Bacon and Cheese-Stuffed French Toast Recipe From ‘Two Red Bowls’

Every week, we’re spotlighting a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Here, Cynthia of Two Red Bowls reminds us that it’s important to have breakfast in bed once in awhile with a decadent bacon and cheese-stuffed French toast.

When was the last time you had breakfast in bed? Photo courtesy of Two Red Bowls

Bacon and Cheese-Stuffed French Toast
Serves 2

Breakfast in bed is a rare occasion around here — my fiance’s normal breakfast is a mug of black coffee with a side of black coffee, and he’s such a super light sleeper that I couldn’t sneak up on him with a tray of pancakes to save my life — but I had a day-old batch of this bread just waiting to be French toast-ified, so he indulged me.

This French toast is pretty much all I want in a lazy weekend breakfast — eggs, bacon, cheese, carbs — all rolled into one, and it’s perfect for breakfast in bed. The custard in the French toast keeps bed crumbs to a minimum, and wrapping all your usual breakfast suspects up into one plump challah jacket makes for neat but decadent eating.  Plus, if you slice up and stuff these the night before, then all you have to do in the morning is brew a pot of coffee, whisk up the egg mixture, dip, fry, and serve.  (And, if you’re a weirdo like me, douse it in maple syrup. I love maple syrup on my savory foods. But I won’t blame you if you opt out on that count.)

3-4 strips of bacon
3-4 very thick-cut (about 1-inch or more is ideal) slices of day-old bread
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice — I substituted a handful of shredded smoked Gouda; Gruyere would also work wonderfully)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper as desired
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2-3 teaspoon reserved bacon grease (from above), for frying
Maple syrup for serving (optional, but I love it)

Cook the bacon, either by baking or pan-frying, to the doneness of your liking. To bake, simply place the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet and place in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400°F and let heat for 10-15 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered. (Keep an eye on it for the last 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t burn.) To pan fry, lay the bacon in a single layer in a cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook until crisp, flipping as necessary. In both instances, reserve bacon fat for frying the French toast. Let bacon cool briefly, then chop into small pieces and set aside.

Use a serrated knife to cut through bottom crust of each slice of bread, slicing almost to the edges, to make a “pocket” for the cheese and bacon.

In a small bowl, mix shredded cheese and cooled bacon until combined. Stuff each slice carefully with your desired amount of the bacon and cheese mixture.
In a shallow bowl large enough to hold the bread slices, whisk the egg, milk, Parmesan cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper until well-combined. Soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture until both sides are well-coated.

In a cast-iron skillet, heat 2-3 teaspoons of the reserved bacon fat over medium heat with the minced garlic until the garlic crackles. Add the soaked bread slices and fry until golden-brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Serve immediately with extra bacon, if desired, and plenty of maple syrup if you’re so inclined.

Notes: The amount of bread you need will vary depending on the size of your slices — I used a squat challah, so we made four slices, but you might just need two from a larger loaf.

More breakfast-in-bed ideas:

Not your average (garlic cheddar) biscuit recipe

How to make super simple and satisfying avocado toast

Recipes for the ultimate bacon lover

Are you a breakfast-in-bed kind of person? Tell us below!