French Toast Casserole is one of our family’s favorite breakfast recipes. In fact, we make it for special occasions all year long and ALWAYS on Christmas Day. Thick cubes of bread are soaked in a sweet vanilla custard and topped with a buttery cinnamon crumble. It is simple enough for a weekend breakfast and special enough for holiday breakfast or brunch.
The best part is that you can prepare everything the night before. In the morning, just pop it in the oven and let it bake. It’s not only delicious, but feeds a crowd and is especially perfect for feeding guests in town.
For other breakfast favorites, check out our Sausage breakfast casserole and classic holiday breakfast casserole. And if oyu are looking for something equally as impressive to pair it with, try our Easy Candied Bacon.
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Simple. The easiest make-ahead breakfast for holidays or weekends.
- Customize. Easy to customize with fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips.
- Holiday perfection. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special occasion AND perfect for feeding a crowd or enjoying leftovers later.
- Your house will thank you. Our French Toast Bake smells amazing and looks beautiful with minimal effort.
French Toast Casserole Ingredients
- Bread (1 24-ounce loaf of sourdough, brioche, French bread or challah): The main idea is that you want the bread to be sturdy enough that the bread cubes will hold up after being combined with the egg mixture.
- PRO TIP: For any of these breads, you can slice and toast or let slices sit out for 24 hours to make them more stale and sturdy.
- Eggs (8 large): Create the rich custard and give the casserole structure.
- Milk (2 cups) and heavy cream (½ cup): Add moisture and richness.
- Vanilla extract (1 tablespoon): Adds warm, sweet flavor.
- Sugar (¾ cup): Sweetens the custard perfectly.
Topping
- All-purpose flour (½ cup): Helps create the crumble texture.
- Packed light brown sugar (½ cup): Adds caramel-like sweetness.
- Ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon): Brings warm, cozy flavor.
- Salt (¼ teaspoon): Balances the sweetness.
- Cold unsalted butter (½ cup, cut into pieces): Creates the crumbly, golden topping.
How to Make French Toast Bake
BREAD. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and scatter evenly in a greased 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
EGG MIXTURE. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar together, then pour evenly over the bread.
CHILL. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
TOPPING. Mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into this mixture until crumbly. Place the topping in a small resealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight as well.
BAKE. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Unwrap the baking dish and sprinkle the topping evenly over the bread. Bake, uncovered, for 45–60 minutes, depending on how soft you like it. This overnight French toast casserole should be soft on the bottom and crisp on the top.
Serve it with some of our favorites, including: Buttermilk Syrup, Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup, Whipped Cream and sliced strawberries
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- BREAD. Choose sturdy bread such as sourdough, challah, or brioche so it can soak up the custard without getting soggy.
- OVERNIGHT. Soak overnight to let the flavors deepen and the bread fully absorb the custard.
- TOPPING. Keep the topping chilled until you are ready to bake, then sprinkle it over the bread for the best texture.
- TOO SOGGY. If your casserole comes out too soggy try some of these tips:
- Soak the bread in a separate bowl. If there’s too much egg in the pan it may be left a little soggy. One way around this is to store your bread mixture overnight in a bowl. In the morning, transfer the bread to the baking dish leaving behind the extra liquid.
- Not soaking the bread long enough. You want the egg mixture to seep deep into the bread for a soft custardy center. If the mixture doesn’t have time to soak into the bread it may end up creating a soggy mess.
French Toast Casserole Recipe
Video
Ingredients
French Toast
- 1 (24-ounce) loaf sourdough bread (or brioche, challah or French bread)
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup sugar
Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and scatter evenly in a greased 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix eggs, milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar together, then pour evenly over bread.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- To make the topping, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into this mixture until crumbly. Place the topping in a small resealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight as well.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Unwrap the baking dish and sprinkle the topping evenly over the bread.
- Bake, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes, depending on how soft you like it.
Notes
Variations.
o For a more savory casserole, add ham and cheese, chorizo, green chilies, sausage, or crumbled bacon.
o For a sweet casserole, add thinly sliced apple, orange zest, sliced apricots, sliced pineapple, blueberries, or chopped pecans.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
For a more savory casserole: ham and cheese, chorizo, green chiles, sausage, or crumbled bacon.
