My French Toast Casserole recipe is our favorite make-ahead breakfast for the holidays! Made with simple ingredients and a cinnamon-sugar topping, this easy breakfast is a hit with the whole family.
Looking for more holiday breakfast recipes? Try my Breakfast Casserole, Cinnamon Rolls and Homemade Biscuits!
French Toast Casserole is our favorite make-ahead breakfast
This French toast casserole is my go-to recipe for a holiday breakfast. Since it’s baked in the oven, it simplifies the process of making French Toast (no flipping slices at the stove!). I prep this casserole the night before, then refrigerate it overnight and pop it in the oven in the morning. And wow, does the house smell amazing as it bakes!
My family absolutely loves this French toast casserole. It’s so delicious: custardy, comforting, crisp on the top, slightly sweet but not overly so, and just perfect with a drizzle of maple syrup. I think you’ll love it too!
Very tasty and cooks up exactly as described. I added pecans to mine before cooking and topped my slice with maple syrup at the table.
Angela
Ingredients You’ll Need
What kind of bread is best for French Toast Casserole?
I typically make this with crusty white French bread or whole grain French bread. You can also use challah, brioche or ciabatta. I do not recommend using sandwich bread or other thin-sliced bread.
The key is to use day old bread that has dried out a little, so that it can soak up the egg mixture without getting too mushy.
Kristine’s Tip:
Save leftover French bread in your freezer to use in this recipe. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and store the bread cubes in a gallon-size zip-top bag in your freezer. When the bag is full, use the bread in this French toast casserole recipe. You do not need to thaw the bread cubes before using.
How to Make French Toast Casserole
Place bread cubes in a greased baking dish.
Combine eggs, milk, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in a large liquid measuring cup or batter bowl. Whisk until well combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread in the dish.
Add topping. Whisk together melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle evenly over the casserole.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bake at 350° F, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 15-25 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned and the casserole is set. Bake it longer for a more crispy/set casserole and less for a softer French toast bake.
Serve with fresh fruit, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and maple syrup, or as desired.
Recipe Variations
- Pecans: I love adding pecans to this casserole! (My kids prefer it without.) To add pecans, scatter about 3/4 cup of chopped pecans over the top of the casserole before adding the topping.
- Blueberries: Add 1 cup blueberries to the pan with the bread cubes before pouring on the egg mixture.
- Make it sweeter: As is, this casserole is only slightly sweet, which I find perfect if you plan to serve it with maple syrup. If you want it sweeter, add about 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the egg mixture.
More Favorite Brunch Recipes
French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf day old French bread, or challah, brioche or ciabatta, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 10 cups of bread cubes)
- 6 large eggs
- 2 ¼ cups milk, I used whole milk; almond milk also works well
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, or light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Topping:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, or pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place the bread cubes in an even layer in the dish.
- In a large bowl or large liquid measuring cup or batter bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread in the dish.
- To make the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or maple syrup) and cinnamon. Drizzle evenly over the casserole.
- At this point, you can refrigerate the casserole overnight (covered) and bake in the morning, or let it rest for at least 30 minutes (in the refrigerator) and then bake right away. (See note below.)
- When you are ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350° F. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15-25 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned and the casserole is set. Serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup, as desired.
Notes
- I’ve tested this recipe with chilling overnight and with only chilling for 30 minutes before baking. It’s best if you make it the night before, so that the bread can soak up more of the egg mixture. The casserole that baked after only 30 minutes of rest time was a bit eggier on the bottom. (I baked 30 mins covered and about 22 uncovered for both overnight and not).
- Leftovers reheat well. Reheat in the microwave, or in the oven at 350° F, covered, until warm.
- I like to save leftover French bread in the freezer to use in this recipe. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and store the bread cubes in a gallon-size zip-top bag in the freezer. When the bag is full, use the bread in this French toast casserole recipe. You do not need to thaw the bread cubes before using.
- Pecans: I love adding pecans to this casserole, but my kids prefer it without. To add pecans, scatter about 3/4 cup of chopped pecans over the top of the casserole before adding the topping.
- Blueberries: Add 1 cup blueberries to the pan with the bread cubes before pouring on the egg mixture.
- Make it sweeter: Add about 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the egg mixture. As is, this casserole is only slightly sweet, which I find perfect if you plan to serve it with maple syrup.
