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This best-loved overnight French toast casserole is perfect for making ahead of time! It’s eggy with a hint of cinnamon.
Overnight breakfast casseroles are my favorite thing to make on weekends, or for holiday gatherings and brunches. This French toast casserole is by far my most popular, but people also love my Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake, and for a savory casserole – Sausage Breakfast Casserole.
Overnight Casserole Recipe
We love breakfast foods. I could eat it any time of the day, and it’s fairly common to come over to the Merkley home on an evening and find us eating Belgian Waffles or Buttermilk Pancakes.
Breakfast recipes are just that great! I feel like we don’t get to eat them often enough in the mornings since we’re usually in a rush, but we occasionally get to enjoy them on the weekends and holidays.
One of my favorite recipes to enjoy on this day is French Toast, and more specifically, today’s french toast casserole. This breakfast bake is simple to make and is beyond delicious.
It’s perfect for making ahead of time, making holidays like Mother’s Day and Christmas morning a breeze!
The Best Bread for French Toast
This oven french toast calls for sourdough bread, which is my personal favorite (and the only kind I’ve ever used). But if you don’t have sourdough on hand, there are a few other options you could try!
The main idea is that you want the bread to be sturdy enough that it will hold up after being combined with the egg mixture. Thinly sliced or squishy bread (think wonder bread) can fall apart while cooking after being soaked in the egg mixture. It’s also a bonus if it’s available in an uncut loaf because then you can slice and cube it perfectly.
Here are some other options:
- Brioche
- Challah
- Pullman Loaf
- French Bread
Make Ahead French Toast Casserole
This easy french toast casserole takes a few steps but is quite simple.
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, mix 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.
Crockpot directions
Follow the recipe directions but reduce the amount of milk by ½ cup. Refrigerate for 6-10 hours in the ceramic crock pot. Place the ceramic pot into the heating base, cover it, and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Soggy french toast bake. This overnight french toast casserole should be soft on the bottom and crisp on the top. 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.
- Choose the correct bread: Choose a dense bread such as Brioche, Challah, Pullman Loaf, or French Bread.
- Use a lipped cookie sheet instead of a 9×13 baking dish. Adjust the bake time and watch carefully.
- 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.
Variations. Change up your french toast bake recipe with these delicious twists:
- For a more savory casserole: ham and cheese, chorizo, green chile, sausage, or crumbled bacon.
- For a sweet casserole: thinly sliced apple, orange zest, sliced apricots, sliced pineapple, blueberries, and chopped pecans.
Serving + Storing
This baked french toast casserole is delicious when drizzled in maple syrup, but here are a few more tasty ideas.
What to serve with french toast bake:
- Buttermilk Syrup
- Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
- Sausage Cream Cheese Casserole
- Orange Julius
- Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup
FREEZE. Freeze french toast casserole recipe 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 prebaked cook it at 350°F for 20 minutes. If it has not been pre-baked, cook according to the recipe directions.
Recipe FAQ
The main reasons for soggy baked french toast include using too much egg mixture, the oven temperature being too low, or you didn’t bake it long enough. Also, be sure to bake it uncovered.
Thick dry bread works best as it needs to be able to soak up all the egg custard without completely falling apart. My favorites to use include Brioche, Challah, Pullman loaf, French bread, sourdough bread, or stale Texas Toast.
For More French Toast Recipes, Check Out:
- Pound Cake French Toast
- Eggnog French Toast
- French Toast Muffins
- Creme Brûlée French Toast
- Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake
- Pumpkin French Toast Bake
French Toast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
French Toast
- 1 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 the 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°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.
Video
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 from Mormon Mavens in the Kitchen.
Wow! I subbed a little maple extract in for some of the vanilla and I’m so glad I did. I also made a half recipe in a 7X11 and baked for 45 minutes. But I accidentally prepared a full recipe of topping! What a happy accident! It was super duper rich but with the butter in the topping and the maple in the egg mixture it didn’t need anything on top. That didn’t stop me from a small drizzle of salted caramel I recently made though.
Thank you for the recipe!
LOL..love that!! That wouldn’t bother me, either! Thank you so much for letting me know 🙂
Made this for father’s day brunch for a crowd and omg it was delicious! I Used challah because Thats all my bakery had left for the day and it worked Perfect. This Recipe is definitely a keeper and was so easy to make!
So happy you tried it! Thanks for sharing what you used!
I MADE THis for a father’s day brunch. Only change: i used ciabatta bread. this is absolutely delish!
Great option! Happy you liked it! Thank you for trying it & for letting me know!
The tips and tricks are key. After letting it sit over Night, i TRANSFERRED it to a bowl, then back Into the casserole dish. I think otherwise, i would have had some soggy pieces On bottom and dry pieces on top. I used challah bread, absolutely delicious. DefiniTely my new go to recipe for family brunches!
Thank you for sharing that! Glad it’s your go-to!
Did you use light or dark brown sugar?
I like to use light brown sugar 🙂
Inlove to bake and this looked so delicious. I made it exactly like the recipe says to. The bottom is so soggy:/. I kept baking but then the top got too hard and bottom stayed soggy. Do you have a suggestion to help it cook through?
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.
Choose the correct bread: choose a dense bread such as Brioche, Challah, Pullman Loaf, or French Bread.
Use a lipped cookie sheet instead of a 9×13 baking dish. You will have to adjust the bake time and watch carefully.
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.
can you freeze this prior to baking?
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.
This was FANTASTIC! Followed the tips and TRANSFERRED the soaked bread into another dish prior to baking. French toast WAS very fluffy, did not need syrup at all and the perfect consistency. Definitely making again!
Yay!! Glad you will 🙂 Thank you so much!
If i add berries do i do it before or after baking? and do i add it to the mixture or on top?
I would add them right on top, before eating 🙂 Enjoy!
Do you think this can be baked and Reheated?
Yes, you could bake it at 350 for 20 minutes 🙂