How to make a deliciously easy overnight French toast casserole that’s baked in the oven. With a buttery, cinnamon brown sugar topping and using just ordinary sandwich bread, this is a great make-ahead breakfast or brunch that can feed a crowd.
French toast casserole combines the rich, custard-soaked goodness of French toast for breakfast with the ease and convenience of a make-ahead casserole. It’s basically the perfect combination. I love a good cinnamon apple French toast casserole in the fall season, and you can even make French toast casserole in the Crock Pot.
A good French toast bake pairs really well with eggs and bacon, or better yet, eggs and sausage. It adds a little sweet treat to breakfast time, and it’s a great way to use up old, stale bread. Make it the night before in your favorite casserole pan to bake the next morning for an easy school day breakfast or a lazy weekend brunch!
Ingredients & Substitutions Notes
- Sandwich Bread – While you can make a French toast bake with Texas toast, sourdough, challah bread, brioche bread, or really any other type of bread, I used an old stale loaf of plain old butter bread. This is a type of sandwich bread (or white bread) you can find at just about any grocery store.
- Chopped Pecans – I think pecans and French toast go together really well, but you can feel free to leave them out altogether. Or you can use chopped walnuts instead.
- Whole Milk – I always use whole milk from our Guernsey cows, but you can also use skim milk, 2% milk, etc.
- Maple Syrup – Maple syrup is a must with French toast…
- Vanilla Extract – Lately I’ve really been enjoying this Mexican vanilla, but any vanilla extract will do.
- Brown Sugar – You’ll need light brown sugar for the cinnamon brown sugar topping for this French toast casserole recipe. Don’t use dark brown sugar, or the molasses flavor will be too strong.
- Spices – This recipe calls for cinnamon and nutmeg both in the casserole and in the topping…
How to Make French Toast Casserole
Before getting started, go ahead and grease a 9″x13″ baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. This recipe is fairly simple, so it won’t take long to make…
How to Make Baked French Toast Casserole
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, real maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Cube the bread with a large knife, and place it in the 9″x13″ baking dish that you greased up in the first step, along with the pecans. You can layer the bread cubes and pecans so everything’s blended well in the dish.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and pecans. Make sure all the bread is good and soaked.
- Cover and chill in the fridge for a good 4 to 6 hours or preferably overnight.
While it’s best if you do refrigerate overnight, you don’t have to. If you’re in a hurry, don’t have time to plan ahead, and need to make it a quick and easy French toast casserole for a crowd, that’s ok. But let me just say, that the flavors will be at their best after chilling for at least a few hours.
How to Bake French Toast Casserole
- Before baking, use a fork or pastry blender to mix up your topping in a small mixing bowl, and just crumble it on top of the custard soaked bread as best you can. It’s a really moist mixture, so it’s more like clumps of cinnamon brown sugar.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake at 350° F for about 25 to 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake it for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, ’til it’s golden brown.
How to Serve Overnight French Toast Casserole
That’s it! Slice, serve and enjoy with a lathering of maple syrup and all your favorite breakfast foods. You can top your breakfast casserole off with fresh blueberries or raspberries, and we always serve ours with a side of eggs and bacon!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can. Just substitute in your favorite gluten-free bread in place of the regular sandwich bread included in the ingredients. As always, be sure that all of your other ingredients are truly gluten free.
Assuming that you’ve otherwise followed this recipe to a tee, using stale bread is a great way to prevent sogginess. If you don’t have any stale bread on hand, just leave a loaf out on the counter for several hours or overnight before using it make this recipe.
You can either cover it in plastic wrap or transfer your cinnamon bread casserole into an airtight container before storing it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to serve, just reheat it in a 350ºF oven or in the microwave on high ’til heated through.
You can freeze a French toast bake. While I recommend freezing it after it’s already been baked, you can also freeze it before baking. Keep in mind it’ll keep longer in the freezer if it’s already been cooked. And I’d add the topping later right before you actually bake it. Cover it well with cling wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil, or seal it in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn. Also, be sure to let it thaw out overnight in the refrigerator before baking in the oven.
More Easy Breakfast or Brunch Recipes
- Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
- Homemade Everything Bagels
- Banana and Nutella Muffins
- Strawberry Infused Waffles
- Homemade Pancake Mix
- Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake Recipe
- Classic Glazed Donuts
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French Toast Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
Cinnamon Bread Casserole
- 20 ounces sandwich bread* cubed
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Topping
- 4 tablespoons salted butter sliced
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Before getting started, go ahead and grease a 9″x13″ baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, real maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Cube the bread with a large knife, and place it in the 9″x13″ baking dish that you greased up in the first step, along with the pecans. You can layer the bread cubes and pecans so everything’s blended well in the dish.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and pecans. Make sure all the bread is good and soaked.
- Cover and chill in the fridge for a good 4 to 6 hours or preferably overnight.**
- Before baking, use a fork or pastry blender to mix up the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon topping in a small mixing bowl 'til the mixture resembles fine crumbles. Then just crumble it on top of the custard soaked bread.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake at 350° F for about 25 to 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake it for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, 'til it's golden brown.
- That's it! Once you pull it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes before slicing, serving and enjoying!
Without a doubt the easier, most delicious breakfast dish to feed a crowd! So so good!
Great recipe for a group on vacation!!
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Liz!
Is this recipe good to reheat?
Tasha, yes, it works fine reheating it.
The recipe turned out well however, it was not as sweet as I would like it. I will make it with less salt the next time, it was a little savory. Lastly, I just used regular table syrup.
Real maple syrup really makes a difference with this recipe. But thank you!
I made this for brunch Thanksgiving morning. I have made it 3 times since then and it’s delicious! The last time I made it, I left out the top and sprinkled only with brown sugar and cinnamon to cut a little of the sweetness. We loved it both ways. Thank you for the recipe.
Mary, thank you! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it. Great tip on the topping too.
French Toast
Casserole looks yummy!!
Thank you, Margaret!