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
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 12 ounces bread (about 5 cups cut into ½ to 1 inch cubes, see note)
- 1 large ripe banana (sliced)
- ½ cup macadamia halves
- 3 ounces cream cheese (cut into ½ inch cubes)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups half and half
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ 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
NUTRITION INFORMATION
This post was originally published in January 2016 and has been updated for your reading pleasure.
Emily Liao
This is definitely a must try recipe if you love french toast! The flavors of the banana and macadamia are so delicious. Plus, I love how these are made in mini sizes! Perfect for serving at a brunch.
Sharon
This french toast recipe looks so good! I love all the layers of flavor. Makes breakfast even more special.
Katie
This is every flavor of Hawaii that I crave. So good!!
Caroline
This sounds so tasty and as you say, all those flavors of the tropics. A lovely treat for brunch!
Erika
These are so good and a great way to use up ripe bananas.
Andrea Metlika
These tropical flavors sound so good. And it looks amazing too.
Tammy
I've never tried bananas in on french toast but honestly that is a wonderful idea! These look so good! What a fabulous treat between the banana and macadamia nuts ^_^
Anita
We love having french toasts for breakfast. The banana and macadamia works really well together, and the ramekins mean individual serving and no fighting over the food. 🙂
Jessica Robinson
Love making French toast and this is such a great way to use up ripe bananas!
Emily
French toast is always a good idea, especially when there are bananas and macadamias in it! Yum!