Of course make-ahead breakfast casseroles are genius. They let you knock out all the thinking and doing the day before, when you have time and space to putter. And they feed a hungry crowd much more smoothly than flipping fried eggs or rolling omelettes for eight (don’t do it).
The trouble is: In their ingenious practicality, these casseroles can often feel utilitarian at best. They’re a breakfast you can cut into neat rectangles, with none of the dramatic pouf of a Dutch baby or tactile glee of a pull-apart monkey bread.
This particular casserole, however, is spilling over with glee. It comes from celebrity comfort food lover/known prankster Chrissy Teigen's cookbook Cravings, and she injects some very welcome doses of fun. The most important of these is the topping, which is salted, buttered, toasted Frosted Flakes. You will want to palm this up like trail mix. No surprise Teigen writes, “I am so proud of this dish I could cry.”
This topping takes a cue from the tuna noodle casserole genre of yore, but layers in a modern sensibility that recognizes our sweet breakfasts are better with salt and brown butter and, as it turns out, crunchy, malted Frosted Flakes.
I did my natural foodist due diligence here and it appears that the only unpronounceable ingredients are pretty much just vitamins. But if you prefer an ever more wholesome brand, go nuts—just make sure that the salt and sweet are in good balance, and there’s a bit of fat to help the bits get extra brown and crispy. Or maybe there’s another classic you have a deep affection for: Cracklin’ Oat Bran, Crispix, Life, perhaps? I think Teigen would encourage you to embrace your inner crazed-kid-in-the-cereal-aisle.
Her second blast of fun is quite a generous amount (ahem, half a cup) of rum. Teigen positions this as a sort of hair of the dog after a rowdy night and—even after a tame one—this booziness is delicious for adults who dig a saucy rum cake or Dark & Stormy (raises glass).
But if you’re serving this to a mixed crowd on Christmas morning—children, nondrinkers, etc.—don’t worry: While it's true that inevitably not every drop of the alcohol will bake out, this recipe has enough other good stuff going that I can verify that it tastes just as good with little or no booze at all. Namely: those classic cozy wintry flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and brown sugar.
And of course, there's the sassy topping. With enough of that, your crowd would probably be happy to eat the presents.
| 1 | tablespoon butter |
| 1 | pound French bread (1 large loaf), cut into 1-inch pieces |
| 8 | large eggs |
| 2 | cups heavy cream |
| 1 | cup whole milk |
| 1/2 | cup rum (we used Meyer's dark rum—if you're concerned about the alcohol, feel free to reduce, replacing with another liquid like milk) |
| 1 | cup lightly packed light brown sugar |
| 1 | tablespoon pure vanilla extract |
| 1 | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| 1/2 | teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1 | tablespoon butter |
| 1 | pound French bread (1 large loaf), cut into 1-inch pieces |
| 8 | large eggs |
| 2 | cups heavy cream |
| 1 | cup whole milk |
| 1/2 | cup rum (we used Meyer's dark rum—if you're concerned about the alcohol, feel free to reduce, replacing with another liquid like milk) |
| 1 | cup lightly packed light brown sugar |
| 1 | tablespoon pure vanilla extract |
| 1 | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| 1/2 | teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 3 | cups Frosted Flakes cereal |
| 3 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 3 | cups Frosted Flakes cereal |
| 3 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
Photos by Bobbi Lin
Got a genius recipe to share—from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Please send it my way (and tell me what's so smart about it) at [email protected]. Thank you to editor/stylist/professional genius-hunter Ali Slagle for this one!
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Written by: Kristen Miglore
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24 Comments
It’s called Stuffed French Toast a la Sally Jesse Rafael. Yes! The talk show host of red glasses fame! She owned a B & B for years and swore that it was her most popular recipe. The stuffing is cubes of CREAM CHEESE! You don’t actually stuff it, just layer cubed bread with cubed cream cheese, pour a dozen beaten eggs laced with milk, vanilla and REAL maple syrup over the top, let sit in the fridge overnight, bake in the morning, dust with powdered sugar if you’re feeling fancy and serve with warm maple syrup and fruit on the side-GONE!!!
Orange Rum Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar.
2 tablespoons cornstarch.
Pinch salt.
1 medium orange, juiced and strained, combined with water to yield 1 cup.
1/2 teaspoon orange zest.
1/4 cup rum.
1 tablespoon butter.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Sweet Potato & Spinach Breakfast Strata
Serves 4 to 6
1 medium sweet potato (2 cups cubed) (Can use more, and I do. I like to use almost double this amount. Otherwise, we fight over the sweet potato chunks. LOL)
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
2 cups spinach, shredded
8 ounces stale whole wheat sourdough bread (7 to 8 thick slices)
4 ounces shredded fontina, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced chives
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cup whole milk
Prep this strata the night before.
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Peel and cut the sweet potato into 1/4-inch cubes. Toss them with the onion, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan, and roast until the sweet potatoes are tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
Place the spinach in a large bowl, and put hot sweet potatoes and onions on top. Stir, letting spinach wilt just slightly from the heat of the roasted vegetables. Cube the bread and add to the bowl, along with 2 ounces of cheese, the rosemary and the chives. Toss the mixture until well combined.
Lightly grease a 9x9-inch (or 2 1/2 quart) baking dish. Put the bread mixture into the pan, evenly distributing the spinach and sweet potatoes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour over the bread mixture, pressing down on the bread to submerge it completely in the egg mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, remove strata from refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350˚F. Bake the strata for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with remaining 2 ounces of cheese, and continue to bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes until the strata has puffed and the cheese is browning. Serve with an extra sprinkle of chives.
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