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Toad In The Hole

May 18, 2018 by [email protected] Leave a Comment

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The classic English dish toad in the hole is made with bratwurst sausages, and a simple bread pudding then topped with mustard-onion gravy. This is a perfect meal when you are looking for something a little different.

A piece of sausage and bread pudding aka Toad In a Hole cut with gravy on it ready to eat!
Jump to:
  • One of the oldest breweries lager beer and savory bread pudding pairing
  • The ingredients and why they make this recipe great
  • How to make toad in the hole step-by-step
  • How to make mustard-onion gravy step-by-step
  • Tips & Variations
  • More comfort food recipes with gravy
  • Toad In a Hole
baking dish with bratwursts baked in a savory pudding with a cloth napkin next to it.

Welcome to Mitten Movie Night the Royal Wedding Edition! I decided to make a classic English dish for this special occasion.

I hadn’t had toad in the hole before I knew that it was going to be something that I would love.  Meat, onions, carbs…GRAVY!!!  Of course, I had to add some Michigan appeal to this dish by using beer brats made with Founder’s Dirty Bastard Craft Beer.  We eat these a lot during the Summer and they worked great in this recipe.

So after going through about a million recipes, I settled on this one from Cooking Channel TV for Toad in the Hole with Mustard-Onion Gravy.

One of the oldest breweries lager beer and savory bread pudding pairing

The beer: Yuengling Traditional Lager from Yuengling.

Nothing like a traditional lager that pairs well with literally any meal.

A big bowl of mustard-onion gravy.

The ingredients and why they make this recipe great

This toad in the hole recipe has-

  • Bratwurst. For this recipe, I used a craft beer-infused bratwurst from our local grocery store. Although the sausages bake in the oven for 45 minutes, I still brown them on all sides in a bit of oil in a pan before adding them.
  • A simple batter for bread pudding. Flour, salt, milk, and eggs are whisked together and added to a dish with the sausages placed on top. As it bakes, the grease from the sausage is soaked up by the bread.
  • Browned onions with mustard thickened to a gravy. Top the sausages with a simple gravy made in less than 10 minutes.

How to make toad in the hole step-by-step

For the base, it’s just flour, salt, eggs, and milk.  To one bowl add the flour and salt.  In another bowl add the milk and eggs then whisk to combine.  Slowly add the milk and egg mixture to the flour whisking it together to make a batter.

Simple enough but then the trick seemed to be what you do with it once the ingredients are mixed together.  Half the recipes said to just keep it out on the counter for 10-30 minutes.  The other half said that you had to keep it in the refrigerator overnight or at least a few hours to set.  What I did was make the batter and put it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Flour in a bowl with eggs and milk off to the side.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Take the batter out of the refrigerator to warm up a bit while cooking the sausage.

Make sure to let the batter come to close to room temperature before adding to the baking dish, depending on what baking dish is used you could risk the dish breaking from adding the cold batter, then adding to a hot oven.

Brown the sausages in a pan on the stove with 1 tablespoon of oil.  Brown all sides which takes about 8 minutes but don’t worry about cooking all the way through.  Reserve any oil in the pan for the gravy.

bratwursts cooked in a pan until browned and then added to a baking dish with bread pudding batter.

Grease the baking dish with butter or shortening. Make sure to get every part of the inside of the pan to make sure that it’s easy to remove and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Pour the batter into the pan and top with the sausages.

Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

How to make mustard-onion gravy step-by-step

For the gravy, use the reserved oil you left from cooking the brats and add the thinly sliced onions.  Using very low heat cook them down slowly for about 5 minutes. 

To the onions add the flour and stir to coat.  Now add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard.  Continue cooking down until it thickens to a gravy consistency. 

onion gravy made in a sauté pan and then placed in a bowl with a spoon holding some up.

Take out the toad in the hole from the oven.  Slice and serve topped with gravy.

Tips & Variations

  • Not a bratwurst fan? You can make this with smoked sausages, little smokies, or a vegetarian toad in the hole with vegetarian sausages.
  • It is important to make sure to properly grease the baking dish so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom and sides. I used wax paper to wipe the pan with vegetable shortening.

More comfort food recipes with gravy

  • Beef Tips and Gravy
  • Stuffing Coated Chicken
  • Crock Pot Ranch Pork Roast

And here you are……

sausages and bread in a baking dish with a bowl of gravy behind it. descriptive text 'toad in the hole' and 'bottom left of the mitten' underneath the image.

From our home in the Bottom Left of the Mitten to yours ~ Enjoy!

baking dish with bratwursts baked in a savory pudding with a cloth napkin next to it.

Toad In a Hole

I tried my hand at a classic English dish, toad in the hole. Sausages are baked on top of a bread 'pudding' and then topped with gravy.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: English
Keyword: bratwursts, bread pudding, toad in the hole
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Equipment

  • whisk
  • two large bowls
  • spatula
  • 9×9 baking dish

Ingredients

Toad In The Hole

  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 18 ounces beer brats I used Open Acres Dirty Bastard Beer Brats
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Mustard-Onion Gravy

  • 1 medium yellow onion sliced thinly
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Instructions

Toad In The Hole

  • To one bowl add the flour and salt.
    2/3 cup all purpose flour, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • In another bowl add the milk and eggs then whisk to combine. Slowly add the milk and egg mixture to the flour whisking it together to make a batter.
    1 cup milk, 2 eggs
  • Keep batter on the counter for 10-30 minutes or keep in the refrigerator up to overnight if you like.
  • Take the batter out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Brown the sausages on all sides in a pan on the stove with oil. Don't worry about cooking all the way through. Reserve any oil in the pan for the gravy.
    18 ounces beer brats, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • Grease a non-stick 9×9 baking dish with butter or shortening. Add the batter to the pan, then top with the browned sausages. and top with the sausages.
  • Add the dish to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Mustard-Onion Gravy

  • Use the reserved oil you left from cooking the brats and add the thinly sliced onions. Using very low heat cook them down slowly for about 5 minutes.
    1 medium yellow onion
  • To the onions add the flour and stir to coat. Now add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Continue cooking down until it thickens to a gravy consistency.
    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 cup beef broth, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • Take out the Toad In The Hole from the oven. Slice and serve topped with gravy. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Tips for making this recipe:

  • If you do not want to brown the sausages before adding them to the batter, add 10 minutes to the baking time.
  • Do not drain the grease after the dish cooks, the grease will soak up in the batter as it cools.
  • Use 1 tablespoon of butter if you didn’t reserve the grease from cooking the sausages to saute the onions for the gravy.
  • To store: add the toad in the hole to a covered container, and the gravy into another separate container. Put into the refrigerator and eat within 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds.
Tried this recipe?Mention @mittenmommy or tag #mittenmovienight!

Originally published in May of 2018. Updated photos in September of 2022, made slight adjustments to the baking process.

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Please read my Discloser Policy.

Last Updated on October 3, 2022 by [email protected]

Filed Under: Mitten Meals, Pilsner and Lager Recipe Pairings Tagged With: lager

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