Pressure Cooker Cranberry Baked French Toast
Tart fresh cranberries in a sweet orange sauce are topped with cubed Challah bread soaked in butter, milk, and eggs, and then “baked” to create a bread pudding style French Toast. This luscious Pressure Cooker Cranberry Baked French Toast is a perfect holiday breakfast.
One of my favorite summer breakfast is baked French toast. I like to go to the Farmer’s market, pick up a great loaf of bread, and buy whatever fruit is in season.
Since it’s cranberry season, I thought it would be fun to make a cranberry baked French toast. Oranges are also in season and sweet oranges are the perfect pair with tart cranberries.
Making Cranberry Baked French Toast in an Instant Pot
An Instant Pot is one of the most popular brands of electric pressure cookers. They are easy to use and your Instant Pot can help you create this delicious Cranberry Baked French Toast!
I’m in love with Pressure cooker bread pudding, so I decided to make my cranberry baked French toast in the pressure cooker instead of baking it in the oven. I’m so glad I did. The pressure cooker version was great. The sweet tart cranberry orange sauce on the bottom was the perfect addition to the rich, tender French toast.
Of course, technically this “baked” French toast isn’t baked and it isn’t your typical French toast. So if you don’t like sweets for breakfast, just make it for dessert and tell your family it’s Cranberry Orange Bread Pudding. Either way you serve it, your guests will be glad you did.
Use an instant-read thermometer to verify your french toast is at least 160°F in the thickest part of the breast after cooking
Cranberry Orange “Baked” French Toast
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, washed
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Finely grated zest from 1 orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 loaf Challah bread, cubed
Instructions
- Bring cranberries, orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until the berries have popped and thickened slightly about 5 minutes. (You can also cook the sauce in your pressure cooker using the saute function.) Remove from heat.
- Pour into a buttered 7x3” cake pan, or similar glass or metal baking dish. (Be sure it fits in your pressure cooking pot.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Add milk, beaten eggs, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Mix in cubed bread. Let rest until the bread absorbs the milk, stirring occasionally.
- Spread bread mixture on top of cranberry sauce in pan. Prepare a foil sling for lifting the dish out of the pressure cooking pot by taking an 18” strip of foil and folding it lengthwise twice.
- Pour 1 cup water into the pressure cooking pot and place the trivet in the bottom. Center the pan on the foil strip and lower it into the pressure cooker.
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and set the timer for 25 minutes. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker, and do a quick pressure release to release the pressure. When valve drops carefully remove lid.
- Remove dish from pressure cooking pot. If desired, put dish under the broiler to brown up the top.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 252Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 32gProtein: 5g
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Barbara…
Can this be made the day before to be served the next morning for a pot-luck breakfast?
Hi Tina – I haven’t tried it, but it should work well. I would reheat it pot in pot in the pressure cooker https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/how-to-use-the-pot-in-pot-method-in-your-pressure-cooker-instant-pot/ Enjoy!
This was delicious. Thank you Barbara
Great – thanks Barbara!
I love the picture that shows all the layers, that looks so yummy! I’m going to surprise my kids with this soon!
Thanks Marci! I hope they love it!
When you say select HIGH setting , well , some pressure cookers don’t have that kind of setting . It is meats or beans and rice or stew and soups etc. So would this HIGH setting be the meat selection then ? Great receip by the way can’t wait to try it. Thank you
Hi Debbie – if you don’t have the option to change to low pressure, then your pressure cooker only cooks at high pressure. This post has helpful info https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/how-to-use-the-power-pressure-cooker-xl/. If hope you’ll give the recipe a try. It is great 🙂
I’d like to make 2 pans at once and would like to cook then both at the same time in the oven. Could you please give me the cooking temp and temp for the oven? Thanks!
Hi Ashleigh – here’s a similar oven baked recipe https://www.barbarabakes.com/strawberry-rhubarb-baked-french-toast/ on my baking site.
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can I use skim milk for this recipe?
Hi Thelma – you can but you’ll probably need less milk.
Hi Barbara. I have a couple questions.
1. I was only about to find dried cranberries, how should I adjust?
2.Having an 8qt PC, I do not have a dish to for properly in it . Can this be adapted to a slow cooker version so may use the slow cooker option in my PC?
3. I need to use bread on hand so I have various day old bread(hope that’s ok),b any adjustments for that?
Thanks for your patience with my questions
Jill
Hi Jill – I would stir the dried cranberries in with the bread and skip the sauce on the bottom. I’m sorry I don’t have a slow cooker version – are you sure you don’t have an oven safe dish that fits in your 8 quart? You can use what ever bread you have on hand, just add the milk a little at a time until the bread doesn’t soak it in any more. Enjoy!
