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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 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.
I made this with brioche for Christmas morning one year! Delicious and easy!
I made this for Sunday school breakfast and it was a huge hit! I used 1.5 loafs of Walmart bakery French bread, changed the sugar to 1/2 cup, 1 1/2 cup milk, and 1 cup heavy cream because I like heavy cream more than milk. Also changed the amount to 1 cup brown sugar.
Also the website is awful, too many ads and videos to get the to recipe.
I’m glad to hear the recipe was a hit! The ads on the site allow us to provide these recipes for free. Thanks for understanding and for giving the recipe a try!
In your recipe I do not see any mention of how many people this casserole will serve. I realize that is relative, but an estimate would be helpful. I want to make this for a small group (4-5 people) along with other breakfast foods. Will this recipe work if I cut everything in half?
If you click on “jump to recipe” it will take you to the recipe card and that shows the number of servings. Hope that helps for future recipes. 🙂
But for this one, it serves about 8. So yes, you could cut the recipe in half. This recipe also stores well in either the fridge or you can wrap it and freeze and then reheat later. So if you do end up making the full recipe, you can have the leftovers another time!
Didn’t have heavy cream so replaced it with condensed milk also added cranberries for holidays – delicious!!
My family loved this French toast recipe – I added cranberries on top as we made it Christmas morning. 🎄 ♥️
Oh that’s so beautiful and festive! So glad to hear your family enjoyed the french toast!
I first made this for my family for our Christmas breakfast, and everyone loved it. Then my job had a Valentine’s day brunch, and I decided to make it again. Once again it was a hit!! Everyone wanted the recipe! I used Hawaiian Sweet rolls – Butter flavored, so good!!
I used Challah bread,1/2 cup of sugar in the mix instead of 3/4 and I added raisins to the egg mixture. For the topping, I added pecans. I baked for 60 minutes. It was delicious.
Sounds tasty!! Thanks for sharing what you did.
I made this for a brunch I had. The only mistake I made was that I should have made two because this recipe was a HIT!
I added bacon and made a blueberry compote to put on top instead of maple syrup
I was reluctant to write a review because it aggravates me that everyone wants your email address. That you can’t just write a review. I hope I don’t Start receiving a bunch of emails from this site now that I left a review
This was a great recipe. Being a diabetic the next time I do it, I will modify it slightly. I will use Splenda instead of sugar and see how it goes. My wife and I loved this for breakfast. Plan to do it again sometime soon.
This is a great recipe! I only had cinnamon raisin bread so that is what I used. I made this for Christmas brunch. It has been requested once a week since! Thank you for sharing what has quickly become a new family & friends favorite!