tightly with plastic wrap, weigh down with a heavy plate to smash the bread into the liquid, and refrigerate over night. Note: some of the liquid will spill out into the baking dish the ramekins are placed in.

The morning of:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• If any of the liquid mixture spilled over, remove the ramekins from the baking dish and carefully pour anything that spilled back into the ramekins. Return ramekins to baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
• To serve, top with additional maple syrup or dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

For french toast, I always recommend brioche, Challah, or a thick French bread. 

This recipe can be made in a single casserole dish instead of ramekins, however you may need to increase cooking time to ensure center is cooked fully through.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 406mg | Potassium: 375mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 610IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 3mg

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This post was originally published in January 2016 and has been updated for your reading pleasure.