If you are dairy free, or know someone that is dairy free, this dairy free french toast casserole is a must try for the holidays!
I almost did not share this recipe because I know most of my readers are not dairy free. But then I realized that there may be a few of you like my daughter, who is missing some of her favorite foods that we always have this time of year.
The holidays are really hard when you deal with food allergies and intolerances, so I decided to go ahead and share this dairy free breakfast treat.
One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to cook a special breakfast. My mom almost always did this when I was growing up and it is a tradition I have continued with my family.
French toast casserole is one of the things that I have made many times for a special breakfast. My family loves it and I love it because it is easy to make the day before. This makes breakfast the morning you serve it very quick and easy.
French toast casserole is full of dairy though which means my daughter, who eats dairy free, can’t have it. I knew I really wanted to come up with a version this year that she could have, so I went to work on creating a dairy free version.
French toast casserole tends to be rich and delicious. It is the dairy that makes it so good, so I knew I had to pick the right dairy free replacement for it. There are many different milk replacements out there. Some are rich and creamy and some are not much better than using water in most recipes.
For this I knew I wanted something more rich and creamy so I went with both canned coconut milk and coconut milk beverage. I thought the combination of the two would work well. It did. The canned coconut milk gives it the richness and the coconut milk beverage helps give it the right texture.
Using them both in the recipe gave me just the taste and texture I was looking for. And my dairy free daughter loved it. For the holidays I will be making a pan of regular french toast casserole and a pan of dairy free.
If you are not dairy free and want to make this just use milk in place of the coconut milk and coconut milk beverage. And if you are gluten free just use gluten free bread. I did and it works fine.
Dairy Free French Toast Casserole
Baked french toast can be dairy free and delicious with this dairy free french toast casserole.
Ingredients
- 10 slices of bread, cut into 1 inch cubes ( I use gluten free bread)
- 8 eggs
- 1- can lite coconut milk ( This is the canned kind found in the Asian aisle)
- 1 1/4 cup coconut milk beverage ( This is the refrigerated kind found in the dairy section)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine eggs, coconut milk, coconut milk beverage, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Carefully fold in bread cubes. Stir just to combine well.
- Spread into a 9x13 pan. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight or for about 8 hours.
- Remove from fridge about 1 hour before baking. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
- Note: I often do not preheat my oven for this and just place the cold pan from the fridge into the oven while it preheats. This has always worked for me and I have never had a pan break. But you can also do as above and let the pan come to room temperature for about 1 hour. My family is just usually to impatient for me to do that.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 290Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 334mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 11g
This looks yummy. What size can do you use? Or should I ask, what is the amount of liquid to replace the coconut milk?
The can of coconut milk is 13.6 ounces. I think that would be about 1 2/3 or so. If you are using dairy you could use part milk and part cream. Using part cream would make it really rich and delicious. Of course it would also make it less healthy. 🙂 I also should have added to the post that we serve it with syrup, but you don’t have to. It just makes it more french toast like. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much for sharing this as I am gluten free and dairy free! Can’t wait to try this during the holidays.
Oops – forgot to ask in the previous post: For the coconut milk beverage did you use unsweetened or sweetened?
Also, do you think that almond milk could be substituted in place of the coconut or do you think the taste and texture would be off? Thanks again.
I used sweetened because it was what I had on hand. I think either would work fine. I have never used almond milk because my daughter is allergic to almonds, so I can’t say for sure, but I think it is worth trying. I would probably use part almond milk and part coconut milk. If I remember right almond milk is thicker and creamier than the coconut milk beverage. I think it would be more like the canned coconut milk texture wise, so you might try half almond or another nut milk and half coconut milk beverage. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much for your suggestions!
This was so Delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
I am so glad that you enjoyed it! I love sharing recipes like this that help make dairy free easier.
Thank you for sharing! I will be preparing breakfast for someone with a dairy allergy and someone with a lactose intolerance. This is a lifesaver!
I hope that you enjoy it!
Hi there, Just one quick question, do you use syrup or anything on top of the casserole after it is baked?
Some in my family do like it better with syrup. I like it just like it is, but I always set out syrup for those that want it. I hope that helps and they you enjoy it!