French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread, Cream Cheese and Mango

There are many things to love about this French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread. It’s a make ahead recipe that benefits from an overnight soak in the refrigerator. Pop it in the oven, then bake the next morning for a a crowd pleasing Brunch entree.

Here’s What You’ll Love About This French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread

• Flavor: The flavors are a perfect blend of savory and sweet.
• Mango: There are just enough mangos in this recipe to compliment the palate and a pop of color for presentation.
• Creamy Texture: The creamy cheesy texture was divine.
• Challah Bread: Challah bread is excellent for a French toast casserole because of it’s rich, dense and sturdy texture, which allows it to absorb the egg custard mixture without becoming soggy. Which also results in a crispy exterior and soft custardy interior.
• Sandwich Style: This stuffed French toast is actually prepared sandwich style. There’s actually no stuffing involved. Adding filling ingredients on top of one slice of bread and then topping with another slice of challah, once baked gives the appearance of being stuffed. This is an easier way to build this recipe.
• Entertaining: This baked French toast recipe is ideal for entertaining. No standing over the stove making them one at a time. Assembled the night before, everyone can sit down at the table and enjoy breakfast together.
• Fairly Easy: This recipe comes together fairly easy. It’s easy enough for a beginning cook and interesting enough for the seasoned home chef.
• Make Ahead: Prepare this the evening before. This dish benefits from an overnight soak in the refrigerator. The bread absorbs the eggy coating and the filling firms up overnight.
• Credentials: This is a Rick Bayless recipe. Always reliable. Always delicious.

What Bread Is Best For A French Toast Casserole?

My vote goes for Challah Bread. And that’s what we used whenever we made French toast in Culinary School. Here’s Why:

• Richness and Flavor: Challah is an “enriched” bread which means it’s made with eggs, oil and a bit of sugar. Normally bread is made using yeast and water. An enriched bread means a natural richness and a subtle sweet flavor. Which will compliment French toast ingredients.
• Crumb: Challah delivers a relatively tight, airy crumb structure that will hold all of that custardy liquid. And prevents it from falling apart when soaked.
• Thickness: Challah is sold in a whole, braided loaf which allows you to slice the bread thick. Thick slices are key to achieve that bread-pudding like consistency. And that’s why we all love French toast.
• Best When Stale: Day old or slightly stale challah works very well for French toast, as it’s drier state allows for absorption of custard.

This French toast bake with challah bread includes mangos that have been sauteed in a big dollop of butter and sprinkled with sugar. Challah bread is then sliced and smeared with the cream cheese and mangos, then assembled like a sandwich. The half and half and egg mixture is poured over the top before its overnight soak.

Even though the Mangos were sauteed in butter and sprinkled with sugar, they kept that lovely tangy flavor which was a great compliment to the cream cheese. Which means it wasn’t too sweet making the warm maple syrup a welcome topping.

Tips For Success:

• It’s important to choose a loaf of bread that’s not been sliced, so you can control the thickness of the slices.
• Allow Cream Cheese to sit at room temperature for about an hour to soften.
• Mangos can be a pain in the rear to slice. No matter how many times I’ve watched videos, practiced patience, I always end up with mangled fruit. If you use mangos frequently in your kitchen, I highly recommend this OXO mango slicer. Works like a charm.
• My local Whole Foods carries small chunked and peeled Mango. What a convenience for this recipe.

Recipe For Baked French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread

There are plenty of great restaurant options in Denver for celebrating Mother’s Day, however, I can’t think of any better way to indulge than a home cooked event with family and friends. Why not skip the crowded restaurants and enjoy celebrations around the table.

And if you’re looking for more over night breakfast ideas take a look at this Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole . All perfect for feeding a breakfast or brunch crowd. And just for fun, another overnight breakfast recipe I love is this one for Overnight Hatch Chile Breakfast Burritos.

Love French Toast Recipes? Don’t miss this one for Orange French Toast with Grand Marnier Syrup. Just say Yes! 🙂

French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread, Cream Cheese and Mango

There are many things to love about this Baked French Toast with Cream Cheese. It's make ahead that benefits from an overnight soak in the refrigerator. Pop this mango cream cheese french toast in the oven the next morning and you've got a crowd pleasing breakfast casserole.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Breakfast Recipes

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 779kcal

Author: Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter plus 1 tablespoon softened butter for casserole dish
• ▢ 3 mangoes apx. 2 ⅕ pounds, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
• ▢ 1/ 2 cup sugar divided use
• ▢ 12 ounces cream cheese softened
• ▢ 12 slices egg bread challah sandwich loaf
• ▢ 6 large eggs
• ▢ 1 ½ cups half and half
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ Warm maple or agave syrup
• ▢ Powdered Sugar for Dusting

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Instructions

• In a very large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the mango and saute for approximately 10 minutes or until soft. Sprinkle in a ¼ cup sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
• In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese and the remaining ¼ cup sugar.
• Butter a 13 x 9 casserole dish with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Divide the cream cheese mixture equally between the slices of bread and spread, covering the entire surface. Place 6 of the slices in the bottom of the prepared dish with the tops of the bread facing out. You may need to squeeze the slices together to make them fit. Spoon the cooled mango slices and their syrup evenly over the bread. Press the remaining slices, cream cheese side down, on top of the mango layer.
• Whisk together the eggs, half and half, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour the mixture over the top of the stuffed French toast, making sure to cover all the bread with the egg mixture. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until lightly browned and warmed through. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar and serve with warm syrup.

Nutrition

Calories: 779kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 259mg | Sodium: 513mg | Potassium: 391mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 64g | Vitamin A: 2117IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 197mg | Iron: 3mg

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French Toast Casserole with Challah Bread … It’s What’s For Brunch

Lea Ann Brown

Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.