Baked French Toast on the Traeger

In partnership with Safeway

Mother’s Day is coming up quickly and I’m here to remind you that if you’re anything like me, the mom in the house is the glue that keeps the place running. This holiday seemed like the perfect chance to whip up some of her favorites on the Traeger and to treat my family to a delicious baked French toast on the Traeger for brunch . With the help of my Safeway FreshPass membership, it was easy to get the groceries and we are able to keep doing fun things as a family instead of one parent running off to the grocery store during naptime. 

FAMILY BRUNCH FOR MOM

While treating mom to a delicious brunch on the Traeger should be part of your weekly routine, for Mother’s Day the kids and I are doing our best to spoil mom. French toast is one of her favorite foods, so creating a big fluffy casserole of baked French toast was an easy way to make a delicious brunch without spending too much time away from the family.

The great thing about this baked French toast is that it can be made ahead of time. Assemble it the night before and in the morning pull it out of the fridge and pop it in the hot Traeger. In about 30 minutes you’ll have a luxurious brunch ready for the family to enjoy!

Last year, we made grilled French toast on the Traeger for Mother’s Day. This year, a big baked French toast casserole sounded perfect. With hints of cinnamon and studded with mixed berries, it was taken up a notch with a dollop of soft whipped cream and plenty of maple syrup and served with fresh cut fruit and crispy bacon

SAFEWAY MAKES IT EASY

As I was working on a recipe for Mother’s Day Brunch, I turned to my Safeway for U app to make grocery shopping a breeze. Often, my wife is the one who does the grocery shopping in our house (when we’re not making it super easy using Safeway) and the last thing I wanted to do was give her a list for her own Mother’s Day Brunch! So a few quick clicks on my app gave me the ability to pick out all the groceries we needed and select a pickup time. Using the Safeway for U app, we are able to get rewards, coupons and great deals on things we purchase regularly, and on things that make family meals special. 

NEVER LEAVE THE CAR!

Strategically, the time I selected was right after swim lessons on a Saturday, so we could pull into the Safeway parking lot, click “I’m here” on the app and our grocery order would be loaded into the trunk of the car. The DriveUp & Go feature of the Safeway FreshPass subscription is worth the membership fee alone! The kids didn’t have to get out of the car as they were wiped out and we got our grocery run done in minutes!

FRESH CUT FRUIT

With our order, we included a few of Safeway’s incredible convenience foods that are made fresh in the store and make life for parents of wild 2 year old twins so much easier! The Fresh Cut fruits available in every store are amazing. You can get mixed fruit, melon, berries, etc. For this order, we added a Mixed Berry Bowl, a Melon Medley Bowl and a bowl of fresh-cut strawberries. We go through fruit like crazy at this house, so picking it up ready to eat saves time and effort and cuts down on waste. 

The quality is amazing and the fruit is so fresh. If the kids didn’t eat it so fast, I am sure it would have held up well in the fridge for a few days. But that’s not the case around here!

BAKERY GOODS 

The base of good French toast is amazing French bread and we knew we could count on Safeway for that key ingredient. Their Signature Select Fresh-Baked Artisan French Bread loaves are baked in the store and you can often find them hot from the oven. The crust on the bread is incredible and the inside is tender and delicious. And let’s be honest, we picked up two loaves so we could use one for baked French toast casserole and one for sandwiches, snacking and other things later in the week. 

Additionally, we grabbed some fresh-baked pastries from Safeway on our online order too. We picked Apple & Raspberry Danishes and a package of Cinnamon Crispies. The biggest challenge will be keeping the toddlers out of them until brunch is served!

BUTCHER COUNTER BACON

No good brunch is complete without some crispy and salty bacon. We love the bacon you can get from the butcher counter at Safeway. It’s thick cut, hickory smoked and you can buy as many or as few slices as you need. There are so many benefits of having a great meat and seafood counter at your local store, and Safeway does it right!

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

For our baked French toast casserole, we also needed a variety of fresh and pantry ingredients, which we included in the order. Eggs, milk, heavy cream and butter. Brown sugar, cinnamon and powdered sugar. And then don’t forget the maple syrup. After lots of taste-testing, we all agree that the O Organics Maple Syrup is a family fave. So we got another bottle of that to keep up with the French toast and pancake consumption at the McKenzie household. Sometimes our daughter skips the whole ‘dip’ step and instead tells us she’ll ‘sip’ the syrup. Whatever works!

And we included a bouquet of flowers for mom in our Safeway for U order. Don’t forget to treat mom special for Mother’s Day!

A SUPER EASY RECIPE TO CREATE

Putting together a baked French toast casserole to bake on the Traeger is super simple. It took about 10 minutes total (including slicing and cubing the bread) and then we nestled lots of berries throughout the top of the casserole. As it bakes, the berries melt a bit and it’s just insanely delicious. So you may want to pick up two bowls of mixed berries– one for the recipe and one for snacking!

