Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but it’s also often the hardest one to fit into your daily schedule. Weekday mornings are often pressed for time, especially if you have little ones to drop off at school or daycare. It can sometimes be tough to fit in a bowl of cereal, let alone a warm, comforting breakfast. However, with just a little bit of planning and the help of the almighty slow cooker, you can break this habit and start your day off with something delicious.
Slow cookers are basically modern cauldrons, capable of magically transforming raw ingredients into a flavorful, filling meal with very little effort. They’re especially useful when it comes to prepping breakfast — after all, who wouldn’t want to wake up to the scent of slow-cooked apple cinnamon steel cut oats simmered to creamy perfection? While it may take slightly more planning, you can do the same with a variety of other breakfast foods, including perfectly set slow cooker quiches, and even velvety and delicious slow-cooked French toast.
Though the results are a bit more like a bread pudding than the expected slices of crisp, custard-coated, sautéed toast, this recipe definitely won’t fail the taste or texture test. Cubed bread and diced fruit (apples and peaches are our faves) slowly absorb the moisture, fat, and flavor of milk, eggs, sugar, and spices whisked together. The result is a decadent, velvety dream, especially when drizzled in maple syrup or draped with whipped cream.
Tips to achieve velvety, delicious slow-cooked French toast, plus flavor ideas
Since this recipe only needs to cook for four hours on low (as opposed to steel cut oats’ required eight hours), it’s probably not a great idea to make it fresh on a Monday morning. However, it’s fantastic for meal prepping, as it takes just minutes to put together and requires very little attention until it’s finished cooking. You can then store it in individual portions to pop in the microwave or crisp in the air fryer to enjoy with a creamy latte fresh from your moka pot.
Whether you’re enjoying this recipe as a way to brighten up busy mornings or as a sweet side for brinner, there are a few things you can do to ensure it comes out perfect nearly every time. The first is to grease the inside of your slow cooker with butter, coconut oil, or nonstick spray to prevent the bread from sticking and scorching. The second is to very gently agitate the mixture after adding the custardy liquid to ensure it fills all the air pockets between bread cubes.
Once you’ve mastered the technique, it’s time to give your French toast a flavor upgrade by steering away from the delicious but expected combo of apples and cinnamon. Think peaches and real vanilla, blueberries and lemon-infused sugar, or brown sugar and pecans. You might also mimic the flavors of a pain au chocolat by tucking beautiful hunks of sweet dark chocolate down between the bread cubes.
