If I have been a little quiet on here lately, I apologize. The past two weeks have been filled with travel and a bit crazier than usual schedule! In the middle of all of that, I also got food poisoning and cannot remember a time that I have felt that sick! But today I am back and ready to conquer a new week! I have been finding myself in a breakfast rut and have been experimenting with new breakfast ideas to try and pull myself out of eating the same old thing every morning, especially on the weekends! The other day I found myself with a somewhat stale load of french bread and the happiest accident happened! I created the most delicious savory ham and cheese breakfast bake that you are going to flip over and your whole family is going to love it!

Have you ever had a savory bread pudding? I actually prefer it over the sweet version and this breakfast bake is basically a bread pudding when you break it down! This particular recipe is a riff on a croque monsieur sandwich and combines all of those same flavors into one really easy to assemble bread pudding breakfast bake!

One word…YUM!

Stale French bread gets transformed into custardy goodness with the help from milk, eggs, dijon mustard, Manchego cheese, salty ham, and fresh thyme! It’s truly such a delicious recipe that everyone in your crew will love! It’s the perfect recipe for a weekend brunch or even an easy weeknight dinner! I like serving it alongside a green salad and a big bowl of fresh fruit salad to balance the richness out! It’s the easiest recipe, but feels really special too!

I can’t wait for you to give this easy savory ham and cheese bread pudding a try for yourself!

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Stale French Bread, cut into cubes (about 1/2 loaf)

• 1 Cup Whole Milk

• 4 Eggs

• 2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

• 1/4 Cup Finely Diced Onion

• 2 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme

• 6 Slices of Black Forest Ham (can sub regular or turkey bacon here)

• 1, 1/2 Cups Shredded Manchego Cheese (can sub parmesan)

• 1 1/2 Tsp. Kosher Salt

• 1 Tsp. Black Pepper

• 1 Tsp. Olive Oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Sauté onion, ham, and thyme in a skillet with a little olive oil until ham is browned and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside and cool slightly.

• in a large bowl combine milk, eggs, and mustard and whisk until combine thoroughly.

• Add salt and pepper to the wet ingredients and then pour over cubed bread in a large bowl.

• Stir gently until all of the bread is coated in the wet ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes.

• Fold in ham, onions, and cheese until distributed evenly.

• Spray two individual baking ramekins and divide the mixture between each baking dish. Alternatively you can use a small 8” baking dish and bake all together in one.

• Bake for 30-35 Minutes until eggs have set and the tops are golden brown.

This recipe couldn’t be any easier or more delicious! Pin this recipe to save for the next time you are looking to switch up your breakfast or brunch game!