These Sweet Potato French Toast Cups are packed with hearty sweet potatoes and the warm flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom. And the drizzle of Vanilla Cardamom Cream takes it to a whole new level. Yum!
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We're always busy on the weekends and it seems like from Saturday morning to dinnertime on Sunday, we're running errands or working in the yard. Taking the time for a sit-down breakfast seems like a small luxury.
The wonderful thing about French toast casseroles though, is that they can be made the night before! So make ahead breakfast recipes like this one have become key to letting us sit down and enjoy a meal.
Of course, a whole French toast casserole is a little too much for two people, so I decided to make Sweet Potato French Toast Cups, using muffin tins.
This way, we could easily freeze some of the leftovers for another weekend.
The result is kind of a cross between French toast and bread pudding. And who doesn't love those two things?
While you're here, be sure to grab our FREE 5-Day Meatless Meal Plan. It's packed with tasty recipes to make vegetarian cooking easy and delicious!
Tips & Tricks
I deliberately left out spices in the French toast cups so the flavor of the Vanilla Cardamom Creme Anglaise would shine through. If you decide to make these without the cream topping, add a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice to the French toast cups before baking.
You can use any variety of bread that you prefer for this Sweet Potato French Toast. I used a small baguette for mine! But sourdough is another great choice - Sourdough French Toast is a classic for good reason!
If you want a plant based option, be sure to check out my new Vegan French Toast Recipe too.
If you're cooking up a full breakfast spread, don't miss our brand new cookbook, The Vegan Brunch Book! It's packed with all my favorite brunch-worthy recipes.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small sweet potato, pierced with fork
- cooking spray or oil mister
- 8 oz stale bread, cut into ½ inch pieces (any kind will do, but I like using a small baguette)
- 3 eggs + 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 cup low-fat milk
- 2 ½ cup half-and-half, divided
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar (organic for vegan-friendly)
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place sweet potato on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes or until softened. Cool to room temperature and puree in food processor.
- Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or oil. Divide bread pieces evenly among all 12 muffin cups.
- Beat 3 whole eggs in a medium bowl. Add milk, ½ cup half-and-half, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and brown sugar and whisk until well-combined. Whisk in ½ cup of pureed sweet potato (use any remaining potato puree for whatever you like or just eat it as-is--whatever!).
- Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover muffin tins with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- To make the creme anglaise, heat half-and-half in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until just simmering, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks. Slowly add half of half-and-half mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour half-and-half and egg mixture back into saucepan and raise heat to medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until sauce has thickened and coats back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat immediately and stir in vanilla extract and cardamom; pour through strainer into a heat-proof bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, preheat oven to 325°F. Remove plastic wrap from muffin tins and use a spoon to push bread down into the egg mixture before placing in oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until edges are golden but not brown. Loosen French toast cups by running a butterknife along the edges before popping them out. Serve with chilled creme anglaise.
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh says
Is everyone participating in the no more mallows thing because this is the 5th sweet potato recipe I've seen this morning! (And no doubt the tastiest...I'm drooling!) I'm thinking this would make a dang good breakfast. *stomach growl*
The Type A Housewife says
Ha! That's probably why--I think tomorrow is the last day to enter. 🙂 So if you want to enter, you have one more day!
Audrey says
This looks so yummy. We love sweet potatoes and I've never considered using them in a breakfast casserole.
The Type A Housewife says
I think I've used sweet potatoes in just about every way imaginable. 🙂 They are one of my favorite foods!
Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook says
What a great idea to make individuals! They look so good, with or without the creme anglaise.
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! They are definitely good without the creme anglaise too--maple syrup is a perfect substitute!
Emily says
When you open your B & B, let me know! This recipe looks oh so delicious! And fairly easy, too.
The Type A Housewife says
Ha! Yeah, there are a lot of steps, but they're all pretty easy, especially if you do most of the work the night before.
CulinarilyCourtney says
Our brain waves must be on the same frequency or something, haha, because just tonight I was thinking that I should make some sort of French toast casserole! What a creative idea to add sweet potato too!
The Type A Housewife says
We totally are on the same frequency because last weekend I made overnight oats for a future post too! 😀 I hope you post your French toast casserole recipe if you end up making one--I think I'm totally hooked on them now!
myfudo says
Our household loves sweet potato recipes. Will definitely try this!
The Type A Housewife says
We love sweet potato recipes too--they are so versatile and easy to work with!
BusyWorkingMama says
YUM!!! This is one I will definitely have to try! Looks delicious!
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! It was SO good--I never do elaborate breakfasts like this, so it was nice for a change. 🙂
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
What a great idea to add the sweet potatoes to cut down on the amount of sugar you have to add. Yum! Good entry!
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! Roasted sweet potatoes are SO sweet, you can definitely get away with adding less sugar whenever you use them in a recipe. 🙂
Stephanie @ henry happened says
I love making French toast for the kiddos in the morning - the idea of putting it in muffin tins is genius! Pinning this 🙂
The Type A Housewife says
It is so convenient in the muffin tins. And less messy too. I think I'm going to make it this way from now on, in fact. 🙂
Jennifer says
that little picture is too funny. Poor marshmallow 🙁
this recipe looks and sounds amazing though
The Type A Housewife says
I know, I love that picture--so funny!
Genevieve says
I love this idea for french toast cups - the individual portions would be perfect for serving at a brunch, and they sound amazing with the sweet potato! I'm with you on the simple breakfasts too - I usually eat the same breakfasts on the weekends as I do on weekdays. Once a year (on Christmas morning), our family enjoys an overnight baked french toast, so its more of a special treat that way!
The Type A Housewife says
My husband's family has an overnight French toast casserole once a year on Christmas morning too. 🙂 Before that, I had never had (or even heard of!) making French toast in a casserole. I definitely can't do big breakfasts everyday, but it's a nice change of pace once in a while!
Brenda Williams says
Another great recipe for your cookbook! After spending from 1:00 to 7:30 pm at the Pioneer Woman's booksigning for her new cookbook. Seeing all the people lined up for her scribble on the inside of their book and looking through my copy during the wait....I have all the more faith that YOU CAN produce an awesome cookbook!! You have the best recipes and totally beautiful photos already....just keep cooking and taking those photos!
The Type A Housewife says
Aw, thank you so much--it really means a lot! 🙂 I'm hoping to start working on a cookbook this summer, but I'm still figuring out how to go about doing it. It's such a daunting task! But after spending years trying to find something that I was both good at AND enjoyed, I feel like I've finally found it in recipe development--it's just a matter of trying to make a full-time income from it. 😉
All Natural Katie says
Sweet potatoes, vanilla, cardamom......DELICIOUS! I am definitely making these next time we have friends over for brunch.
The Type A Housewife says
This is definitely the perfect brunch meal--all the hard work is done the day before! 🙂