My mom makes the world’s best banana chocolate chip pancakes and they have become the centerpiece all of our best family celebrations, especially holidays such as Christmas or Mother’s Day. As we approached last Christmas I started to feel sad that E wasn’t going to be able to eat the pancakes. I had tried to do a dairy free version the year before (when I was avoiding dairy while I was still breastfeeding) but they didn’t come anywhere close to my mom’s and that was before we were eliminating soy and egg, which are of course major players in the deliciousness.
As I scoured the internet trying to find an allergen-free substitute I came across Strawberry Banana French Toast Casserole on C Mom Cook. It wasn’t too hard to make it a little less healthy by switching out the strawberries for Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. And it was amazing! It’s definitely not the same as pancakes but it provides the right flavors and the proper amount of carbs to serve as a base for any good celebration.
This recipe also holds a special place in my heart because our trial of it was E’s first taste of chocolate.
It is also a really easy recipe to put together. E helped me make it for the Mother’s Day Brunch that we hosted this year and we both had a ball. He was able to help me put everything into the blender and loved watching it get pulverized. The sneaky little boy also stole tastes along the way, which was fine because it was completely safe for him!
The casserole held its own on a table that was covered in quiches and pastries, which is a testament to its yumminess and E had something that he could enjoy with the rest of the family. I hope that you and your family enjoy it as much as we do
E was not interested in waiting until the end of the photo shoot to enjoy this breakfast treat!
Banana Chocolate Chip French Toast Casserole (Egg-Free, Dairy Free, Soy-Free)
Ingredients
- Approximately 4 cups safe bread cubes
- 1 1/2 cups almond milk (or any other safe milk, coconut milk would be awesome)*
- 1 banana*
- 1/2 tablespoon ground chia seed*
- approximately 1/4 cup enjoy life chocolate chips
- 2-3 tablespoons light brown sugar (to taste)
- Soy Free Earth’s Balance Buttery Spread to grease the casserole dish
Directions
Place the bread cubes in a large bowl.
In a blender, combine the milk, banana and ground chia until smooth and creamy.
Pour the milk mixture over the bread and gently mix to coat all of the bread.*
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Grease a casserole dish with Earth’s Balance and carefully pour the mixture (and any of its extra liquid) into the baking dish, cover and set it aside.
Allow the mixture to rest at least 15 minutes, but, if you wanted, you could prepare this the night before and put it into the refrigerator at this time.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you refrigerated your casserole overnight, remove it from the refrigerator about half an hour prior to baking.
Sprinkle the top with light brown sugar and bake for 30 minutes.
*Depending on the type of bread and amount of bread that you use, you may want to double or triple the milk mixture part of the recipe. I recommend making it a batch of liquid at a time and then adding more if it looks dry. We prefer it a little on the wet/mushy side so I tend to use more of the liquid mixture.
The pictures really don’t do this recipe justice 🙂
This recipe was (very slightly) adapted from the Strawberry Banana French Toast Casserole on C Mom Cook.
Frantically Unraveling FPIES 