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.
This tastes like a little bit of heaven on earth! That was with well over double the prep time and 1 hour of baking. Hopefully I’ll get faster at the prep and will try 5 minutes less baking time next time and keep that up until I find the shortest baking time that will still work perfectly for my oven.
Glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know!
I made this twice now and both times have been successful. Most recently, I made it with croissants (stale). It was perfect. We all especially love the topping.
Perfect!! Thank you for sharing what you did!
This was beyond my wildest expectations! I’ve been making brunch casseroles on the weekends when I have the chance so my husband and I can eat from them for a few days and this was the first sweet casserole/bake I’ve made. I usually prefer savory but this is going in my permanent rotation! The only thing I did different was to reduce the white sugar to 1/2 cup and may try 1/3 cup next time because it’s plenty sweet. But I’ve been telling friends about this recipe because it’s SO DARN GOOD! The custard formation is amazing and is still absolutely delicious over the next few days and doesn’t get soggy. Thank you!!
You are so welcome!! I love hearing this! Thank you for sharing what you did!
I’ve made this recipe several times. I use 4-6 UN frosted cinnamon buns instead of bread. Decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup. OMG good!
Sounds perfect! Thank you for sharing that!
Made this for breakfast this morning. I cooked mine for 1 hour 15 minutes and it was perfect!! It was a huge hit. I used brioche bread as well as cinnamon raisin bread. Will definitely make again. The topping was AWESOME!!
Glad to hear!! Thank you for sharing that!
This is by far the best overnight French Toast casserole recipe. It’s not too eggy and does not come out soggy. I’ve made this multiple times and it is always fantastic!!
Thank you for saying that!! Glad you like it!
Have had this before and it is mmm mmm good
Glad you think so 🙂 Thank you!
Made this for Christmas morning—the boys loved it! How long would you bake it in individual ramekins?
Happy to hear that!! I have not tried that, so I am not sure about the time. Definitely not as long. Maybe 30 min?
Would pannetone work for the bread? I got a loaf of it for Christmas and I’ve never eaten it before so I don’t know how dense it is
I haven’t tried using that, but I am sure it would be ok 🙂
Made this for Christmas morning and it was a slam dunk!! I used brioche bread and added a tsp. of cinnamon to the custard mixture. I’ve made baked French toast before but none tasted as good as this one! I think the brioche put it over the top. I baked it for an hour and 15 minutes, but I baked it alongside an egg/sausage casserole and let it sit for about 15 minutes. No sogginess at all. Served with fresh berries and whipped cream on the side. And I made it on Christmas Eve with my grandson. He’s 10 years old and made most of it on his own. He was so proud that “his dish” was the most popular. Thanks for the great recipe!
Awe, I love that! Sounds like you had a delicious breakfast! Thank you!