SPAM® Baked French Toast Wins National Recipe Contest

Minnesota Local Awarded Top Prize Out of 26 Entries; Wins Trip to 2019 SPAM JAM® Waikiki Festival

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Apr 02, 2019, 08:00 ET

AUSTIN, Minn., April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Great American SPAM® Championship announced SPAM® Baked French Toast as the grand-prize winning recipe in the national recipe contest. April Weinreich, who resides in Wahkon, Minn., the same state where the beloved brand is headquartered, captured the winning vote at the 2018 Minnesota State Fair with a Hawaiian island style French toast bake. The simple, yet delicious no fuss breakfast bake features SPAM® with Real HORMEL® Bacon, Hawaiian sliced bread, pineapple and coconut flakes. Find the recipe on https://www.spam.com/recipes/spam-baked-french-toast.

Weinreich won an all-expense paid trip for two to SPAM JAM® Waikiki Festival (April 27, 2019), marking her first time to visit Waikiki, a neighborhood of Honolulu. The SPAM JAM® Festival is an annual street festival that celebrates the people of Hawaii's love for the canned meat product.

Nearly 600 recipes were entered in the Great American SPAM® Championship under the contest theme of Hawaii and island-inspired. Recipes are called to be super simple with a crave-able twist. SPAM® Baked French Toast came out victorious among 26 finalists from across the country. Other recipes ranged from Luau Pineapple Dip with SPAM® bacon and SPAM® Paninis to SPAM® Hawaiian Fajitas and Sweet & Spicy Tropical SPAM® Sliders.

The Great American SPAM® Championship held local competitions at 26 U.S. state and county fairs, between June and November 2018. All first-place winning recipes advanced to national judging, conducted in the Hormel Foods test kitchens by their staff. Find grand prize-winning recipe and hundreds more at SPAM.com.

SPAM® Baked French Toast
Serves: 12 Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) can SPAM^® with Real HORMEL® Bacon, cubed
1 (16-ounce) loaf Hawaiian sliced bread, cubed into 1-inch pieces
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, divided
Maple syrup, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13-inch baking pan.
In large skillet, over medium-high heat, cook SPAM® 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.
Spread breadcrumbs into bottom of prepared pan. Top with SPAM® cubes.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, and coconut milk.
Stir in pineapple and ¼ cup coconut. Pour over breadcrumbs and SPAM®. Press bread down slightly to absorb more egg mixture. (Cover and refrigerate if desired. Bring to room temperature before baking.)
Bake 30 minutes. Top with remaining coconut. Bake additional 15 minutes, or until coconut is toasted.
Serve with maple syrup if desired.

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS – INSPIRED PEOPLE. INSPIRED FOOD.™
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 75 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY^®, SPAM^®, Hormel^® Natural Choice^®, Applegate^®, Justin's^®, Columbus^®, Wholly Guacamole^®, Hormel^® Black Label^® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the tenth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future – Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ – focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.