For a sweet casserole: thinly sliced apple, orange zest, sliced apricots, sliced pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, and chopped pecans.
You can also swap ingredients, like milk for almond milk, cinnamon for nutmeg and more!
FREEZE. Freeze this easy French toast casserole before or after baking. Wrap the dish with plastic wrap then foil and freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge, remove all the wrapping, and bake.
If it has been pre-baked, cook it at 350°F for 20 minutes. If it has not been pre-baked, cook according to the recipe directions.
If you have any leftover baked French toast casserole, cover the pan with plastic or divide it into individual airtight containers. Keep it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Can you reheat?
Yes 🙂 Hope you like it!!
I was trying to figure out what time to host our Christmas get together so i could plan the food, and i found this recipe and immediately called my sister and told her that we were having brunch because i HAVE to make this. Looks so good! Cant wait to try it!!
It will be a hit!! Hope it’s a blast!
Is there a dairy free version of this recipe? Normally trading milk for almond milk is easy but not sure about the heavy cream…
I do not have one, I’m sorry. I would just google what some good substitutes for the heavy cream are. Hope you find some!
Not sure if this question has been asked. Can i cook this overnight in the crockpot? Would I put it all in them cook on low. Christmas eve I don’t usually go to be until well after midnight and we’re up by 7:30 or 8. We really love this recipe and have made it our Christmas morning tradition.
I haven’t tried in a crock pot. So, that’s a good question. I guess, we need to try it out! 🙂 Glad you like it!
I am making this for my family on Thanksgiving morning! So fingers crossed. But I assumed the amount for the vanilla was a typo. If I put 2 tbsp of vanilla that would seriously be the entire bottle! So I used 2 tsp instead.
Was the question of 2 tablespoons vs. 2 teaspoons answered?
This recipe was absolutely fantastic! I found that it was even better when I let it sit overnight, baked it, let it sit overnight again, and then baked it again at a lower heat. It has more of a bread pudding consistency and gives the flavor more time to set in.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your changes!
The top was a bit hard. Any suggestions. Everything else was delish.
Not quite sure? Did it cook longer than needed?
Made this for a family brunch and it was a huge hit! Because of a dairy allergy, I substituted the heavy cream for canned coconut milk, the milk for cashew milk, and the butter for a vegan butter. It was delicious!
Made this for a family function, it was so good thank you for the recipe!!
Yay! You are so welcome & thank you for letting me know!
Boy,does my house smell so good! This was so easy. Followed your recipe, but tweaked it a little. I didn’t wait overnight. I waited one hour. I used a mixture of breads beside the week old Sour dough, cubed them and put them in a buttered Casserole dish. Poured the milk & egg mixture over the bread cubes. Sprinkled with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves, and dotted the top with butter. Then I added the flour/sugar/butter topping.
Baked in a preheated oven, uncovered, ( thank goodness you didn’t need a water bath ) at 325 degrees because I used a dark Casserole dish for 45-50 min. Let it sit awhile to proof. It was extreamly good. May be even better in the morning cold. Like pudding. How can I add a photo?
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Sounds perfect! I’m glad you liked it! Hmm..I don’t think I have the option to add a picture. It’s been too long, LOL!
Can you freeze this and heat in oven for how long?
I would make it up until the last 2 steps. Add the topping on right before & just cook according to directions. Keep an eye & you may need to cook a little longer, since it was frozen. Hope you enjoy!
Just tried this recipe my topping didnt turn out cause i overmixed it into dough then learned what cut in the butter ment and redid it with my old primitive pastry blender i use as a decor piece and it came out perfect lol. My 12 year old daughter made a suggestion that put this dish over the edge of amazing…i fried up a package of bacon and crumbled it on top of the dish half way through baking…yummy gooey sweet bacon wonderfulness!!! ♡♡♡
Sounds wonderful! I’ll have to try that! Thank you for sharing!! Glad you liked it!