French Toast Casserole

This EASY French toast casserole has a super crunchy cinnamon-sugar top! Bake right away, or make it ahead and refrigerate overnight. Give your family a treat this Saturday morning!

French Toast Casserole
Lisa Lin

With this French toast casserole, you skip the hassle of standing by the stove and pan-frying each individual slice of French toast.

Instead, you just throw everything into a dish and let the oven do the work! You can even assemble the casserole the night before and bake it the next morning.

You still get all the best parts of a slice of French toast, but with far less effort: soft and custardy middles, cinnamon-infused edges, plus an extra-crunchy toasted topping.

Video: How to Make French Toast Casserole

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French Toast Casserole

What You'll Need

For this French toast casserole, you are going to need a fairly large loaf of bread – enough to make about 10 cups once cubed. Use any good-quality loaf, like a French loaf, sourdough, ciabatta, or challah. I actually really liked the sourdough bread because the slightly sour taste helped balance out the sweetness of everything else.

Leave the crusts on the bread since this adds some good, crunchy texture to the casserole!

Overnight French Toast Casserole Bake Showing Layers
Lisa Lin

Add Some Toppings!

I also added some orange zest and dried cranberries to my version to brighten up the flavors. You can leave these out if you want, or add your own favorite dried fruits to the casserole!

By the way, those extra-crunchy top pieces are like cinnamon and sugar croutons. As I was testing this recipe, I kept picking them from the top and leaving the bottom for my husband. Shh...don’t tell anyone.

Syrup Being Poured On Square of Easy French Toast Casserole
Lisa Lin

How to Make Overnight French Toast Casserole

You can absolutely make this recipe straight through and bake it right away, but for a totally hands-off and hassle-free morning, assemble it the night before and bake it in the morning when you get up. This actually gives the bread even more time to soak up the milk, which makes the inside of the baked casserole more custardy and decadent.

Here's what to do: Assemble the casserole through Step 4, cover well, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, uncover, drizzle the casserole with the topping, and bake. Baking time will be slightly longer.

French Toast Casserole in White Baking Pan
Lisa Lin

Ways to Make This Recipe Your Own

We've gotten some fabulous comments since first posting this recipe! Here are a few ideas you should definitely try:

  • Add a little booze to the custard, like Amaretto or rum (a few tablespoons should do it!)
  • Use cinnamon swirl bread for the bread!
  • Swap in any non-dairy milk instead of the dairy milk, like almond milk or cashew milk
  • Use doughnuts or leftover cake instead of bread (oh my goodness)
  • Add some crispy, crumbled bacon, either in the mix or over top -- or both!

What other ideas do you have? Tell us in the comments!

Looking for More French Toast Recipes?

Baking French Toast Casserole Now Vs. Later

If you choose to cook this casserole immediately, the top layer of bread may turn out hard since it hasn't had the time to soak up a lot of egg mixture. To avoid that, try these tips.

  • Use a softer bread.
  • Instead of pouring the custard over the bread cubes in the casserole dish, mix the bread cubes and the custard together in a bowl first to saturate all the cubes with the custard.

If you choose to let the casserole sit overnight before cooking, you don't need to make any adjustments. And, you'll get a creamier texture.

How to Store Leftovers

Refrigerate leftovers, tightly covered, for up to 5 days. To reheat, place in a preheated oven at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warmed through and re-crisped on top. Slices can be reheated in the microwave.

Can This French Toast Casserole Be Frozen and Reheated?

The fully cooked casserole can be frozen, although it's better when fresh. However, if you have leftovers to freeze, wrap individual portions in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Defrost the individual slices in the refrigerator overnight or in the microwave using the defrost setting. Heat till just warmed through in the microwave.

5 More Easy Breakfast Ideas

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

French Toast Casserole

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Servings 6 to 8 servings

Make-ahead instructions: Assemble the casserole through Step 4, cover well, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, uncover, drizzle the casserole with the topping, and bake. Baking time will be slightly longer.

This casserole reheats well, though the chunks of bread on the top will gradually lose some crunch. The best way to reheat it is to bake it in the oven at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes to warm through and re-crisp the top.

Ingredients

For the casserole:

  • 10 cups good-quality French bread, sourdough, ciabatta, or challah, cubed

  • 1/2 cup (45g) chopped pecans

  • 5 large eggs

  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk

  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

  • Zest of 1 medium orange, finely grated (optional)

  • 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the topping:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

  • 3 tablespoons (40g) dark brown sugar, packed

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • Pinch kosher salt

Optional toppings for serving:

  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C):

    Place an oven rack in the center position.

  2. Cube the bread:

    Slice the bread into 1-inch slices and then cut then slices into 1-inch cubes. You can also tear the bread apart with your hands. Leave the crusts on.

    French Toast Casserole
    Lisa Lin
  3. Layer the bread and pecans in a baking dish:

    Lightly grease a 2-quart (if you want thicker slices) or 3-quart baking dish (if you want thinner slices) with cooking spray or butter. Add enough bread cubes to cover the bottom. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of pecans on top. Continue layering the bread chunks and pecans.

    French Toast Casserole
    Lisa Lin
  4. Prepare the custard:

    In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add the milk, sugar, orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt, and mix well. Pour the egg and milk mixture evenly over all the bread chunks. (I found it easier to pour the mixture into a large measuring cup with a spout first before pouring the mixture over the bread.)

    At this point, the casserole can be baked right away, or covered and refrigerated overnight.

    French Toast Casserole
    Lisa Lin
    French Toast Casserole
    Lisa Lin
  5. Drizzle with topping:

    In another bowl, mix the melted butter with the brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Using a spoon, drizzle the mixture evenly over all the bread chunks.

    French Toast Casserole
    Lisa Lin
  6. Bake:

    Bake the casserole, uncovered, for 35 to 45 minutes. I baked mine for about 38 minutes. Leave the casserole in the oven longer if you want the chunks of bread on the top to be browner and crunchier.

  7. Remove from the oven, cool:

    Let the casserole cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

    Sprinkle dried cranberries and dust powdered sugar on top, if you like. Serve with maple syrup at the table.

Finished French Toast Casserole Recipe in Baking Pan
Lisa Lin
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
277 Calories
9g Fat
42g Carbs
8g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 277
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 11%
Saturated Fat 3g 13%
Cholesterol 32mg 11%
Sodium 437mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 42g 15%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 96mg 7%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 164mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.