1-2 teaspoons butter plus more to grease casserole dish
To serve:
chopped green onion
chopped parsley
tossed green salad (optional)
poached eggs (optional)
Takes ,
serves 2.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch casserole dish with butter.
Assemble slices of bread in a flat layer in the casserole dish . Place eggs, milk, Dijon, salt, pepper and paprika (or cayenne) in large liquid measure and whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture over bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes, flipping the slices over at the halfway mark.
After soaking, sprinkle the slices with grated Parmesan and dot the top of each slice with bits of butter.
Transfer to oven and bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
To serve Option 1: Serve with a sprinkle of green onions or chopped parsley.
Option 2: Serve topped with a tossed green salad and poached egg.
Parmesan French Toast
Ingredients
2 slices country bread
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
pinch of paprika or cayenne pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 teaspoons butter plus more to grease casserole dish
To serve:
chopped green onion
chopped parsley
tossed green salad (optional)
poached eggs (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch casserole dish with butter.
Assemble slices of bread in a flat layer in the casserole dish . Place eggs, milk, Dijon, salt, pepper and paprika (or cayenne) in large liquid measure and whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture over bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes, flipping the slices over at the halfway mark.
After soaking, sprinkle the slices with grated Parmesan and dot the top of each slice with bits of butter.
Transfer to oven and bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
To serve Option 1: Serve with a sprinkle of green onions or chopped parsley.
Option 2: Serve topped with a tossed green salad and poached egg.
Parmesan French Toast
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Oven-baked slices of country bread soaked in a seasoned egg and milk custard, topped with grated Parmesan…
Take pain perdu from sweet to savoury and enjoy our CRISPY PARMESAN FRENCH TOAST.
French toast, also known as pain perdu, is a welcome addition to any weekend breakfast or brunch menu. Who doesn’t love sweet French toast drizzled with maple syrup? But it got us thinking, what about a savoury version of this beloved dish? You could still enjoy it for breakfast or weekend brunch, but also for lunch or dinner. The result is this CRISPY PARMESAN FRENCH TOAST that can be served with nothing more than a sprinkle of freshly chopped herbs. Another idea – dress it up with tossed greens and a poached egg. Either way, it’s delicious!
Before sharing a few tips on how to make this delicious recipe, don’t forget to PIN it to a favourite Pinterest board. You can also SHARE the recipe with friends and post pics of your final dish on favourite socials like Facebook and Instagram.
Here’s the deal with CRISPY PARMESAN FRENCH TOAST;
Only 9 readily available ingredients to craft something exceedingly delicious.
INGREDIENTS
In pulling together the ingredients for this French toast recipe, we simply swapped sweet for savoury. So where a classic PAIN PERDU has brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, our savoury version has Parmesan, Dijon mustard and seasoning. After that, just grab some eggs, milk and a favourite bread. This is meant to be easy.
Use your favourite freshly sliced bread for the recipe.
BREAD
Although we used a crusty Italian loaf for this recipe, challah, French baguette, brioche, whole wheat or multigrain bread will work too – just pick the best bread you can find. Ideally, try to use a loaf that you can slice ¾- to 1-inch thick. The slices will soak up the egg and milk mixture way better than thin slices would.
Adding Dijon and seasoning to this batter complements the Parmesan perfectly.
CUSTARD
Whisking up our suggested blend of whole milk, fresh eggs, Dijon and a bit of seasoning is a simple step, just make sure to whisk them well until the salt dissolves and the eggs and milk are completely blended. Whisking everything up in a large liquid measure is also a nifty trick as you can then easily pour the batter directly into the casserole dish.
The bread soaks up the seasoned egg and milk batter to create a rich, almost custard-like texture.
SOAK
The only timing step in this recipe is where you leave the bread to soak up the egg and milk mixture for 30 minutes. Make sure to flip the bread at the 15-minute mark so that the tops of the slices get as eggy as the bottom. We could have made this dish using a skillet to fry it up, but we find the casserole method way easier. Yay!
Be generous with the cheese, please!
PARMESAN
The final step before transferring the PARMESAN FRENCH TOAST to the oven is to sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and top it with flecks of unsalted butter. Although the recipe has only been tested using Parmesan, we expect you’ll have the same great result if you use other types of cheese like Gruyère, Asiago, cheddar and Havarti.
The finished French toasts will deflate pretty quick so, serve straight away.
BAKE
Baking our savoury French toast in a hot oven will puff up the slices of egg-soaked bread in the casserole dish. Fair warning; they will deflate soon after you take them out, so we suggest serving them straight away. A final thought; we crafted this story to serve two, but you can easily double the recipe. If you have guests in your midst and are serving around four people, consider preparing it in a fancy, oven-safe dish.
Keep it simple by serving it with nothing more than some chopped fresh herbs and green onions.
SERVE
As mentioned off the top, our CRISPY PARMESAN FRENCH TOAST can be served with little more than chopped fresh herbs. Try it with chives, flat-leaf parsley, scallions, thyme or basil. The savoury, cheesy flavour profile is satisfying and makes for a perfect light meal.
Here’s an amazing idea! Serve the French toast topped with a tossed green salad and a poached egg. Yummy!
WITH POACHED EGG
Want to take this savoury French toast idea from simple to amazing? Toss assorted greens in a small bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. Add a sprinkle of sea salt flakes and some freshly ground black pepper. Add a little nest of the salad onto each slice of bread, then to finish, a poached egg. Amazing!
The perfect serving for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
CRISPY PARMESAN FRENCH TOAST can be made simple or amazing, but either way, it’s always perfect!
1-2 teaspoons butter plus more to grease casserole dish
To serve:
chopped green onion
chopped parsley
tossed green salad (optional)
poached eggs (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch casserole dish with butter.
Assemble slices of bread in a flat layer in the casserole dish . Place eggs, milk, Dijon, salt, pepper and paprika (or cayenne) in large liquid measure and whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture over bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes, flipping the slices over at the halfway mark.
After soaking, sprinkle the slices with grated Parmesan and dot the top of each slice with bits of butter.
Transfer to oven and bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
To serve Option 1: Serve with a sprinkle of green onions or chopped parsley.
Option 2: Serve topped with a tossed green salad and poached egg.