We didn’t do it this time, but you can definitely make this casserole ahead of time and throw it in the fridge overnight. When the family gets up the next morning, turn on the Traeger and put the prepared casserole dish in the grill. Bake it for about 30 minutes until mostly set and golden on top and you’ve got a decadent brunch on your hands. 

SIDES AND TOPPINGS FOR BAKED FRENCH TOAST

To top the baked French toast, we sprinkled it with powdered sugar and then put a dollop of soft and slightly-sweetened whipped cream on top of each serving. We purchased a 16 ounce bottle of Lucerne heavy whipping cream and used half for the casserole recipe. The remaining cup was perfect for making whipped cream without any food waste! Don’t forget the delicious maple syrup!

With the variety of fresh cut fruit we picked up, everyone got to pick their favorites for their individual plates and everyone dove into the butcher block bacon. 

THE PERFECT WEEKEND BRUNCH TOGETHER

In the past, we used to orchestrate a big brunch gathering for my mom and aunt on Mother’s Day. But as my sister and I both have kids now, we’ve found that smaller celebrations– with just our immediate little families– can be easier and more special. This is totally the truth for Mother’s Day– limited dishes, no need to entertain others, and lots of opportunity to spend time together as a family. With the help of Safeway’s DriveUp & Go curbside shopping service as part of our FreshPass subscription, we were able to make a really lovely and special Mother’s Day with our family. And you can too! 

PRIMARY INGREDIENTS

• Signature Select Fresh-Baked French Bread
• Open Nature Brown Free Range Eggs
• Lucerne Heavy Cream
• Lucerne Whole Milk
• Signature Select Light Brown Sugar
• O Organics Cinnamon
• Fresh Cut Mixed Berry Bowl
• Signature Select Powdered Sugar
• O Organics Maple Syrup
• Lucerne Butter
• Signature Select Thick Cut Bacon
• Assorted pastries from the in-store bakery
• Fresh Cut Melon Medley Bowl
• Fresh cut flowers (for mom!)

WHY COOKING BAKED FRENCH TOAST ON THE TRAEGER WORKS 

If you’ve been around a while, you will know that whenever possible, we make our meals on our fleet of Traeger grills in the backyard. It’s fun, easy and unique and we love the challenge of finding creative ways to cook old favorite recipes (and new creative ones) on a wood-fired grill. 

Brunch is no different– so whipping together this amazing baked French toast casserole that would have otherwise gone in the oven was the perfect start. We cooked up the bacon in the grill while the casserole rested and had limited cleanup to complete when brunch was done. 

At the end of the day, the combination of Safeway for U convenience and Traeger’s easy cleanup means more time with family and less time in the kitchen. Perfect!

STEP-BY-STEP

• Preheat your Traeger grill to 375*. 
• Butter a 9×13 baking dish on the sides and bottom.
• In a bowl, combine eggs, heavy cream, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon and whisk until frothy.
• Using a serrated knife, slice the french bread into 1-inch cubes.
• Fill the buttered baking dish with the bread pieces. 
• Pour the whipped egg mixture over the bread and press gently with the back of a spoon to ensure the bread soaks up the egg mixture. 
• Cut the strawberries in slices.
• Then distribute strawberry slices and berries across the top of the casserole, gently pressing the fruit into the bread. 
• Place the baking dish in the preheated Traeger and bake for 30-40 minutes until set and golden.
• While the French toast bakes, use the remaining whipping cream to make slightly sweetened shipping cream with a touch of powdered sugar. 
• Remove the casserole from the grill and let it cool for 10 minutes.
• While the baked French toast is cooling, cook the bacon in a big cast iron pan set inside the hot grill. 
• Once bacon is cooked to your desired crispness, drain the slices on a paper towel.
• Sprinkle the top of the baked French toast casserole with a dusting of powdered sugar. 
• Using a sharp knife, cut the baked French toast, top with a generous scoop of fresh whipped cream and serve it with a generous drizzle of O Organics Maple Syrup. 
• Along with the baked French toast casserole, serve melon from the Fresh Cut bowl, bacon and pastries. 
• And don’t forget the flowers for mom!

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RECIPE INSIPIRATION AND PRODUCTS USED

For some other brunch inspiration, hot off the Traeger, check out these recipes:

• Our 2022 Mother’s Day Brunch feature
• Traegered brunch featuring quiche and chocolate chip banana muffins
• Dutch Baby pancakes on the Traeger
• There’s also a few brunch-like recipes in my cookbook, which you can pick up here

Products used in this cook:

• Safeway FreshPass– online ordering, in-store shopper and unlimited free delivery over $30. We used the DriveUp & Go option, which prevents us from having to take the twins out of the car. It’s the ultimate convenience for busy parents who love to cook!
• Traeger Ironwood XL

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