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.
I’m going to try this recipe. But just curious as to if anyone used sandwich which bread? I have an abundance and looking on a way to use it up. Looks so yummy! 😋
I personally have not tried that, but if you do, you will have to share how it turned out. I am thinking though, it might be a little mushy, since it’s a softer bread & the cubes won’t be as thick.
This was a big hit! We used some homemade raisin bread sourdough bread, a few days old. It was easy and so rich and delicious. No syrup needed!
Delicious and so easy to make! I used potato bread that was getting dried out in the freezer. Of course I doubled the crumb topping because I LOVE it lol. The only thing I would change is adding a pinch of salt to the batter to balance the sweetness of the custard mixture. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it so much. Thanks for tip about the salt!
Do you mind sharing with me how many cups of bread cubes to use? Thank you. This looks amazing!
I couldn’t find the recipe for my usual favorite French toast casserole after my son asked me to make it one day, made this in a pinch and it was far easier than my other recipe and became in instant family favorite. I made this recipe 1/2 and was perfect size for my family of 4 with leftovers. Best recipe!
I saw someone was asking how much bread to use. I tried what another commenter had suggested, 24 Oz. It was way TOO much bread, and came out dry. I just used 16 Oz and it came out perfect. It’s a GREAT recipe, I would not use more than 18 Oz load of bread though.
This was the comment I was looking for. Mixed it up last night and it was wayyyy too much bread so I just kind of guessed. Was surprised no one had mentioned it in the reviews.
I made this for Mother’s Day brunch with brioche bread(left out overnight to harden a bit) and everyone raved! There were no leftovers! I thought 3/4 cup of white sugar then an additional 1/2 cup of brown sugar in the topping would be too sweet so I only used 1/4 cup white sugar and used the 1/2 cup of brown sugar for the topping and it was excellent. I think next time I’ll omit the white sugar all together. Thanks for the recipe!! Everyone left requesting the recipe, so it’s definitely a keeper!
Fantastic! I’m so pleased it worked out so well.
Huge hit at a family brunch. At the beginning of the meal it was already asked to be put on the regular menu of breakfast & brunch get togethers. Super easy, super delicious. Left overs heated in the air fryer was ticket.
Oh wow, what a compliment! I’m so glad it was such a hit at the family brunch.
This recipe is very delicious. I made it for a Mother’s day brunch. I used cinnamon swirl bread (Pepperidge Farm) I ended up using 1 1/2 loaves. I cut it up and put it in the oven on low to dry the bread out. Then followed the recipe from there. I soaked everything overnight. My fridge always seems too full to put a big bowl in it, so my trick is to use a jumbo 2 gallon zip lock bag and dump everything in it, zip it up and stick it in the fridge. Everyone loved this dish! I will be making it again. Maybe next time the savory version!
Thank you for sharing. One of the best parts of baking is taking a favorite recipe and adding a delicious twist.
Made this for Mother’s Day brunch, very tasty!
It’s such an easy and delicious breakfast dish; I’m so happy to hear it worked well for your brunch.
I made this for Mother’s Day brunch and it was a big hit!! Everyone loved it so much they finished it all!!