I will not be participating in such activity (mostly because I can’t be bothered to figure out how to transport myself outside of New York City to go apple picking, not because I hate fun family activities). Instead, I will be sharing an apple recipe with you that I think would be perfect for using up all of the hand-picked local apples you’ve gathered over the last few weeks. So, say hello to this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole! It features alternating layers of vegan french toast, maple syrup-cinnamon coated apples, and a crunchy oat-pecan topping. YUM! Like all of my favorite sweet foods, this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole is indulgent and mouthwatering, but not overly sweet or heavy. In addition to being vegan, it’s also refined-sugar-free (if you use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar). This French toast has rich warming spices folded into each component, from a winning trio of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in the French toast, along with a generous amount of cinnamon in both the apple filling and the oat-pecan topping. If you want to keep things even easier, replace the individual spices with pumpkin spice (use about 4 teaspoons instead of the cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg called for in the French toast). Looking for another amazing apple treat to make over the holidays? Try my Vegan Apple Crisp! To make assembly quick and efficient, slice up the apples first and get them started on the stove. While they’re cooking away, make the oat milk “custard” (a simple whiz in the blender) and pour it over the sliced bread. As for presentation, if you want to get fancy, you can (a) layer the sliced apples between the bread slices (see the image below), but if you don’t care about fancy presentation, (b) simply tear up the bread into pieces and dice up the apples and mix everything together. You can assemble it the morning of and let it rest for 30 minutes before baking it, but for a low-stress brunch (and so that you can sleep in on the weekends, if that’s something you are capable of doing), assemble it the night before and pop it in the fridge, then baked it off in the morning while you slurp on your coffee. Regarding ingredients, I recommend using a sturdy piece of bread, like a French bread (no soft sliced sandwich bread or you’ll end up with a soggy sad mess). The bread should be dried out and hard, not soft. You can use stale, day-old bread, but my preferred method is to use freshly baked bread and then dry it out in the oven. This enables the bread to soak up the “custard” while maintaining a soft, pillowy but not soggy interior. Plus, it also maintains the delicious freshly baked bread flavor that you lose when using stale bread. For the “custard,” I use a combination of oat milk and silken soft tofu. If you want something even creamier, you can substitute some of the oat milk with some “lite” canned coconut milk. And as for the apples, be sure to use a variety that is firm and crisp. I like a sweet-tart variety, but feel free to use any firm variety you like (my recommended varieties are in the ingredients below). When you sauté the apples on the stove, you want them to soften up but not completely break down (they’ll continue cooking in the oven). Finally, for the oat topping, if pecans aren’t your thing, you can substitute slivered or sliced almonds instead. That’s all you need to know about this Vegan Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole, so happy apple picking and happy brunching!
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
