I adore soup. And I really like this tomato barley soup. It is flavorful and packed with vegetables. Typically, I add some sliced cabbage. Use veggie broth in place of the chicken broth to convert this dish to vegetarianism.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (1 pound) loaf cinnamon raisin bread, cubed
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced
- 1 cup diced peeled apples
- 8 eggs
- 2 ½ cups half-and-half cream
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Coat a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange 1/2 of the cubed raisin bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the cream cheese evenly over the bread, and top with the apples. If you like extra raisins, add them now. Top with remaining bread.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, butter, and maple syrup. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and press down so that all bread pieces are soaked. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 354 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 28 g |
| Cholesterol | 179 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Sodium | 310 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 23 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It was so good! My 95 year old mom loved it. She needs the calories. I did add a teaspoon on vanilla.
I’ve been making this for several years and realized I never submitted a review. It is a family favorite and also I make for a bakery and the customers RAVE about it. I make my own Raisin Bread and I believe the trick is having a really good bread, cube it and let it sit out a day. You want the egg mixture to really soak into the bread and fresh bread will just get kind of mushy. EXCELLENT recipe as written. The only thing I add is a 1 TBSP of home-made vanilla. Makes you want to resort to being a kid and licking the plate!
This was delicious. I made a few changes as some of the previous reviewers mentioned. I used 6 eggs and 2 cuos of half and half. I beat the cream cheese with cinnamon, powdered sugar, and a 1/4 tsp. Of nutmeg. I used Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Roll bread which held up really well. I layered 6 slices on the bottom of the pan. I checked up the other pieces. I spread the cream cheese mixture on all of the bread. I also added cinnamon and sugar on the top of the casserole b4 baking. I will definitely make this again and again.
We had this for Christmas Eve brunch at my in-laws. Huge hit! Delicious!
I made this vegan by substituting 16 oz of Just Egg and 1 can of coconut cream instead of the eggs and heavy cream. I eliminated the cream cheese altogether because my family likes it with just the apples. I upped the cooking temp to 375 and had to bake it for about 20 minutes longer because I actually think there was too much liquid. I probably could have gotten away with just one container of Just Egg (12oz).
Beautiful. Right down to the Portmerion china.
Used blueberries this time and equally fantastic!
Made a few times but without apples and it was good. Want to try with the apples. For those who made with apples, what kind did you use?? Thanks!
It ended up mushy and only tasted of eggs and bread. I would never had guessed raisin bread and apples and were used. I could not taste either one.
I followed the recipe exactly. I didn’t care for the texture. It was too soft. I would have preferred a bit more crisp. The flavor is good, just not the texture. IF I make it again, I will adjust
This is a family favorite and a Christmas and Easter brunch must have. My brother makes it for his family too. I’ve made as a gift and I’ve brought it too the office. Everyone LOVES this. The best part is that you can make it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning.
J made this for our Church’s Fathers Day breakfast this morning. After reading reviews for this & other recipes I made changes. My modifications make a different casserole but I started with the basics from this one. J added 1 lb of cooked crumbled mild breakfast sausage (map!e flavored would also be good) but I used what I had in hand. I also diced up enough Apple’s to make 2 cups. Then I sprinkle a stevia & cinnamon sweetener mixture into the apples. I also added a two teaspoons of nutmeg to them. I used a half loaf of cinnamon bread & half loaf of French Toast bread. I spread the softened cream cheese on each slice of bread., Then cut the bread into cubes. Since my recipe was for 12 servings I used 2 disposable large lasagna pans (one inside the other to make it easier to move). Ok !sprayed with non stick spray. I sprinkled half the sausage Collier by cubes bread then applies then sausage & the remaining bread. I used 10 eggs, 2 tspsn of vanilla, 2 cups of whole milk & 1 cup of heavy cream ( no half & half on hand), 1/2 cup reduced sugar flavored syrup & 1 stick (8 tblsI ) unsalted butter ,melted. The butter was drizzled directly on the cubed bread. All other liquids were mixed in with the eggs. Then pour all over the cubes bread. Since I do not like soggy bread I only let this soak for 30 minutes before cooking at 350 for 1 hour. At about 40 minutes I covered pan with foil to keep top from over browning. Drizzle with 1/2 syrup when complete.
I made the recipe exactly how it was written, great! So many guests wanted the recipe!
Excellent casserole. The easiest way to add the cream cheese is to freeze the loaf first. No need to cut the bread either. Keep slices whole and spread the cream cheese on half the loaf. Crumble the other half loaf for the top.
I found 2.5 cups of 1/2&1/2 was a little runny. I would up the eggs to cream ratio next time. I dusted the apples with a little cinnamon. It turned out good after 15 more minutes at 375.
On a smaller scale, but delicious. Use your favorite fruit
WishI had read the reviews before making it. It tasted great, but there was way too much liquid and I cooked it for an hour and a half. I will definitely cut the eggs to 6 , half the cream and cook at a higher temperature next go around.
This has been our families Christmas Breakfast for the last 8 years. As others have suggested spread the cream cheese on the bread before you cube it and it will be more spread out. Also having made this a lot make sure your maple syrup isn’t cold when you add it. Cold syrup will make the melted butter form little blobs.
My husband was very skeptical about this recipe. He loved it! I swapped honey wheat bread for raisin bread and chunked the cream cheese. I would suggest serving with syrup. I served it for a brunch and made 1.5x the original amount.
I really liked this. I took some suggestions and mixed the cream cheese with a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon, then spread it on dense, quality cinnamon bread. I used the full 8 eggs and fat free half and half. I also added 1/2 tsp of rum flavoring and 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the egg mixture. Next time I will try it with a tsp of maple flavor instead of the rum and vanilla, but I didn’t have it this time. I baked it at 350* for an hour and 15 minutes. In hindsight I would probably only bake it for an hour. I had plenty of apple so I doubled it and sprinkled a good dose of cinnamon sugar over the apples before adding the last layer of bread cubes. I then sprinkled the top with a bit more cinnamon sugar. It was mildly sweet and went great with a bit of maple syrup on it. I will definitely make this again. My husband can’t wait!
Absolutely terrific – added 1 tbsp sugar and about 1/2 tsp cinnamon over cream cheese. & tsp of vanilla to eggs. Baked at 350. Cream cheese doesn’t melt quickly enough to be heated through. Maybe I should have whipped it. Instead, microed individual portions as I served it. Adults & kids loved it. Served with choices of syrup & blueberries.