Grain-free Baked French Toast (gluten-free)

Grain-free Baked French Toast
gluten-free | grain-free | tree nut free | refined sugar free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | December 28, 2023
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Warm, sweet, and bursting with maple cinnamon flavor… this grain-free baked French toast is everything a holiday breakfast should be! Quick, easy, make-ahead, no hassle, and delicious. There’s not much you won’t like about this grain-free baked French toast. Everyone in my family absolutely loves having this special breakfast around the holidays, and we also like having it for dinner and snacks! This simple gluten-free breakfast recipe will quickly become a staple in your homestead kitchen just like it is in mine!

Modern Pioneer Recipe

This grain-free baked French toast is a modern pioneer recipe. I haven’t read any pioneer accounts where French toast is mentioned, however, this baked French toast does use some great pioneer ingredients! Bread, eggs, milk, and sugar are all common pioneer ingredients. Also, this is a pretty versatile recipe and could be baked in various ways. I want to try making it in my Dutch oven over the open fire. I think that would be so much fun…. and delicious!

Not only are the ingredients in this recipe simple and pioneer-based, but I also made sure they were allergy-friendly! Since I wanted to make this French toast bake something that both me and my other family members would enjoy, I tried to include ingredients that were both allergy-friendly and delicious.

Thankfully, mom laid the foundation for this recipe when she first tried out her baked French toast casserole on us, and we all loved it! I decided I wanted to try my own version, add a few twists to it, make it a little simpler for the modern pioneer, and still end up with something that was easy to make and bursting with flavor!

This grain-free baked French toast met all those expectations! As for being allergy-friendly, this French toast bake is….

• grain-free
• gluten-free
• nut free
• naturally sweetened
• corn free

After you give this grain-free baked French toast a try, you might want to head on over and try out the gluten-free, cinnamon raisin version of this baked French toast too!

Gluten-free Holiday Recipe Ideas

When my mom first made her French toast casserole, she surprised us with it on New Year’s Day. Since then, I have always associated it with the fall and winter holidays. It is the perfect dinner or breakfast for cold winter days. It is also a very cozy and sweet recipe, which is what I associate with holiday breakfasts and dinners.

I think another reason why I like this as a holiday recipe is because it is super easy to make and can be made up ahead of time. No mess and no stress, that’s the perfect recipe for the holiday season! I can whip this French toast bake up the night before, let it set in the fridge overnight, and then it’s all set to be baked up in the morning.

Whether it be for a cozy Christmas Eve dinner, a relaxing and quick Christmas morning breakfast, or a special New Year’s Day treat, this French toast bake is the perfect allergy-friendly holiday food!

Need a few other holiday meal ideas? Check out some of these family favorites!

• Grain-free Christmas Cinnamon Rolls
• Simple Bacon Wrapped Venison Backstrap
• Grain-free Pizza (of course pizza is a holiday food!)
• Crockpot Paleo Venison Stew
• Grain-free Belgian Waffles

Making Baked French Toast Allergy-Friendly

When it comes to following recipes, I am notorious for making substitutions, trying different ingredient combinations, or tweaking the recipe some way or another. That’s one reason why I enjoy creating new recipes to share with you all! However, even after I have created one of my own recipes, I am always thinking of ways to change it up and make it even better or just try different varieties.

With this grain-free baked French toast being such a simple recipe, I have already come up with quite a few ways this recipe can be customized or edited to make different variations and flavors.

The Bread– To start with, the bread base of this baked French toast is pretty customizable. I use Against the Grain grain-free sesame baguette in my baked French toast, but some other healthy breads would also work. Against the Grain baguette may not be available for everyone to use, so I wanted to give you a few healthy alternatives.

If you are going for a more made-from scratch recipe, my grain-free French toast bread would work great in this baked French toast recipe. You could also try whipping up a gluten-free bread mix to use in this recipe, such as Pamela’s gluten-free bread mix. If you are looking for something quick and easy, try a few of my favorite gluten-free bread brands:

• Canyon Bakehouse mountain white bread (a personal favorite of mine!)
• Canyon Bakehouse heritage style bread
• Sami’s Bakery sourdough bread
• Sami’s Bakery millet bread

The Flavor– Another part of this recipe that is easily customizable is the flavor. My top favorite flavor is a sweet, maple flavor, which is what this recipe features. However, there are other options too!

