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 will be making this for 50 people.
Would you recommend using two catering pans instead of one large one?
Also, would the baking time be different for these larger amounts?
You could double the recipe and bake it in a larger catering pan (about 20x12inches) without needing to adjust to suggested baking times.
If I’m pre-baking should I add the topping when I heat it up to serve or when I pre-bake?
I would add the topping right before heating up the casserole.
My daughter made this for us and my husband has raved about it for days! So, now I am going to make it. I’d like to add apples. Do they go on top or the bottom?
Slice them thinly, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Add half of the bread cube in the bottom of the baking dish, scatter half of your prepared apple slices evenly over the bread. Then, add the remaining bread, and scatter the rest of the apple slices on top before pouring on the egg custard.
Can you use self rising flour for the topping.
You could, however the topping might take on a softer cake like texture than a crisp crumb.
Can you use just egg whites with this recipe?
You can use just egg whites, but the casserole will be a less rich and less fluffy.
Made this French toast casserole with sourdough bread for my gluten intolerant husband and dairy free for our son. I used Elmhurst unsweetened milked cashews and Califa DF Heavy Whip cream. For the topping, I omitted the flour and used Violife vegan unsalted butter. It was absolutely delicious! Couldn’t tell that it was dairy free. I enjoyed mine with fresh berries and lemon curd. No syrup needed.
My granddaughters, ages 7 and 5, made it for their dad for Fathers Day. They were so proud. Love that it’s a kid friendly recipe. Definately a keeper and a family and friends favorite!
I’m happy to hear you were able to tailor this recipe to fit your family’s dietary needs and it turned out well. Thanks for sharing, as others might also have the same needs.
Hi, can i use coconut milk instead of milk & heavy cream? I don’t have any non dairy whip cream on hand. Do you thinking coconut milk will be fine without heavy cream? Thank you.
It will make the casserole a little less rich, but it will still work and taste great. If you have it use full-fat coconut milk for the best texture.
accidentally didn’t read the correctly and mixed the topping right after i put it to sit after night. will that be an issue?
It shouldn’t be an issue. How did it turn out?
How many days in advance could you prepare the topping?
Both the casserole (French toast portion) and the topping can be refrigerated overnight in separate containers before combining and baking. While the topping can be refrigerated for 3-4 days, I wouldn’t refrigerate the French toast portion for much longer than 12 hours. Otherwise, some parts can become too soggy while other portions may dry out.
Extremely soggy and mushy despite leaving the bread out for a day to stale and despite leaving the bread mixture in a different bowl overnight. Both as suggested for less soggy. Will not remake
Oh no, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out well for you! Thanks for giving it a try.
This is so good! My husband is INCREDIBLY picky when it comes to French toast, so he didn’t have high hopes. However, he immediately fell in love 😀
My preteen thought it was too squishy, but my husband said it’s exactly how real French toast is supposed to be. 🤷🏼♀️ He even requested this for his father’s day breakfast and it’s sooooo easy to put together!
It makes my day to know he loved the recipe!
In the French toast part, could I omit the 3/4 cup sugar?
Or could I sub maple syrup?
The sugar not only adds sweetness but also contributes to the golden-brown color and tender texture. You can certainly reduce the amount of sugar, or replace it with maple syrup. Since maple syrup is a liquid; you might want to use slightly less than the original sugar amount to avoid thinning the custard too much.
I used coconut sugar and it turned out amazing!
Thanks for sharing your tip! I haven’t tried coconut sugar, and it’s nice to know that it produced a great dish!