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.
Thank you for this recipe! It was so good. It made the house smell real good too. It is so quick and great for Sunday mornings when we are in a hurry to get to church 🙂 My five boys and husband loved it, too. I will be making again.
Yes, it is!! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi, Kristyn!
“Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how soft you like it.”
350 Degrees, right?
Yes 🙂
As a single father of two kids, plus college and work, I don’t get much time to cook before its time to put the kids to bed. I was really glad that I could make this tonight and then cook it in the morning. I will have to let you know how well it comes out, but after reading all the comments bellow I am sure that it will be a new hit in my house.
Wow! Keep it up! Thank you for giving it a try! I sure hope everyone liked it!
I made sure I had all the ingredients on hand to prep this last night and pop it in the oven this morning BUT I had too much fun last night and it’s been forever since this old lady has been out to celebrate NYE…so zero prepping happened when we got home. I put it together this morning and let it sit for 25 min max while I made the topping, made coffee, fed the cat, fed the dog and waited for my oven to come up to temp. It still came out delish even though it didn’t sit overnight and my kids, hubs and I loved it! I know a couple people were curious about not leaving it overnight so there you go, it totally still works.
LOL!! Glad you could go have fun!! Thank you for sharing & I hope that helps others!
Hi! Very easy to make. The top turned out delicious! The bottom part of my French toast bake turned out really mushy at the bottom and I cooked it for a whole 10 Minutes. Is that just how it normally turns out or is there something I needed to do? Any suggestions?
It is a little, but not too much. I really am not sure why it would have been too soggy, if you followed the recipe. Was it edible?
Yes it was edible for some of family others didn’t like it ????
Oops meant the whole hour! Not 10 minutes ????
I could not find unsliced sourdough bread, but my local store had very thick slices of white bread. I was concerned about mushiness or that the center of the bread might be dry. So I cut the bread into big chunks, put it into the bowl with the egg mixture and blended for a bit, then put it into the prepared pan and continued. It turned out just excellent!!!
What about putting some sliced apples in too?
Haven’t tried, but that would be delicious! Let us know if you try!
Hi Kristyn, this recipe looks amazing! Do you think I can replace the sourdough bread with brioche? I would like to make this as a new years brunch.. let me know your thoughts!! Thank you 🙂
I haven’t tried, but I’m sure it would be ok 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
I just did this for Christmas morning. I was a little concerned reading some of the comments of sogginess in the middle but it turned out perfect! We cooked for an hour and used a little less than a whole loaf of fresh sourdough bread (probably 85-90% of loaf). I was very excited with how well this turned out and the whole family loved it. So glad I found this version to use!
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m so glad it turned out & that you liked it!
this was so delicious! and a big hit! one question— when you pour over the wet mixture, do you stir otto get all the bread wet? or will it seep up over night? thanks!
No need to stir 🙂 It will set up overnight. Good luck!
Made this for the first time for Christmas morning!!! Was a hit!!!
Yay!! Happy to hear that! Thank you 🙂