• Cinnamon Sugar- use coconut sugar instead of maple sugar, add more cinnamon!
• Cranberry- add crushed cranberries to the French toast mixture before you bake it, omit or decrease the cinnamon
• Caramel- use coconut sugar instead of maple sugar, add some homemade caramel sauce to the egg mixture

Serving & Storing Baked French Toast

It’s pretty cut and dry when it comes to serving this grain-free baked French toast. Bake it, cool it, cut it, serve it. Pretty simple. I like to serve my baked French toast with pure maple syrup, just to add more maple flavor (and sugar). However, you can get fancier!

Want to turn this baked French toast into a festive brunch menu? Serve it with bacon, scrambled eggs, homemade breakfast sausage, or whatever else you want to include in your brunch menu! Going for a lighter, simpler serving method? Serve it with some honey or maple syrup and your favorite fruit. Have a variety of picky eaters in your house? There are so many topping choices you can offer!

• crushed and sweetened cranberries
• dried cranberries
• banana slices and fresh blackberries
• pure honey
• pure maple syrup
• crushed nuts
• gluten-free granola
• dairy-free whipped cream

With all those topping options, there’s sure to be something that will satisfy everyone’s taste buds! So, after serving up this delicious recipe, if you have any leftovers, how should you store them? Great question!

I like to move any leftovers into a different glass storage dish. That way I can clean up the pan that I baked the French toast in and I can store a smaller container in my fridge. The leftovers can be cooled slightly, then stored in the fridge. Even leftovers won’t last long though, since this baked French toast is just as good cold!

Baked French Toast Recipe Tips

Grain-free baked French toast is a simple, easy recipe that uses wholesome ingredients that you probably already have on hand. There’s not much that can go wrong when making this delicious meal. All the ingredients will still taste good no matter how they are combined! Still, there are a few recipe tips that I want to provide to answer any questions about the recipe.

• Overnight Time- I recommend leaving the French toast mixture to soak overnight, which is about 10-12 hours, however, the soak time can vary from 8 hours up to 16 hours and everything will still be good!
• Dairy-free- To make this recipe dairy-free, you can use a dairy-free bread option and use melted coconut oil instead of melted butter, it just won’t have the mild butter flavor.
• Milk Options- Any dairy-free milk alternative will work for this recipe and fresh cow’s milk or goat’s milk would work too! My two favorite milks to use in this recipe are coconut milk and oat milk.
• Setting Up Time- When the baked French toast comes out of the oven, it may seem a little jiggly in the middle, if you let it set for 5 minutes the egg mixture will firm up so you can cut and serve it. The egg mixture should be firm when you cut into the baked French toast. If it’s not, pop it back into the oven and bake it for longer.
• Serving Size- This recipe can easily be doubled and made in a 9×13″ glass baking dish if you have lots of people to serve!

This grain-free baked French toast is perfect for any time of the year, but I especially associate its warm, cozy flavors with the Christmas holiday season. It’s become a family tradition in my house, and I’m sure it will become popular on your homestead too!

Where to Find the Ingredients

• Against the Grain sesame baguettes
• Barred Woods maple sugar
• Anthony’s organic coconut sugar
• Simply Organic ground cinnamon
• Simply Organic ground nutmeg
• Pacific coconut milk
• Pacific oat milk
• Supplies- 8×8″ glass baking dish, 9×13″ glass baking dish

Grain-free baked French toast is the perfect make-ahead meal to cut back on stress and mess in the kitchen during the holidays! It’s delicious served fresh and warm from the oven, or enjoyed as leftovers. Serve it with your favorite breakfast toppings or holiday flavors and enjoy it for a holiday brunch, quick breakfast, or filling dinner! This modern pioneer recipe is one of my favorite holiday breakfasts to make and eat!

Need a few more pioneer holiday recipes for the Christmas season? Make sure you are a part of our bi-weekly newsletter where we share all our favorite recipes and holiday baking tips! Plus, you will even get exclusive recipes that are too good to miss out on!