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Overnight Chai Eggnog French Toast Casserole

This Overnight Chai Eggnog French Toast Casserole is the perfect make ahead breakfast for Christmas morning! It’s loaded with flavor, plus it’s gluten free and dairy free so everyone can enjoy!

Overnight French Toast Casserole

Eggnog was a classic for us around the holidays. My Mom wouldn’t make it from scratch, but we would always have the cartons in our refrigerator to have as a little “dessert” before we went to bed. My dad would add rum to it and give it that adult beverage feel, sometimes he would even add ice cream and make a shake out of it. (he may not be able to cook but he can definitely make a good drink haha)

My favorite way to drink it was ice cold with a dash of fresh nutmeg on top. MMmmm….

Now that I’m married eggnog is still a staple in our house. Once thanksgiving hits my husband starts asking me where the eggnog is. I usually try to have at least two cartons in the house at all times. He loves to have a small glass at night around the holidays, however we usually get the lactose free kind. For a while we were getting the Southern Comfort brand, which is oh my gosh so yummy! (I think it was the vanilla spice kind) But all that lactose doesn’t sit too well in the belly especially on top of all the other holiday treats.

Lactaid makes a great lactose free version of eggnog and honestly, it tastes the same to me. So that’s the one we go with around the holidays!

I haven’t really made many recipes using eggnog because normally we just drink it. But I love the flavor of it, it reminds me of Christmas so I decided to change up my norm and make an eggnog inspired recipe.

My first thought was something breakfast or brunch-y because that’s my favorite meal of the day. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner – which makes it one amazing meal. Plus, what better thing to wake up to Christmas morning than a delicious breakfast recipe you made the night before!

This Overnight Chai Eggnog French Toast Casserole is gluten free and dairy free, but honestly once you taste it, you wouldn’t have guessed it at all.

This recipe is filled with chai spices, creamy eggnog, and maple syrup for a little sweetness. All you do is slice up the bread, toss it with the chai spiced eggnog mixture, cover it and place it in the refrigerator overnight. When Christmas morning comes around, pop it in the oven while the kids are opening the presents from Santa and voila the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.

One of my favorite things about this french toast casserole beyond the flavor is the texture. It is crispy on the top and moist on the inside. Everything you want it a good french toast. You will absolutely love it and so will the family.

I hope you give this one a go. It’s super easy to make, loaded with flavor and a little lighter on your tummy for the holidays!

Bon Appetit friends!

Chai Eggnog French Toast Casserole

Author: Krista @ JoyfulHealthyEats.com
Prep Time: 6 hours
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 6 hours 45 mins
Yield: 12 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Description

Scale

Ingredients

1 family size loaf gluten free bread, cut into 1″ cubes (i used udi’s)
5 eggs
2 cups lactose free eggnog (i used lactaid)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon clove
salt to taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

Grease a 13×9 pan with cooking spray.
Add cubes gluten free bread to baking dish.
To a large bowl add, eggs, eggnog, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove and salt. Whisk until everything is smooth and combined.
Pour the egg mixture over the cubed bread.
Using your hands, gently press bread down so the custard covers each piece of bread.
Wrap with tin foil and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove casserole from the refrigerator.
Sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the eggnog french toast casserole.
Bake covered for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Until slightly browned on top.
Optional: Garnish with powdered sugar
Serve with maple syrup.

Keywords: french toast casserole, overnight french toast, make ahead french toast, christmas morning brunch, christmas morning breakfast