First, I want to say thank you for your quick response.
In reference to the oven safe dish, I wish. All I really have is a small metal mixing bowl that I am not sure will work. All my other pans and dishes, pie plates, small cake pans, etc..are too big. But I may have to go shopping… Something I wasn’t financially prepared for lol.
One last thing… In the orange sauce, just for clarification, that is juice fresh squeezed from the orange as opposed to OJ from the carton? I have both but wanted to make sure I was correct.
Yes – juice fresh squeezed from the orange. Although you could substitute OJ from the carton in a pinch.
I was wondering if you need to cover the pan during cooking so the bread doesn’t get all soggy from steam?
Hi Julie – no, you don’t need to cover it.
Absolutely delicious! Made it for Christmas morning. I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup in both the sauce and the bread mixture, and it was perfect for me since I don’t like very sweet stuff in the morning. Also the only dish I had that would fit in my Instant Pot was not big enough for all the bread mixture I had, so I made a second small dish in the oven. Both were excellent. I used Challah bread from Trader Joe’s. I will definitely make this again.
Thanks for sharing Erin! So fun to hear you loved it and your changes.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am not able to find challah bread, but did find brioche rolls. Do you think the would be an ok substitute? Also they are 16 oz for the package, would that be about the right amount? My dish is Corningware, should I add extra time for that? Sorry for so many questions, I am just really excited to try this!
Hi Karen – I think brioche rolls would be a great substitute. I’d probably add 5 more minutes for a Corningware dish. 16 ounces may be too much. I would use about 12 ounce and mix it with the liquid ingredients. Then see if you need more bread or milk. Enjoy!
Thank you Barbara, you’re suggestions were spot on. Next time I will add a pinch of self control, I had 2 helpings, and my husband had 3–so good!!
lol – I do exactly the same thing. So glad you loved it!
What kind of trivet is safe to use in a pressure cooker?
Hi Kathy – many pressure cookers come with a metal trivet. If it’s safe for cooking then it will work in the pressure cooker. Here’s two that I recommend http://amzn.to/2qrRxuy http://amzn.to/2rqcVhB
Have you tried this with other fruit? I didn’t want to use cranberries for Easter.
Hi Becky – I haven’t tried it with other fruit in the pressure cooker, but I use a variety of fruit when I make Baked French Toast in the oven. Blueberries would work really well as a substitute I would think.
I usually cook cranberries in a pressure cooker rather than in a saucepan. Is there a reason why you cooked the cranberries in a saucepan and didn’t use a pressure cooker for the first part of the preparation?
Hi Comet – you could definitely cook them in the pressure cooker if you prefer. I think it’s fun to hear them pop as they cook.
Can frozen or canned cranberries be used when fresh aren’t in season?
What size pressure cooker did you use?
Hi Rita – here’s info on the pressure cookers I use. https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/faq/ Mostly 6 quart.
This is DELICIOUS! Made it last night and am in heaven!
Can it be frozen? I will gain 50 lbs if I eat the whole thing!!!!
Thanks Marge! I haven’t frozen it, but it should freeze well.
Not knowing what challah bread is, or how big the loaf is, if I were to use a different bread, how many cups of cubed bread would I use?
Hi Tami – here’s a link to a challah bread recipe so you can see what the loaf looks like http://www.barbarabakes.com/whole-wheat-challah/. It’s about the size of a loaf of French bread. It really depends on the type of bread you use how much bread/liquid you need because some breads won’t absorb as much liquid and won’t puff up as much when it’s baked.
Is the sauce made separate and used as a topping? I wasn’t sure if it’s added to the bread mix or just held to the side and added to the top after the bread mix was finished in the pressure cooker.
Thanks for your help
I am confused. In the intro you say, ” The sweet tart cranberry orange sauce on the bottom was the perfect addition to the rich, tender French toast.” But in the directions there is no mention of putting the sauce on the bottom. Is the sauce just for pouring on when serving?
Thanks for the heads up Laurie – I’ve updated the recipe.
I’m hoping to find out the same thing. I really want to make this, over the weekend. 🙂
I’ve updated the recipe. I’ll look forward to hearing how you like it 🙂
Thanks. I am planning on making it as soon as I get all of the ingredients.
This definitely puts me in the holiday frame of mind-when I see cranberries I think winter….and I love them paired with orange. I can only imagine how wonderful this is…for breakfast OR dessert! I love a double-duty recipe like this one. 🙂
Thanks Carol! Definitely one you could eat for breakfast and later for dessert 🙂