Banana Cottage Cheese French Toast Bake

This cottage cheese French toast bake is one of my favorite ways to turn classic French toast into an easy, meal prep-friendly, healthy breakfast! Made with bread, ripe bananas, eggs, cottage cheese, and cinnamon, it has a soft, custardy center, a lightly golden top, and the BEST sweet banana flavor.

I started making French toast with cottage cheese as an easy way to add extra protein and make breakfast a little more filling. The cottage cheese mixes right into the custard, so you don’t get a strong cottage cheese flavor or texture. I promise! 

Even better, everything comes together in one bowl, and then the oven does the rest of the work. I love making a batch at the beginning of the week and reheating individual portions for quick breakfasts!

Why You’ll Love This Cottage Cheese French Toast

• Easy to Make: There’s no standing over the stove flipping individual pieces of French toast. Just combine everything, transfer it to a baking dish, and let the oven do the work!
• Perfect for Meal Prep: Make one batch and reheat individual portions throughout the week for quick breakfasts.
• No Protein Powder: Cottage cheese and eggs add protein and create the custardy consistency without the need for protein powder.
• Naturally Sweet: Ripe bananas and a little honey or maple syrup give the French toast plenty of sweetness.
• Easy to Customize: Add chocolate chips, chopped nuts, fresh fruit, maple syrup, or any of your favorite French toast toppings.

If you love adding cottage cheese to breakfast recipes as much as I do, try my banana cottage cheese waffles or high-protein cottage cheese pancakes next! 

Ingredients You’ll Need

Below are a few of my notes about the key ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card for the complete details!

• Bread: Slightly stale bread works best because it absorbs the custard without becoming too soggy. I recommend using a sturdy sandwich bread, brioche, sourdough, or your favorite bread that’s gluten-free. Avoid extremely soft, fresh bread because it can absorb too much custard and become soggy.
• Bananas: The riper, the better! Overripe bananas add natural sweetness and moisture. If you have extras sitting on your counter, put them to use in my cottage cheese banana bread, too.
• Cottage Cheese: This is the secret to the rich, custardy texture. It also adds some extra protein to help make the French toast more filling. If you’re worried about the texture, don’t be! It mixes right into the egg mixture. I recommend using full-fat cottage cheese for the best results.
• Eggs: whole eggs create the base of the custard and help hold the French toast bake together.
• Milk: I use Fairlife milk, but any dairy or non-dairy milk you have on hand will work.
• Honey or Maple Syrup: Either option adds just enough sweetness to complement the ripe bananas.
• Cinnamon and Vanilla Extract: These give the bake that warm, cozy flavor you expect from classic French toast.
• Pecans or Chocolate Chips: These are completely optional but add extra texture and flavor. I usually choose based on what I’m craving that morning!

Ingredient Swaps and Variations

• Make it gluten-free. Use your favorite gluten-free bread, making sure all the other ingredients you use are certified gluten-free if needed.
• No cottage cheese? Greek yogurt or ricotta can work in its place. Just keep in mind that the taste and texture will be slightly different.
• Add more spice. Add a pinch of nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice along with the cinnamon.
• Make it sweeter. Sprinkle coconut sugar over the top before baking or serve your French toast with maple syrup.
• Switch up the mix-ins. Try blueberries, strawberries, chopped walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, or sliced bananas.

Looking for another fun twist on traditional French toast? My French toast breakfast sandwiches are an easy sweet and savory breakfast!

Tips for the Best Cottage Cheese French Toast

• Blend the cottage cheese. If you’re worried about being able to taste the cottage cheese, use a blender to blend until smooth, removing any curds.
• Use slightly stale bread. Slightly dry bread absorbs the custard much better than super-fresh, soft bread. You can cube your bread the night before and leave it covered on the counter.
• Coat the bread evenly. Make sure all the bread cubes come in contact with the egg and cottage cheese mixture so you don’t end up with dry pieces.
• Don’t overbake. The center should be set but still soft and custardy. Start checking around the 25-minute mark.
• Let it rest before serving. Give the French toast bake a few minutes to set after removing it from the oven. This makes it much easier to portion.
• Add crunchy toppings toward the end. If you prefer your nuts extra crunchy, sprinkle them over the bake during the last 5 minutes of cooking instead of adding them at the beginning.

Favorite Ways to Serve 

I usually serve this cottage cheese French toast warm with fresh berries or sliced bananas and a drizzle of maple syrup. For an even more filling breakfast, add peanut butter or almond butter on top.

It’s also great with Greek yogurt and fruit. If I’m serving it for a family brunch, I’ll pair it with eggs, chicken sausage, my maple sausage egg bake, maple chicken sausage & veggie egg muffins, or fresh fruit for a larger spread.

Meal Prep and Storage

This cottage cheese French toast bake is one of my favorite breakfasts to meal prep because you can portion it once and have breakfast ready for several days.

Reheat: Warm individual portions in the microwave or air fryer until heated through. You can also reheat them in the oven at 300°F. If the French toast seems a little dry after storing, add a small splash of milk before reheating.

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer: Let the French toast cool completely, then freeze individual portions in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.

More Easy Breakfast Recipes

Looking for more cottage cheese breakfast recipes? Add these to your meal prep list: