Yep, starting this recipe off with an anecdote. This was supposed to be a French toast bake, which Jan had declared was her new favorite breakfast casserole. I was trying to piggy back off of the fame of our Blueberry Brioche French Toast Bake with this sugar-free Sola Bread, but ended up declaring this a sugar free bread pudding instead filled with hazelnuts and Nutella (which if you make from scratch in this recipe, you can sub Sola sugar and make it completely sugar free.)
I’m not a dessert for breakfast person which is why I think I skirted around this being a “French toast bake” and changed it to a bread pudding. I truly don’t know if there is any difference.
I also want to point out that bread puddings are underrated.
What could go wrong when you combine day-old bread with custard, sugar, and flavorings?
Nothing. I think it’s the greatest dessert of all time yet it doesn’t shine as much as it should.
Also keynote, that if you are trying to be sugar conscious while this does say sugar-free we are using the miracle baking ingredient, Sola sugar. It bakes, caramelizes and tastes just like sugar, but without the calories. I made these pillowy soft sugar cookies last year that were a huge hit. Now this French toast bake, er I mean bread pudding, is knocking my tastebuds out of this world.
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However, if you want to make this dish for breakfast, I won’t tell anyone and you can tell them all it’s a Nutella French toast bake.
No judgment here, just plain goodness to share.
- 1 load Sola Bread cut into squares (or decorative hearts)
- 4 large eggs whisked
- 2/3 cup oat milk or nut milk unsweetened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2/3 cup sola sugar reserving some to sprinkle on the top
- 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
- 3 tbsp Nutella, homemade or store-bought
- white chocolate to garnish for hearts
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Preheat oven to 350°F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
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Chop your Sola bread into 1" squares. Reserving some for heart garnishes if desired. Place squares of sola into a baking casserole dish.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and Sola sugar until well combined.
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Pour wet mixture over the Sola Bread in the casserole dish and evenly coat all pieces.
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Place heart-shaped Sola bread pieces on top to garnish. Sprinkle top thoroughly with Sola sugar.
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Sprinkle in hazelnuts and add Nutella in small spoonfuls around the bread.
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Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes.
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Remove from oven, let cool and then decorate with additional white chocolate hearts if desired.
This post was sponsored by Sola Sweet, a company we love and support. Thank you for reading the sponsorships that help us create content!
