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.
I do not like it when people leave reviews, but they alter the recipe as written. It is necessary in our home, however, due to lactose intolerance. This may help others with dairy issues. I make tons of different breakfast casseroles; this one blew all of the others out of the park!!!!! I had to substitute soy milk (sweetened) for the milk and cream. I added no additional sugar. I used 14 oz. Of French bread and felt like we needed more eggs in the dish. I used twelve. I am also being overwhelmed with eggs right now as we raise chickens. My precious Lord, this was divine……… – no additional syrup needed.
Oh thank you for taking the time to review and share how you made it for your family. I’m so glad that you loved the recipe!!
Huge hit when I made it for a Father’s Day brunch and now I’ve made it for a second time this weekend (just a half casserole since it’s just for two of us and the whole thing seemed a bit unnecessary). Turned out great both times and will definitely keep in the rotation.
Yay! So glad to hear that. And that’s a great idea to just make half the recipe to just serve the two of you. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe gets 5 stars not just for the taste, which is fabulous, but for the ease of preparation, the ability to make ahead either baked or unbaked, and for the detailed instructions and notes.
I pre-made this and then froze it without cooking, then baked it later. It was wonderful and got rave reviews. Thank you for sharing.
Could I use “Texas Toast” bread? And what about bananas? Thanks! Cannot wait to try it!
Yes! I have used Texas toast and it turns out great, but it is funny because I was thinking, just like you, about using bananas. I think it would be delicious with bananas! (and nuts!)
Oh no- I forgot to grease the foil pan I put it in- how much trouble am I in?
You may just have to scrape the bottoms and sides a bit more?? Hopefully it still turned out just fine!
I read this recipe through and it didn’t sound fantastic to me. But the reviews were amazing, so I gave it a try (the only slight change was that I made homemade French bread and toasted it.). I made two separate batches of it, as I normally Cook 6 pounds of meat for my family of 8–we eat a LOT!! But Not even one Pan of this was gone. It was very bland (I even added cinnamon to the eggs) and way too much flour in the crumble. Everyone said it was ok, and I’m sure the rest will get eaten as leftovers. But not something I’m going to make again—although I will look for another similar recipe, I think, as it was so easy to put together ahead of time. 3 stars bc of ease, and that her sour dough would have given it slightly more flavor, although not all of my kids would have approved of sour dough.
great
What is the ounce of French bread loaf needed? I’m seeing between 14oz and 24oz available. Thanks!
Love this recipe! Was a great hit and was one food prep less to worry about for our brunch.
How would temperature or timing need to be adjusted if cutting recipe in half?
The temperature would stay the same. The timing may be shorter since there isn’t as much. I’d say cut the time in half and then just keep an eye on it. If it seems a little underdone, leave it in longer.