When I first began making this gluten free Overnight Stuffed French Toast, my intention was to simplify and speed up the process of making Monte Cristos for a family meal. Monte Cristos have been a favorite of mine since I was in high school. I worked at a restaurant that made them and I fell hard for the egg battered slices of bread, the gooey cheese, juicy sliced ham and turkey along with Thousand Island dressing to dip them in.
While playing around with this recipe, I found that the options are limitless as to what you can put between these 2 slices of French Toast and it will turn out amazing. I also found that making French Toast in this “overnight” method is so incredibly quick and easy and with less to clean up, it is unlikely that I will ever make it any other way. My family goes to town on these too! Which is somewhat surprising because we aren’t huge sandwich eaters in general.
About the Bread
Any type of sliced bread that you like to make into French Toast or sandwiches will work well for this recipe. Although gluten free bread is notoriously crumbly and doesn’t always hold together well with layers of fillings, it performs very well in this recipe. The baked on eggy mixture makes the gluten free bread more flexible and holds it together. I have used Canyon Bakehouse Heritage Style gluten free sandwich bread for the photos in this recipe. This variety is a seeded bread that is a full-sized loaf, just like conventional bread. Lately, it is my favorite for everything from croutons to sandwiches to french toast.
The Method to the Madness
Just as you’d expect when making French Toast, begin by beating the eggs with milk in a shallow dish. Then dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture. Lay them out in a single layer on a generously buttered sheet of parchment paper lining a sheet pan. Resist the urge to use foil, I have tried it and no amount of butter seems to prevent the toast from sticking.
Drizzle any remaining beaten egg on top of the slices of bread. They will absorb all of the eggy goodness overnight. Cover the entire sheet pan with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.
The next morning, pop the tray of uncooked French Toast into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and go to town with spreads, cheese, lunchmeat, bacon and whatever toppings you can dream up. Pop it back in the oven for up to 5 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven. Flip the sides of the sandwiches together and dig in! Some of our favorite combos are:
- Thousand Island/Muenster/ham/turkey
- Bacon/provolone/pesto/tomato
- Berry jam/ham/provolone
- Nutella or PB/banana (no need to go back in the oven a second time for this one)
More Gluten Free Morning Goodness
- Enormous Waffles
- Make Ahead Sausage and Egg Souffle
- Banana Bread Make Ahead Oatmeal
- Carrot Cake Make Ahead Oatmeal
- Ham & Cheese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust
- Truffle Spinach Quiche
- Spicy Broccoli Quiche
Overnight Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients
- 8 slices bread I use Canyon Bakehouse Heritage Style Gluten Free
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- 8 slices cheese any variety
- 8 slices lunchmeat any type
- sandwich spread, sauces, condiments any type
Instructions
The Night Before:
- Generously grease a large sheet of parchment paper and place it on top of a large sheet pan.
- Beat the eggs and milk in a wide, shallow dish. Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture, flipping to coat each side.
- Place each slice of bread onto the parchment lined sheet pan in a single layer. Pour any remaining beaten egg evenly over the bread. Cover the entire tray with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.
In the morning:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully top the French Toast with whatever combination of spreads, cheese and lunch meat you’d like.
- Return the tray to the oven for up to 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Add lettuce and tomato or any other add-ons you’d like, then flip the sandwich halves together and dig in!