Panettone French Toast Casserole
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Looking for a tasty Christmas breakfast casserole? Try this easy to make panettone French toast casserole. Rich sweet bread dredged in egg mixture is topped with cherry pie filling and baked to perfection.
This panettone French toast casserole makes the best Christmas casserole breakfast or brunch!
What is panettone?
It is an Italian sweet bread that is traditionally made for Christmas or New Year. It’s extremely fluffy thanks to the proofing process that takes several days.
Traditionally, it contains candied oranges, raisins and lemon zest but these days you easily find panettone with chocolate chips.
How do you make French toast with panettone?
This is a quick recipe so before you start making panettone French toast casserole, turn your oven on and preheat it to 350°F (180°C).
Meanwhile: Get a knife and slice the panettone bread. 1-inch (2.5-cm) slices are the perfect thickness but nothing will happen if you cut them thinner or thicker than that.
Arrange the bread slices into an oven-proof dish. In a mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract and give everything a good mix.
I like using a hand whisk, but you can also use an electric mixer, if you like. It does not really matter what utensil/gadget you use, your casserole will turn out great either way!
Now pour the mixture over the bread. I like to lift the slices slightly when pouring so that the mixture gets everywhere.
You can also push down the bread pieces so that they soak up some of the liquid.
When ready, spread the cherry pie filling over and throw it into the preheated oven. Bake until the egg mixture is set and the top is crispy (or to your liking).
Expert tips
- If you prefer using a different topping than the one, I used (cherry pie filling) then go ahead and do so. This Christmas breakfast casserole will taste good with all sorts of toppings such as fresh berries, custard, fruit compote and all sorts of syrups (what about making homemade gingerbread syrup?)
- Use any oven-proof dish you have on hand. It can be oval, rectangular, square, glass, ceramic – anything really, just large enough so you can fit everything in.
- Panettone can be substituted with challah or brioche bread.
- This recipe can be doubled or halved, if needed.
Looking for more French toast recipes?
What about trying some of these:
- Croissant French Toast
- Gingerbread French Toast
- Brioche French Toast
- Maple Pecan French Toast Roll Ups
- Banana French Toast Roll Ups
- French Toast Sticks
- Baileys French Toast
Panettone French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ panettone bread , see note 1
- 4 eggs (medium to large)
- ½ cup milk (120 milliliters)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 can cherry pie filling , see note 2
- powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Cut the bread into thick slices and arrange them in an oven-proof dish.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract together. Pour about half of this over the panettone. To make sure all the slices are soaked, lift each piece and pour some of the mixture over the bread and in the gaps.
- Top with cherry filling (you can also stick some of the cherries in between the slices) and pour the remaining egg mixture over.
- Bake it for about 30 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and the top is nice and crispy.
- Best served warm!
Notes
- Panettone – I used a little over 1 pound (500 grams) of bread in this recipe.
- Cherry pie filling – I used one 14-ounce can (410 grams).
- This recipe can be easily doubled or halved.
- You will need an oven-proof dish with the measurements of at least 7×9 inch (19×23 cm).
I think this is the coolest idea ever, I’ve never been tempted to buy a loaf of panettone, but now I can’t wait to get my hands on one!!
:) Thanks, Sue!
This is such a wonderful recipe. I’ve made it several times already and I love that I can either use panettone or sub with other breads. I’ll be making it Christmas morning too.
I love panettone, what a great idea to use it in a breakfast casserole! Such a great Christmas morning breakfast!
Hope you give it a go, Carrie!
A Christmas tradition of ours is to make a casserole on Christmas morning. It is the easiest way to feed our hungry family after we are awaken at the early morning. This is going to be the one we make this year. Thank you!
You are welcome!
What a beautiful breakfast! This will be perfect Christmas morning when my family is staying with us.
Thank you!