Go Back
Print

Orange Pecan Crusted French Toast

This French toast recipe is super easy as most of the preparation can be done the night before and you bake it so don’t have to watch it and flip it on a griddle. It’s also easy to do for a crowd because all the pieces are ready at the same time. 

Course Breakfast
Keyword French Toast, Orange
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Soaking Time 8 hours
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Dip Mix

  • 4 eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg , freshly ground is best
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup Triple Sec , orange-flavored liqueur
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 12 1-inch thick slices French bread , if time, let dry out on counter for up to 1 hour

Next Day Toppings

  • 1/3 cup butter , melted
  • 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces

Instructions

Making dip mix and preparing toast to soak

  1. Mix eggs, orange juice, milk sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and Triple Sec in a medium bowl. 

  2. Dip each bread slice in the egg mixture, coating each side and place in a single layer on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet (or the like). Pour any remaining egg mixture over the French toast in the pan.

  3. Cover and refrigerate to soak overnight (or at least 6 hours)

Morning of Serving

  1. Preheat oven to 375. 

  2. Melt butter in small saucepan, Zest Oranges and chop pecans

    Zesting Orange
  3. Spray a [clean] baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or use seasoned baking stone, parchment paper or Silpat – see my Cookie post about Silpat). 

    Arrange soaked bread slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush melted butter over bread slices. Sprinkle with orange zest. Top with pecan pieces. 

    French Toast topped with butter, orange zest and pecans
  4. Bake for ~ 30 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top. I turn the baking sheets about 1/2 way through baking because the back of my oven is hotter than the front.

    French Toast out of Oven
  5. Serve with warm orange maple, butter syrup.  To doctor up your maple syrup, use the saucepan you used to melt the butter to heat up syrup. Squeeze in the juice from the ends of the fresh oranges.

    French Toast with Syrup

Orange Bowl

  1. Slice a small portion of orange from each end to give a flat surface for orange to sit on. Then slice orange in half. With a knife, loosen meat of orange by carving between meat and peel of orange all the way around the interior perimeter of the orange. With the meat of orange loose, remove from the peel and break at “seams” or cut the round into 4-6 pieces, like a pie.

    sliced oranges
  2. Set empty orange “bowl” on a plate or in a bowl, loosely pile orange pieces back into bowl alone or combine with another fruit such as blueberries, grapes or raspberries. Serve.

    Orange Bowl

Recipe Notes

 

This is great accompanied by a nice salty meat such as Polish Sausage or Ham and an ‘orange bowl’ of fruit.

  1.