Yummy French Toast Casserole - Egg-Free, Dairy-Free

Mommy Needs Coffee's Note:

For the food-allergic people in your life, egg-free, dairy-free French toast casserole! Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, it's nice as a brunch item. This is our version of a recipe from a Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis newsletter ( http://www.foodallergy.org/ ). The original recipe called for unflavored rice milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, and milk-free, soy-free margarine, so it can be converted to a soy-free dish as well, though we haven't tried it. I think the critical thing is using bread with a nice, crisp texture; it wouldn't be as good with bread that was soft and squishy!

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 tablespoons soy margarine, melted (milk-free)
• 1 cup vanilla-flavored soymilk
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup (we use Karo light corn syrup)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 cup dark molasses
• 1 (16 ounce) artisan bread (milk-free, egg-free) or 1 (16 ounce) French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (milk-free, egg-free)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (again)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray (note: do _NOT_ use butter-flavor cooking spray! This contains dairy ingredients).
3. Combine melted margarine, vanilla soy milk, corn syrup, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, salt, and molasses in a large bowl.
4. Fold bread into mixture so that it absorbs liquid evenly. Place in prepared baking dish, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake 15 minutes.
6. Remove foil, and bake 15 minutes more.
7. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp cinnamon over the top.
8. Top as desired - allergen-safe syrup, fruit, or powdered sugar.

Reviews

[cmr1120]

This casserole was good. I think I used too crispy of French bread (it was marked down because it had to be sold by the day I bought it, so it was a little harder than normal). Still, it turned out fine, and my boys devoured it. I love French Toast Casserole, and because my son is allergic to eggs, I have not had the pleasure of making it in almost 5 years! This totally satisfied my craving! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful treasure!

[Mirj]

I have no allergies (at least to food), but I am Torah observant and do not eat meat and dairy together. We were having a meat meal and I wanted to serve some kind of bread pudding for dessert. After a quick search, this was the perfect choice. I used my own dairy-free, egg free challah recipe (Nadav's Delicious Challah), and we always have dairy-free marg and soy milk in the house. I used date honey instead of molasses. It took me all of 30 seconds to put this together and the finished product was delicious! I served it with homemade, non-dairy vanilla ice cream and it was a huge hit. This is going to be a regular dessert at our Friday night Shabbat table, thanks!