Make Ahead

Chrissy Teigen’s French Toast Casserole With Salted Frosted Flakes

by:
June 25, 2021
3.5
27 Ratings
Chrissy Teigen’s French Toast Casserole With Salted Frosted Flakes
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Prep time 13 hours
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

Adapted slightly from Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat (Clarkson Potter, 2016). —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Chrissy Teigen’s French Toast Casserole With Salted Frosted Flakes
Ingredients
  • The Base
  • 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
  • The Topping
  • 3 cups Frosted Flakes cereal
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
  1. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (or a tall-sided 12-inch ovenproof skillet) and arrange the cubed bread in the dish.
  2. In a big bowl, whisk the eggs to combine, then whisk in the heavy cream, milk, rum, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until smooth. Pour the mixture over the bread, really pressing down on the bread to help the custard soak in. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 12.
  3. Heat the oven to 350°F. Take the casserole out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp for 30 minutes.
  4. Make the topping: In a bowl, combine the cereal, melted butter, and salt and toss to coat. Spread the mixture evenly over the casserole.
  5. Bake until the topping is golden and the bread cubes peeking out of the top are crusty and toasty, 50 to 55 minutes. Serve warm with maple syrup.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • hardlikearmour
    hardlikearmour
  • Barbara Hansen
    Barbara Hansen
  • susan
    susan
  • Lauren Miller
    Lauren Miller
  • AdventureGirl
    AdventureGirl
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

Popular on Food52

29 Reviews

Sarah R.
Sarah R. December 18, 2022
Made this yesterday, exactly as written and it cooked perfectly and was a huge hit!
 
CKMeadows
CKMeadows February 5, 2022
This was soggy and had an odd flavour to it.
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour April 4, 2021
This was delicious. I did use only 1/4 cup of rum (Appleton Estate Reserve Blend) and compensated with extra milk. The crispy topping is the most genius part!
 
Espinl
Espinl January 23, 2021
Followed the recipe to a T. This had a weird taste. I don’t know if it was the rum or the salt or what. Just an off taste. Not at all like French Toast. The middle was too soggy also.
 
Espinl
Espinl January 23, 2021
Followed the recipe to a T. This had a weird taste. I don’t know if it was the rum or the salt or what. Just an off taste. Not at all like French Toast. The middle was too soggy also. !
 
Espinl
Espinl January 23, 2021
Followed the recipe to a T. This had a weird taste. I don’t know if it was the rum or the salt or what. Just an off taste. Not at all like French Toast. The middle was too soggy also.
 
wg
wg December 27, 2020
Why is this being pushed? I know some time has passed, but Chrissy Teigen is on record as calling Quvenzhane Wallis a "brat." Doesn't seem like a very charitable person.
 
Lynda W.
Lynda W. March 15, 2020
You can call this whatever you like, I guess, but it's just bread pudding.
 
J
J December 29, 2020
Every CT recipe I've seen is a reprise of other recipes with her name attached.
 
Jenna013!
Jenna013! December 29, 2019
I really wanted to like this but so didn't!! I followed the recipe instructions exactly except omitted the rum. I did half whole milk and half eggnog to maybe add more flavor. It was super soggy after 55 minutes. I ended up putting it back in for almost the double the time. We tried a piece and crispy on top but soggy and eggy on the bottom. Not a keeper in this house.
 
Lisa R.
Lisa R. August 9, 2020
Then you didn't "followed the recipe instructions exactly" if you omitted the rum and also added eggnog, which was not in the original recipe. It's kinda irritating when people don't make the recipe as is and then actually gives it a review.
 
Jenna013!
Jenna013! August 9, 2020
Wow...kinda hostile reply to a French toast recipe review. Really...is that necessary and kind?? I did follow "exactly" because it is noted if you would like to omit the alcohol you can replace it with another liquid in the same amount which is what I did. I think it's kinda irritating when people can't be kind to each other. I think we have enough negative in the world right now it would be nice to support one another. Good luck with that.
 
