Dinner Roll Baked French Toast Cups

The holidays are a time for traditions. Whether it’s baking cookies, watching holiday movies, or belting carols, there’s always that one holiday tradition that you know you can count on to happen every. single. year.

My family’s holiday tradition? Dinner rolls.
…or lack thereof.

Year after year, holiday after holiday, my family buys a package of freshly baked dinner rolls.. only for them to be forgotten about until at least halfway through the meal. Blame it on all of the other deliciously distracting food (or, ya know, the pre-dinner drinks), but those poor dinner rolls hardly ever make it to the dinner table with all the other goodies.

We don’t do it intentionally – after all, if we didn’t want rolls, we just wouldn’t buy them. But this is one tradition that we just can’t seem to break. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, no holiday meal is complete without dinner rolls. 

The realization of our oversight typically occurs about midway through the meal, when we’re all deep in conversation (and food). Suddenly, without warning, my mother will jump out of her seat and frantically exclaim “THE DINNER ROLLS!!”, as she dashes into the kitchen. The whole fiasco is actually quite comical and has become a running joke in our family. 

Anyway, the moral of this story is that we tend to have a lot of dinner rolls left over following holiday meals. And now I can finally put these rolls to good use.

Now, if by some chance you happen to be one of those crazy people who actually remembers to set out the dinner rolls with the rest of the holiday meal, never fear. This recipe works just as well with any other thick, crusty bread. Just be sure to let it sit out overnight (uncovered) or wait a few days for it to become slightly stale before using it for this recipe. Fresh bread is great for many things, but baked French toast is not one of them.

Easy & customizable Baked #FrenchToast Cups are the perfect way to use up #leftover dinner rolls!

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I first threw this recipe together on a whim a few weeks ago after I found myself with a nearly full bag of rolls following our Thanksgiving feast. Considering that we struggle to even set the rolls on the dinner table, I figured that the chances that the rolls would be eaten before going stale were slim to none. Not wanting to see any food go to waste, I decided to get creative.

I made this particular batch of Baked French Toast Cups using my Cranberry Orange Chia Jam, but really any jam will do. You can even choose to forgo the jam altogether and substitute with some fresh berries instead. The beauty of this recipe is that it is totally customizable! Plus, since they’re baked in individual muffin cups, you can even experiment with multiple varieties at once!

These Dinner Roll Baked French Toast Cups would make a perfect addition to a brunch menu, but they are also a great make-ahead option for busy weekdays. Simply pop in the microwave, drizzle with maple syrup, and breakfast is served!

Dinner Roll Baked French Toast Cups

2016-12-20 20:54:55

Yields 12

Dinner Roll Baked French Toast Cups are the perfect way to use up leftover dinner rolls before they go bad! It's everything that you love about French Toast.. served up in perfectly portioned muffin form and swirled with your favorite fruit or jam.

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Ingredients

1. 8 large (slightly stale) whole-wheat dinner rolls (about 8-10 cups)*
2. 6 large eggs, whisked
3. 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
4. 1 very ripe banana, mashed
5. 2 tbsp maple syrup
6. 1 tsp cinnamon
7. 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
8. pinch of salt
9. 1 cup Cranberry Orange Chia Jam**
10. sliced almonds or other nut of choice (optional), for garnish

Instructions

1. Cut bread into 1" cubes and set aside.
2. Add eggs, milk, banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Add bread cubes to the bowl with the egg mixture and toss well to coat.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Remove from refrigerator, toss bread cubes in egg mixture, and refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin with cooking spray.
6. Remove bread mixture from refrigerator and gently fold in chia jam (or other fruit or jam of choice).
7. Evenly distribute mixture among greased muffin tin, gently pressing down on the tops of each to make sure there are no large spaces in between bread cubes.
8. Top with nuts (if using) and bake for 22-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes before serving.
10. Serve warm and drizzle with additional maple syrup.
11. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and warmed in the microwave.

Notes

1. * I like to leave the rolls uncovered on my counter the night before making this to make the bread slightly stale (stale bread is key to avoiding mushy French toast!)
2. ** Feel free to substitute any other fruit jam or berries that you have on hand. The beauty of these French toast cups is that they can easily be customized!
3. Recipe inspired by The Lean Green Bean's Dinner Roll French Toast Bake.

By Byte Sized Nutrition

Byte Sized Nutrition https://bytesizednutrition.com/