Carrot Cake Instant Pot French Toast Casserole
Brunch! Brunch! Brunch! We want brunch!
Whether or not you prepared to have people show up at your door, begging for brunch or if they just appear out of nowhere, this sweet and tender little spicy-sweet, frosting drizzled carby casserole is about to save your life.
But first, liiike, H-O-L-Y WHOA, my internet friends. I knew you could make “normal” things in the instant pot like chili or instant pot tahini cashew curry, but FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE?
Mind. BLOWN.
No longer do we have to wait overnight for the French toast to sink into a bowl of milk and eggs so that it would take on the yummiest, creamiest and dreamiest texture, only to have to wait ANOTHER hour until we shove, stuff and CRAM it into our morning mouths.
Nope, nope nope! Instant pot French toast casserole requires ZERO soaking and UNDER 30 minutes to cook. Not kidding you.
The bread is pillowy-soft, eggy and tender and loaded with little specks of spicy cinnamon that dance across your tongue with sweet coconut sugar, juicy pineapple and these little flecks of wholesome carrots. Then, there is that drippy maple cream cheese drizzle that is just going to make you wonder why you haven’t put frosting on all the breakfasts of your life forever.
Ohhhhh and the crispy crunchy HALLELUJAH CHORUS that you will hear when your teeth sink into a toasty pecan. UGH. Everything is just going to make your inner texture-freak so excited about food.
It may not be carrot cake cupcakes or vegan gluten free dairy free carrot cake but this cinnamon French toast casserole has ALL the same carrot cake flavors vibrating all the way into your hungry, cake-for-breakfast loving BELLY.
And a belly filled with cake vibes is a SURE-fire way to TAKE ON your day.
The hardest part of making Instant Pot French Toast is to find a bowl that is both deep enough to fit all the beautiful bread, but not too wide so that it doesn’t actually fit into the Instant Pot. I used a small bowl and was able to fit half a loaf in, which is why the recipe calls for only half a loaf.
Get creative with the other half! Make some bread pudding! Make some fancy sandwiches for your lunch!
Or just make peanut butter toast. Your leftover bread. Your rules.
VERY key point though: make sure your bowl is heat proof. I had no idea if mine was. Google said it was, but I’m pretty sure both you and I know that Google, although helpful, can sometimes be VYR VRY wrong.
Definitely had visions of exploding instant pots dancing through my head as I VERYYYYYY nervously/cautiously threw on the lid, set the timer…
Then ran away to take shelter.
That part is a lie. But I WAS NERVOUS.
Of all the things Google could have been wrong about, I am glad that Pyrex bowls being heat proof was NOT one of them.
And you know that I am NOT WRONG when I tell you that icing covered bread for breakfast might just be everything you never knew you needed.
Ingredients
For the French Toast:
— 1/2 cup Crushed Pineapple, (drained)
— 1/2 cup Carrot, grated (about 1 large carrot)
— 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
— 1/3 cup Light Coconut Milk, (canned)
— 1/4 cup Carrot Baby Food
— 2 Eggs
— 1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
— 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
— 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
— 7 slices Gluten Free White Bread, or 1/2 a loaf (this recipe will work with any type of bread)
— 1 cup Water
— 1/4 cup Pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
For the Glaze:
— 1/4 cup Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, at room temperature (for dairy free, this is optional)
— 2 1/2 tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
Directions
1. Find a heat-proof bowl that will fit comfortably inside your instant pot and rub it with coconut oil.
2. Place the carrots and the pineapple into a kitchen towel and ring out as much of the liquid as you can. Then, add them into that bowl.
3. Add in the coconut sugar, coconut milk, baby food, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg and stir until well mixed.
4. Cut all the slices of bread into 6 cubes and stir into the bowl. Gently stir until the bread is well coated and moistened (if you want you could mix everything in a big bowl, then transfer to the small bowl to make it easier!)
5. Pour the water into the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the Instant Pot trivet inside the pot. Place the bowl onto the trivet.
6. Cover, set to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 28 minutes.
7. Once cooked, do an immediate steam release and remove the lid. Let it sit in the pot for about 10 minutes.
8. While the French toast sits, microwave the maple syrup until it just starts to boil – about 15-20 seconds. Put the cream cheese in a small bowl and pour over the maple. Whisk vigorously until smooth.
9. Carefully (using oven mitts) remove the bowl from the Instant Pot and sprinkle over the pecans. Cover with the glaze (or drizzle onto individual servings once plated!)
10. DEVOUR!
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