Lisa R.
Lisa R. August 9, 2020
Really wasn't meant to be unkind. While the omission of the rum is suggested for those not wanting the alcohol (though the cooking process I would think would burn the alcohol off) you added eggnog which is a completely different taste profile and is thicker than even the heavy cream- then went on to make a negative review yourself complaining. So you didn't follow it exactly and that is merely an observation. Don't take it so personal. Have a nice day.
 
Rick A.
Rick A. November 23, 2020
Completely agree, Lisa R. Recipes tend to get a bad rap when reviewers take a complete right turn and then say the recipe is flawed. Boooo. No harm in calling that out cause it ain't quite fair in my opinion. It's like saying, I substituted the Frosted Flakes for Lucky Charms. Let's get real.

Btw, the recipe is awesome. Team Teigen! And I'll even say that I replaced the 2 c cream and 1 cup milk with 2 cups of coconut cream and 1 cup of almond milk and it worked like a dream (lactose intolerant here). Most important, I would have never complained about sub par results should that not have worked. I took a risk, and luckily that risk paid off. Otherwise, I would have shut my pie hole and moved on.
 
Barbara H.
Barbara H. December 24, 2019
I used a smaller size baking pan set on top of the bread and custard to keep it submerged. Awesomely good french toast casserole!
 
susan
susan October 1, 2019
Do you think you can substitute the run with milk and a little bit of rum extract?
 
elfleming
elfleming October 1, 2019
I’ve never used rum extract, but I don’t see why not?
 
Lauren M.
Lauren M. August 7, 2018
A heavy winter-time breakfast that had great buttery flavor but was completely overwhelmed by the presence of the rum. I will try orange juice or something else next time. Some acid would have been nice, too, to cut through some of the moorish richness.
 
Linda K.
Linda K. May 13, 2018
What about adding fruit to this recipe as an option (fresh or frozen)? That would be before the frosted flake topping.
 
elfleming
elfleming May 13, 2018
Linda- the last time I made this, we served it with chopped fresh strawberries (used more as a topping after it was all done). I bet they’d be good mixed in with the custard/bread, but you’d also need to account for the extra liquid as they cooked.
 
elfleming
elfleming April 21, 2018
This was delicious. The rum combined with the heavy cream, sugar, and spices made the base much less “basic” than you’d think. And the topping was a great addition.
 
AdventureGirl
AdventureGirl February 16, 2018
Made this using milk instead of rum, but added1/2 cup rum soaked raisins that were leftover from a cookie recipe. Simply delicious!
 
Marie M.
Marie M. December 25, 2017
Made this for Christmas brunch. All in all, it was a success. I assembled the casserole the night before, then baked it for 50 minutes. The center was a little soft, so add 10 minutes if you like a firmer casserole. The frosted flake topping was delicious. Next time I make it, I will probably use only a quarter cup of rum. A half cup made for a very boozy casserole.
 
Ashley B.
Ashley B. December 23, 2017
This was delicious! However at 50 minutes it was still a bit soggy so I cooked it for another 20 minutes or so. Perhaps I did something wrong? After baking it longer though it turned out great and was a hit.
 
Tasia
Tasia December 20, 2017
Has anyone made this yet?? I am trying to decide if this will make the cut for Christmas breakfast... it just doesn't seem like it's anything spectacular other than the topping... but I figure I can't judge until I try right?? Any feedback from y'all?
 
Joe
Joe December 7, 2017
I'm a non drinker, what do think about replacing the rum with nutmeg?
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. December 7, 2017
Since there's already a decent amount of nutmeg, you wouldn't want it to get too overpowering. We've actually replaced the rum with water just to keep the moisture, and there was enough other great flavor going on we didn't miss it (though you can pick a liquid of your choice—more milk, or orange juice perhaps).
 
Em
Em December 9, 2017
Did you by any chance mean eggnog? Just curious! :)
 
Joe
Joe December 11, 2017
Not sure where my head was at but I did mean "eggnog"
Maybe I should start drinking again. lol