Okay, so I’ve been on this keto kick for a while now, and honestly, sometimes breakfast gets a bit, well, samey. Eggs, bacon, more eggs. I was really missing something a bit more… comforting, you know? Like proper weekend breakfast food. That’s when I got this idea stuck in my head: French toast. But, keto. Seemed like a challenge, especially a casserole version, but I was determined to make it work.
Figuring Out the Bread – That Was a Whole Thing
First things first, you can’t have French toast without bread, right? And keto bread, man, that can be a real hit or miss. I’ve tried a few store-bought ones, and some are just… sad. Like, cardboard sad. For this, I needed something that could hold up to soaking in egg without turning into complete mush. I’d made a loaf of almond flour bread a few days earlier, one of those recipes you find online that promises the world. It was okay, a bit dense, but I figured, sliced thick and left out to dry a little, it might just do the trick. I wasn’t about to go on a wild goose chase for some fancy expensive keto bread for this experiment, no sir.
- So, I took that homemade bread, sliced it into thick cubes, maybe an inch or so.
- I spread them out on a baking sheet and just let them sit on the counter for a few hours to get a little stale. Figured that would help them soak up the custard better.
Whipping Up the Custard – The Heart of the Matter
Next up, the eggy mixture. This is where the magic, or the disaster, happens. I cracked about eight large eggs into a big bowl. No skimping here. Then, instead of regular milk, I went with unsweetened almond milk, maybe a cup and a half, and a good splash of heavy cream – gotta get those fats in, right? For sweetness, I used my go-to erythritol blend. I’ve learned the hard way that some sweeteners have a nasty aftertaste, but this one seems to behave itself, mostly. Dumped in a good couple of tablespoons.
And then, the flavor! A heavy hand with the cinnamon, because what’s French toast without cinnamon? And a decent glug of vanilla extract. I whisked it all together like crazy, making sure everything was mixed up good and proper. I tasted a tiny bit – always taste! – just to make sure the sweetness was okay. Seemed alright to me.
Putting It All Together – Layer by Layer
Okay, so I grabbed my trusty 9×13 baking dish. Didn’t even bother greasing it too much, figured the heavy cream in the custard would handle that. I tossed all those stale bread cubes into the dish. Then, I slowly poured that egg mixture all over the bread, trying to make sure every piece got a decent soak. I kind of gently pressed the bread down with a spatula to help it absorb all that goodness. Some folks say to let it sit overnight, but who has that kind of patience? Not me, not when I’m craving French toast. I let it sit for maybe 20 minutes on the counter while the oven preheated. I figured that was enough.
The Bake – Waiting and Sniffing
I cranked my oven up to about 350°F, that’s around 175°C I think. Once it was hot, in went the casserole. Now, the waiting game. This is always the hardest part. After about 20 minutes, the house started smelling amazing. Like, proper Sunday morning amazing. I kept peeking through the oven door. I wanted it golden brown on top and set in the middle, not jiggly and definitely not burnt. I think it took a good 40-45 minutes in total. I gave the dish a little shake; it seemed pretty set. The top was looking nicely browned.
The Moment of Truth – How Did It Turn Out?
I pulled it out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes. You gotta let these things rest, or they just fall apart. Then, I scooped out a big portion. Honestly, I was a bit nervous. Would it be a soggy mess? Would it taste like sweet scrambled eggs with bread? But you know what? It was pretty darn good! The top was a little crispy, the inside was soft and custardy, but not mushy. The flavor was there – cinnamon, vanilla, that sweet eggy goodness. It actually tasted like French toast!
I topped mine with a few raspberries and a drizzle of some keto-friendly maple syrup I had. It felt like such a treat. My wife even tried it and gave it a thumbs up, and she can be a tough critic when it comes to my keto experiments.
What I Learned – And What I’d Do Next Time
So, yeah, keto French toast casserole? Totally doable. The key really is getting that bread a bit stale and making sure your custard has enough flavor. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, especially since I just kind of winged it with my own bread. Maybe next time, I’d add a pinch of nutmeg to the custard, or some chopped pecans on top before baking for a bit of crunch. But for a first real attempt at this specific thing, I’m calling it a win. It definitely satisfied that craving, and it didn’t kick me out of ketosis. That’s what I call a success story in my book.
