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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.
Was a hit with my family. I will definitely make this again soon.
Yay!! So happy to hear! I’m glad everyone loved the recipe. 🙂
This was so easy n great tasting. Made for Thanksgiving morning.
Yay!! It’s a great one for holiday mornings. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This was delicious! I used challah bread which to me was perfect to soak up the egg mixture. I did stir the mixture 2 times throughout the soaking process to mix it around. Once I cut off a piece I sprinkled a little confections sugar, maple syrup & chopped pecans.
Mmmm that all sounds incredible! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Do you have to soak it overnight?
Served my bridge group, all requested the recipe. I never thought of putting crumb topping on this.
Ooh it’s yummy with that crumb topping! Hope it was enjoyed by all. 🙂
So for the crumble, mine came out like dough. Did I put too much butter? Should I remake it?
I imagine your butter may have been a little too soft/warm? I’d suggest using cold butter to cut into the crumble topping. You may have put too much in if it wasn’t the amount listed in the recipe card. It should still taste yummy (I’m sure the flavor would still be great) but the texture would obviously be a little different. So I’m not sure? I’d probably just whip up another batch of the crumble if you have the ingredients. You’ll have to let us know what you ended up doing and how it turned out!
Just saying the total time is not one hour it’s 7 hours. That is misleading.
You would only need 7 hours if doing the crock pot method. The oven method takes 1 hour.
Thanks for the feedback!
Can you make this two days in advance? Or will it get too soggy. I basically want to make it tonight for thanksgiving morning. Thanks!
You should be fine. I wouldn’t suggest making it too far in advance, but if you are worried about it being soggy, you could bake it as the instructions direct and then just store the baked French Toast in the fridge and reheat in the oven on low Thanksgiving morning. You’ll have to let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out. 🙂
I made 1/2 the recipe and turned out so yummy! It did really stick to the glass pan I used. Any suggestions?
Making this full recipe for Thanksgiving brunch.
Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! What did you use to grease the pan? I typically use PAM and it works well, but you could grease with butter or oil as well.
Awesome
Thank you!!
Since Instant Pots are all the rage. Has anyone tried cooking this recipe for French Toast that way?
Ooh we haven’t tried it in the Instant Pot, but that’s a great idea. We have tried a crock pot before. You follow the recipe instructions, then refrigerate for 6-10 hours in the ceramic crock pot. Then place the ceramic pot into the heating base, cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Perhaps that’s helpful when tweaking for the IP too? We’d love to hear if anyone has tried this recipe in the IP too!
Do I cover it with foil paper when putting in the oven?
Nope, you can bake uncovered!
What size loaf do you use for this recipe?
I use a 9×13 pan for the full recipe.
If I wanted to double this in a big lasagna pan would I need to adjust the baking time??
You may need to bake a little longer than the time listed. I’d keep an eye on it and check for doneness. Depending on how soft you like the bread will depend how long you bake it as well. 🙂