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.
Looks gorgeous. What type of bread could we use in the UK please zx
Not sure which types of bread you have but any that come in the big loaf should work. 🙂
Can this be made completely ahead of time the night before and put in the fridge? Or will it be too soggy? Looks amazing!
Ok. Nevermind. Read right past the part that said ” refrigerate overnight. ” Duh :p
Can this be made with eggnog? If so would you subsidize the heavy cream and milk for eggnog?
Ooh I’m sure that would be delicious! Yes, that’s just what I’d do!
We always make a french toast recipe for christmas morning, this is my first time using this recipe but we normally do a crockpot version. If I still let it refrigerate overnight could i do it in a crockpot?
Yes, you can definitely do it in a crockpot. Here’s what I usually do: I make it according to the directions. Then refrigerate for 6-10 hours in the ceramic crock pot. Place the ceramic pot into the heating base, cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Hope the French Toast bake turned out yummy!!
This French Toast Casserole looks Heavenly! Thanks for posting it…with company coming for Christmas, this will be perfect! =)
Hope you like it and Merry Christmas!!
I made this for brunch. Prepped everything last night and tossed it in the oven 45 minutes before guests arrived. It was delicious! It made the house smell amazing as well. Thank you for sharing.
LOVE to hear that!! Reminds me that I need to make it soon too. Thanks for stopping by, and Merry Christmas!
How well does it hold up after baking and freezing? I want to make this in advance for when we have company and freeze serving sizes for easy access.
Yes, you can choose to freeze it before or after baking. Wrap dish with plastic wrap then foil. It can keep for up to 2 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat thaw overnight in the fridge, remove all the wrapping and bake. If it been prebaked cook at 350 degree F for 20 minutes. If it has not been pre-baked, cook according to recipe directions.
My crumble came out like paste. Why?? I’m having this tomorrow. Help
Did you use cold butter? If the butter is too soft, it may come out more like a paste than a streusel/crumble. Hope the bake turned out yummy!! You’ll have to let us know. 🙂
I made this just the other day to take in to work and it was a huge hit! So easy to make and very yummy.
So happy it turned out for you!! 😀
What size is the loaf of bread?
I made these yesterday. They were delicious but I made far too much. I added some more eggs about 12, buttermilk, oil and flour and made the nicest food I’ve ever tasted. This is ourcouponss.com thank you for your great sharing, we all loving french toast!
But i got a problem: in your Instructions, “Cover your pan with Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight.” why should refrigerate it overnight? Thanks.
Letting it sit overnight let the bread absorb the egg mixture. It gives it almost a bread pudding texture. Definitely an important step.
This recipe is so versatile! I’ve made it 30+ times using a variety of breads (sourdough, white, old hamburger buns… you get the picture!). Though others have mentioned using stale bread – and ours is almost always that – bread our local pantry is throwing away. So I can’t speak to using fresh bread. 👍
I usually cut the crusts off my breads because the kids don’t care for them as much and they crisp up in the oven.
I find the crumbly top to be a bit too wet, so have slowly upped my flour and brown sugar amounts to about 3/4 cup each, sometimes more. This gets better coverage over the whole pan as well.
I dropped the heavy cream. It’s too expensive nowadays and it still turns out perfect. I have not replaced the liquid difference at all. (The milk I use is whole milk, so maybe that’s why I don’t need the cream?)
And I rarely prep it overnight. Making it all in the morning hasn’t changed anything! Just as good and fluffy. So if you’re short on time, it still works to not let it sit over night.
I also increased the sugar in the egg mixture from 3/4c to 1c. Just a tiny bit sweeter – no need to serve with maple syrup that way.
So with it without adjustments, it’s always delicious!!
This feeds our family of 4 with leftovers for about 2 people the next morning. (And it is also delicious cold).
Thanks for sharing what you do. We enjoy it warm or cold as well! 😉 Glad to hear you love the recipe!
Can I use homemade yeast bread? Would white or whole meal be better choice? Also what’s the purpose of the wrap?
I think homemade yeast bread would work as well, and I think white would be better. We used the wrap to keep it from drying. 😉
I see this recipe was posted in 2014 but i want to try it tOmOrrow since the reviews are so gOod! Do you think StAle frencH baguette would work?
Yes, it should 🙂 It’s one of my favorites! Thank you!
How many ounces is the loaf of bread? Thanks!