Orange-Pistachio French Toast Casserole

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 45 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

When I was growing up, my mom had a popular phrase she’d say in Arabic when she liked something, and it loosely translates to “just like pistachios.” She would say this about all kinds of dishes — rice pilaf, oatmeal, or even a cheese pie. It meant that it was something unique, rich, and delicious. Pistachios are expensive to buy and tedious to shell, but they add such a beautiful pop of color and crunch that can make any dish special. So of course, when I started creating my own recipes, I literally found myself adding pistachios to everything from Mediterranean salads to ricotta stuffed ravioli to this orange-pistachio French toast casserole. They make everything more extraordinary, and I can just hear my mom saying “just like pistachios!”

Ingredients

Olive oil cooking spray
8 large eggs
1 1/4 cups almond milk
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large loaf of French or Italian bread, cut into ½-inch slices
1 1/2 cups pitted chopped Medjool dates, divided
Maple syrup, for serving
1`/4 cups finely chopped pistachios, for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
To a blender, add the eggs, milk, orange juice and zest, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Blend on high speed until smooth.
Arrange the bread in the prepared baking dish. Scatter most of the dates evenly over the bread and then pour the egg mixture over the bread and dates, making sure the bread is coated well with the custard.
Bake the casserole until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes.
Drizzle the casserole with the maple syrup right when it comes out of the oven and sprinkle the remaining dates and pistachios on top. Allow the casserole to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.