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This best-loved French toast casserole is perfect for making ahead of time! It’s perfect for holidays and gatherings and is delicious.
This French toast casserole is by far my most popular, but people also love our Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake, and for a savory casserole – Sausage Breakfast Casserole.
WE Love it + You Will too!
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 this French Toast Casserole, which we LOVE.
Here is why you’ll love it too:
- CASSEROLE OF A CLASSIC. Everyone loves French Toast and this casserole version is even better, especially served with Buttermilk Syrup.
- MAKE AHEAD. This recipe is best when made the day before but also makes crazy days even more simple.
- HOLIDAY + SPECIAL DAY FAVORITE. It’s a great recipe for special days but since it’s made ahead of time, it makes cooking for holidays (like Christmas) so much easier!
It’s also great for brunch and baby showers. 😉
Best Bread TO USE?
This oven French toast bake calls for sourdough bread, which is my personal favorite.
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.
Here are some other options:
- Brioche
- Challah
- Pullman Loaf
- French Bread
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.
How to make French Toast Casserole
This baked French toast 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, 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.
SeRVING TIP
This French toast bake is delicious when drizzled in maple syrup, but here are a few more tasty ideas.
- Buttermilk Syrup
- Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup
- Whipped Cream and sliced strawberries
French Toast Bake Recipe Tips
This baked French toast casserole should be soft on the bottom and crisp on the top.
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.
Variations
Change up your French toast casserole recipe with these delicious twists:
- 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!
Be sure to also check out our: Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole, Blueberry French Toast Casserole and our Pumpkin French Toast Casserole.
How TO Store French Toast Casserole
- 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 prebaked, cook it at 350°F for 20 minutes. If it has not been pre-baked, cook according to the recipe directions.
- STORE. 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.
More French Toast Recipes:
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 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.
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.
This was easy and delicious. I did make a few changes – like I used baguettes instead of sourdough and I added cinnamon to the breading mixture not just the topping. It was a hit at our team gathering. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! Glad you were able to tweak it to what you enjoyed. And I’m so happy to hear you liked the recipe!
This was easy to make, and great taste! It was a little dry and I think it would have turned out better with less bread. The recipe didn’t specify what size loaf. The one I bought was over a pound, so I’d say if you buy sourdough keep it a pound or less.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe overall. Thanks for your feedback!
I make this for holiday breakfasts and special breakfast days. My family love this casserole!
Yay! It’s a favorite over here too. Thanks for sharing!
Totally Awesome crowd pleaser. Even my mom who is not a fan of french toast or sweet morning food, LOVED this. I only made a half batch for 3 people and it turned out perfectly. I baked almost an hour for the crispy top. Super delighted with Lil’ Luna’s recipes!! Thanks!!
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that it was a hit! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This recipe had great reviews and most of the comments were very positive – so I felt pretty confident in making it! I originally intended to make my own loaf of brioche bread (as I’d seen several other casserole recipes recommending it and I’m not a huge fan of sourdough) but ran out of time, so we picked up a pack of 8 brioche rolls at the local grocery store. I sliced them into cubes and tossed them into the casserole dish, assuming that it was approximately the right amount as it filled my casserole dish about as much as the one in Lil Luna’s photos.
I made the custard and crumble, placed the custard/bread mix and crumble in the fridge overnight, and baked the casserole the next morning. I put the dish in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees, as I prefer firmer french toast.
Towards the end of the baking, it started to smell a bit burnt, so I figured I’d pull it out just in case. However, upon opening the oven I was met with a face full of smoke and we spent several minutes extracting the casserole and opening windows. Unfortunately, due to how high the casserole raised over the side of the dish, at some point during the baking it overflowed and some of the custard (or crumble) fell to the bottom of the oven and began to burn. I always place a pan on the rack under cakes and cupcakes for this reason, but never for casseroles. Clearly, I should have. Now my oven is a mess and will have to be cleaned later after it cools down.
Now onto the casserole itself… It was just okay. Unfortunately even an hour didn’t cook it as firm as I would prefer, and it was still VERY soft and a bit soggy all throughout the middle of the casserole. The flavor is fairly mild – most of the flavor honestly comes from the crumble on top, not from the mixture added to the casserole. It’s still somewhat eggy tasting, though it’s not overwhelming.
On the whole… I would MUCH rather just make french toast than this casserole. It would probably be faster (since the casserole has to sit overnight AND still requires an hour plus of cook time) and it will definitely be more flavorful. Additionally, it won’t be 600 calories a serving.
Thanks for your feedback and for giving the recipe a try. Also, the calorie amount is for the full casserole, which brings the calorie count down quite a bit per serving. 🙂
I tried this for the first time for Christmas morning breakfast. It was super easy to make and was baking while the gifts were being opened. My family loved it! I have made it several times since and it is my go to recipe for breakfast/brunch.
I highly recommend it!
Thank you!! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoying it and it’s now a go to! Yay!! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe turns out delicious! Very easy to play around with the type of bread and amount of mixture (if you want it more eggy/custard like vs. crisp)
Weight of bread: her recipe calls for one loaf of bread (based on comment sleuthing she used Pepperidge Farm sliced sourdough) I looked this up and that means…
One loaf = 1.5 lbs / 24 oz / 680 g
Hope this helps!
I have made many French toast casseroles over the years for church brunch pot lucks, especially. This was by far the easiest yet most elegant recipe. I might suggest adding the crumbly mixture the last 30 minutes as it could get burnt, but it was delicious, nonetheless. I made it the night before and refrigerated it, warmed it up just prior to leaving.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the French toast. A streusel/crumbly mixture on top would be a tasty addition. Thanks for sharing!
Hello, I’m excited to try this! Can I use artisano bread instead? Thank you!
I have never tried it with artisano bread, but I imagine it would work! If you give it a try, you’ll have to let us know how it turns out.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. It was a big hit at my “Just for girls “ gathering. I used French Bread. 1 long loaf. It did take the full hour to bake but I had other items in the oven as well. No syrup needed. When I reheated it the next day I did it in a frying pan with a little butter just to brown it up a little. I think this is better then a microwave reheat. It’s a keeper 🙌
Oh I’m so glad the recipe was a hit! And what a tasty way to reheat it too. Thanks for sharing!!