A Wholesome New World

Overnight Banana Matzah Bake

March 30, 2021

Servings: 4

Cook: 30 min

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Not your average matzah brei! This overnight version, inspired by overnight french toast, is a creative way to up your Passover breakfast plan!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 3 sheets of matzah
• 2 cups of boiling hot water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 bananas, sliced
• 1 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

• Step 1 Break the matzah into bite-size pieces and place in a sieve over a bowl. Boil your water and pour over the matzah. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave the matzah to steam.
• Step 2 In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, sugar and vanilla.
• Step 3 Shake any remaining water gently out of your matzah. You want it to be soft, not soggy. Lightly grease a small pan (I used a loaf plan), and place a small layer of matzah on the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of banana slices, then another layer of matzah and repeat. I ended up with 3 layers. Finish with a layer of matzah on top.
• Step 4 Pour the custard over the dish, cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge overnight.
• Step 5 The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle the top of the dish with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve with syrup, sliced fruit, and topped with powdered sugar.

By day 4 of Passover, I know it’s hard to stomach another meal made of matzah, but this out-of-the-box take on overnight french toast is a welcome change! Layers of matzah, banana,  topped with a light + fluffy egg custard – what could be better? All the effort required is 10 minutes of hands-on time before you go to bed, then just leave it in the fridge overnight to soak up all that goodness. And then you have a delicious breakfast ready and waiting for you the next day, whether it’s brunch or just another morning in your home office.

Generally I welcome a week of abstaining from bread products, but for some reason it’s harder this year. Maybe it is because my kids actually live on matzah year-round (matzah + butter is a favorite lunch option) so it’s suddenly not as exciting, OR maybe it’s because they’re too young to keep Kosher for Passover themselves so I’m extra temped by all of the bread products they’re eating. Or maybe (most likely) I just have less willpower after the seemingly never-ending pandemic. Either way, I was already feeling over matzah this year, which is why this breakfast was such a pleasant surprise. I expected it to be fine, maybe even good, but not AMAZING! Since it was, and since I’ve been getting requests left and right for the recipe, I knew I had to post it.

One important note – this recipe serves about 4. If you want to serve a crowd -for a holiday brunch perhaps?- I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe! (Chances are you have enough matzah on hand, am I right?) The fact alone that I’m contemplating entertaining and making this for a crowd makes me SO happy. It’s been a long winter of not hosting and just cooking for us (2 of whom are toddlers and eat practically nothing I cook), so cooking for friends and family again is such a treat. (I hope you feel the same!) Here’s to hoping you had -and are continuing to have- a wonderful holiday week. It’s certainly become a new year of hope since Passover 2020!

Chag sameach! And be sure to check out more of my holiday recipes, linked below!