tender baked pears lend a perfect hint of sweetness to hearty whole wheat bread and crunchy walnuts, all of which are brought together with a dreamy cardamom & cinnamon spice flavor in this baked french toast.
This post is sponsored by USA Pears. All opinions contained within are my own. As always, thank you for allowing me to partner with companies to create yummy, wholesome recipes!
You all know by now that baked French toast is my family’s go-to dish for holiday brunch. We like to switch it up every year to keep things interesting (plus there’s nothing we love more than experimenting all together in the kitchen!).
This year we’ve tested out a bunch of recipes in preparation for Christmas (which is somehow only 10 days away!) and have picked a winner…
Cardamom & Cinnamon Pear with Walnuts.
Honestly, I didn’t think anything could top last year’s gingerbread baked french toast, but this one managed to do it! The slight sweetness from the tender baked pears perfectly complements the hearty whole wheat bread and crunchy walnuts. All brought together with a dreamy cardamom & cinnamon spice flavor.
This is the time of year that my fruit basket is always brimming with pears. For those of you that have followed me for a while, you know that I love pears. They’re one of my absolute favorite ingredients for holiday cooking and baking because there are so many ways to use them (in pancakes, tossed into salad or even in your loaf of gingerbread!) and they add the perfect bit of natural sweetness to every dish. They also offer up a good bit of nutrition – pears are an excellent source of fiber with 6 grams of fiber in just one medium sized pear, not to mention that they’re a good source of vitamin c. Research also shows pears may help in managing gut health, supporting probiotic bacteria with soluble and insoluble fiber. What’s not to love about that!?
The other thing I love about this dish is that you can prep it the night before (and the prep for it literally only takes about 10 minutes). You don’t have to, but it sure is nice to just wake up on Christmas morning, preheat the oven and let it bake (and fill the house with all kinds of delicious smells!) while you open presents. It makes for an easy, crowd-pleasing dish that doesn’t take you away from enjoying time with you family. If that’s not a holiday win, I don’t know what is.
cardamom & cinnamon pear baked french toast with walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole grain bread (day old is best)
- 1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 medium green Anjou pears, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Coat a 9×13 inch dish baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together almond milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Add pears, walnuts and gently combine. Pour bread mixture into baking dish. Bake at 350*F for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until golden brown.
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