Baked Cherry French Toast Casserole! This is an easy make-ahead breakfast casserole starring juicy, sweet cherries and a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping.
Don’t you wish you could eat cherries all year round?
Unfortunately, the season for juicy, sweet Northwest cherries is a short one, lasting only from June until August. But fortunately, cherries freeze exceptionally well.
The good people who grow these cherries (at least 2,100 farmers throughout the Northwest) produce plenty of fruit during the short season for both eating fresh and to freeze, so don’t hold back! Now is the time to stock up so you have plenty for later.
To freeze your own sweet cherries, just rinse and drain four to five pounds of cherries and spread them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Pit them now to save time later.
Freeze the cherries overnight on the baking sheet or until firm, and then pack them into freezer bags or containers. Squeeze out excess air or pack tightly to remove as much air as possible. This helps keep the cherries protected from freezer burn.
Add these frozen cherries to smoothies, hot oatmeal, or turnovers throughout the year – or save them for a special treat, like this Baked Cherry French Toast Casserole!
Let’s talk about this casserole for a minute. It’s a riff on a recipe that we turned it into an easy breakfast casserole. It’s layered with sweet cherries and topped with a crunchy mix of cinnamon, sugar, and sliced almonds. Serve it with an easy cherry sauce spooned over top.
You can assemble and bake the casserole right away, or you can put it all together the night before and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, pop the casserole in the oven while you fry the bacon and set the table for breakfast.
This French toast casserole would be such a fabulous treat on a lazy weekend morning, or over the holidays when the house is full of guests. Really, can it get much better?
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