Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole - Overnight Ham & Cheese French Toast Casserole - super easy to make and tastes amazing!! Sliced french bread slathered with honey mustard, stuffed with Canadian bacon and Swiss cheese and baked in an egg custard of eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Great for overnight guests and hectic holiday mornings. Can assemble the casserole and freeze too!
Brush both sides of bread slices with honey mustard and arrange the slices in the baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.
Place one slice of cheese and one slice of Canadian bacon between each slice of bread.
Whisk together eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour over bread slices.
Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove casserole dish from refrigerator and uncover.
Bake uncovered for 45 to 55 minutes, until slightly puffed and eggs are set.
Sprinkle casserole with powdered sugar and top with raspberry jam, if desired.
Notes:
Can use any bread you prefer – French, Italian, or Brioche all work well.
I use thinly sliced Sargento’s Swiss cheese.
Can substitute gruyere cheese.
Variations/Additions:
turkey instead of Canadian bacon
If you can’t find Canadian bacon, you can substitute sliced deli ham.
dijon mustard instead of honey mustard
nutmeg
Can Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole be frozen? Yes! You can freeze the casserole baked or unbaked.
To freeze the baked casserole, cool the dish completely. Cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze. To reheat, thaw completely, and bake covered in the oven at 350ºF until warm.
To freeze the unbaked casserole, pour the egg custard over the bread. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and press down on the bread. Add another layer of plastic wrap and then cover the dish with foil and freeze. Write the baking directions on the foil. To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed.