Brunch Upgrade: Gluten-Free French Toast With Bananas

When Prep School host Megan Mitchell arrives at the test kitchen with a loaf of gluten-free bread, hazelnut creamer, and a ripe banana, you know a crave-worthy brunch dish is on the menu. This French toast recipe gets started the night before serving, when you’ll leave gluten-free sliced bread to dry on the counter overnight. (Don’t worry if you forget, we have a workaround!) To save even more time in the morning, whisk the vanilla-infused custard before bed so it’s ready to go in the a.m.

Gluten-Free Hazelnut and Banana French Toast

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 12 hours and 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 loaf gluten-free sliced bread
1 cup Califia Farms Coconut Cream & Almond Milk Better Half, Hazelnut
2 eggs
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
Pinch of fine sea salt
¼ cup ghee, divided, plus more as needed
3 large or 4 small bananas, sliced ½-inch thick on a bias
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
½ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Instructions

Place bread slices on a sheet tray lined with a cooling rack; leave overnight to dry out. (If you forget, place bread on a sheet tray lined with a cooling rack and bake for 25 minutes in a 250°F oven; flip and bake 25 minutes more, or until dried out.)

In the morning, whisk creamer, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a shallow 8 x 11-inch dish. Warm a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon ghee. Once melted, place 2 to 3 bread slices into the custard and let sit 3 minutes; allow any excess to drip off before placing bread in the preheated skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden. Place bread on a sheet tray and keep warm in a 200°F oven while you make the rest of the French toast. Add more ghee to the pan between batches as needed.

Once the bread is finished, add 2 to 3 tablespoons ghee and brown sugar to the same pan; cook 1 minute, or until it bubbles up. Add bananas and cook for 1 minute more; remove from heat and stir in chopped hazelnuts.
To serve, place 2 to 3 pieces of bread on a plate; top with a spoonful of bananas and hazelnuts and drizzle with maple syrup. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired.

Recipe by Megan Mitchell