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.
Does this need to be covered while baking
No it doesn’t 🙂 Hope you like it! Thanks!
Making it xmas morning , thank you for your response , Merry Xmas to you & yours hope we love it
Thank you! How’d you like it?
Do you leave your sourdough out to get stale or use fresh sourdough bread? Looking forward to trying this Christmas morning!
I used fresh, but you could let it out. I bet that would be great, too. Hope that helps! Thanks so much! Enjoy!!
What is the severing size
It depends on how big your servings are. It could feed anywhere from 9-15. Hope that helps!! Thanks so much!
I made the Crumb Cake French Toast for a brunch and everyone loved it!! I was afraid it might be too sweet but it was perfect….I agree with you about the sourdough bread. This one will be made again I’m sure! Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing!! So, glad you all liked it!
How many does this serve?
Well, it’s in a 9×13. Depending on how big your scoops are, it could feed anywhere from 12-15 or more, if they’re smaller amounts. Hope that helps! Hope you enjoy it, as much as we do!
Is this something you eat with syrup or without? What’s your preference?
You can or don’t have to. I like to drizzle a little on there, because I love syrup 🙂 Hope that helps and thanks so much for stopping by!
Vanilla bean ice cream.
I want to try this recipe but from what I have read in the comments there are concerns about it being soggy on the bottom. Will it be soggy or is there a way around that? Thanks in advance.
It shouldn’t be. Just remember that all ovens are different, so the cooking time may be different. It is soft on the bottom, but shouldn’t be too wet, that you don’t like it!
I would like to make this for my work but I am worried about the soggy bottom. What causes this & how do you fix it.
I’m not really sure how to avoid that. As long as you follow directions, it should come out just fine. Thanks!
On your french toast cassarole dish, can u serve at warm temperature. Would love to take to a potluck party. Can make at home in a glass dish. But it wont be served for a 1 hr after i get there. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I meant french toast bake sorry.
Can you put foil on it and maybe keep in someone’s oven? I haven’t made it and left it out that long, before serving it. So, I wish I knew if it would be ok? You could bake it and cover it well. Sorry, to not be more help. Hope it turns out!!!
Hi! What a yummy looking recipe! I’m wanting to serve this at a Sunday morning brunch party this weekend but working with a short time limit on Saturday night (at a wedding) Id like to make it Saturday morning to refrigerate until Sunday morning. Have you ever made it a full day ahead or will the bread just absorb too much?
Thank you!
I haven’t made it that far in advance, but it does need to be refrigerated overnight, so it should be ok. I wish I knew for sure :/ Let us know how it comes out, if you do make it that far in advance. Have fun!
All recipes looks so good. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much!! I’m glad you stopped by!!
Hello,
I am planning to make this over the weekend but have a small question, the instructions says to bake in the oven at 350, does the pan have to covered in foil when in the oven or uncovered?
thank you
It is uncovered. You only need to cover it when it goes into the fridge overnight. Thanks for giving this recipe a try..hope you enjoy it!!
We mad this on Saturday and it was just delicious!!! Everyone loved it! So easy to prep and make!
Thank you for your reply and thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad everyone loved it!! Thanks so much for trying it and letting me know!