I originally shared this recipe in November 2018. Post updated October 2020 and November 2024.
Everyone at brunch enjoyed the French Toast Casserole. Thanks!
Hi can you use white toast in this recipe? If ok how many pieces should i use
Thanks so much
This recipe is best with a heartier bread, rather than white toast bread. White toast would likely get very soggy/mushy.
What size loaf of french bread?
I use a standard size loaf of french bread from my grocery stores bakery.
Can you substitute almond milk for the milk in this recipe?
Yes, that will work well. Enjoy!
Tried it with Oat Milk. Came out really good. Was glad to finally make this it was on my to-do list for a while but didn’t have enough house guests.
I loved this recipe—thank you for sharing! Every single person in my house loved it as well—#momwin. I let it sit overnight—maybe 10 hours total—and it took a long time to bake. It was on the mushy side, and I can’t figure out what I did wrong. Flavor was amazing, but I couldn’t get mine to look firm like the one in your photo. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Redeemed dry/flavorless store bought Irish soda bread using this recipe! Also used almond milk. Great idea for St Pattys breakfast!
Anyone use gluten free bread? I currently have gf white. Wondering how to modify so the tiny pieces aren’t soaked… which I think would be a major issue.
I have GF members in my family so I know how small those loaves are. Try using 2 loaves or perhaps cutting the other ingredients in half for one loaf.
Maybe Kristine will research this and have a better answer.
Made this for Breakfast – everyone loved it! Very Good! Lasted several days.
Loved this! Since my French bread was fresh, not “day old”, I cubed it and put it on a cookie sheet in the oven 350 degrees for 15 minutes (essentially making croutons). Then I followed the recipe. Before adding the drizzle, I did stir it up well to make sure all the crunchy bits had a chance to absorb the liquid. I let this sit in the refrigerator overnight. The texture and flavors were perfect. With only two of us, I made half the recipe in an 8 x 8 casserole dish. My husband is a big fan. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! I am sure that I will be making this again soon.
This was simple & absolutely delicious. I used crusty sourdough & added a few chopped walnuts
We made this recipe with the leftover crusts from homemade dressing after Thanksgiving. It turned out fabulous! Not too sweet since we used the maple syrup. Just very flavorful. A great way to use up those crusts and not waste them.
Really great recipe! I actually used hot dog buns that were going stale and it worked out so great! Great flavour and not too sweet like other recipes out there. I had mine in the fridge overnight and baked it as directed. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe other than using hot dog buns. Thank you! Will definitely make again!
My family does not love so sweet things, could we omit the topping of butter etc… or is that needed to give the top some crunch?
Baked French Toast is a sweeter breakfast, so this might not be the recipe for your family if they don’t enjoy sweet things. Even without the topping, I think you would want to serve it with some maple syrup so it would still be on the sweeter side. You can make it without the topping, but it will have less flavor overall and a little less crunch on top.
Can anyone tell me how many actual cups of bread to use? I am not using a standard loaf size. Thank u! Looks delicious!
I will try to remember to measure the next time I make this, but in the meantime you would want to use however many cups will fill a 9×13-inch baking dish. 🙂
Hi Savanna,
I recently made this recipe again and remembered to measure out how many cups of bread cubes I used. You’ll want to use about 10 cups of bread cubes, a little more or less is ok. Enjoy!
Can you put Blueberries in it?
Yes, you can add blueberries when you add the bread to the baking dish. That would be delicious!
Worked out perfectly! I just used day old white bread. We’ll be eating tomorrow morning reheated. It’s just our small family, but tonight…. it tastes delicious.
Do leftovers freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing this, but I think it would freeze well.
Do you use a glass or metal casserole dish? I’m afraid my glass baking dish will break if going directly into a hot oven from the fridge…..
I have always used glass. If you are concerned, you can let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to take the chill off before putting it in the oven.
Can you make ahead and freeze for a day or two and just put in the oven? I’m thinking of pre-making for in the fish house.
Thanks! I’ve made this before and is literally my husband’s favorite! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Jo,
I haven’t tried freezing it and it might change the texture with the bread soaked in an egg mixture. It would also take much longer to cook through.
Thank you for a healthier version of French Toast Casserole! I’ve seen other versions with a bottom crust of brown sugar–yummy, but quite guilt-inducing. Your recipe is much more sane, and still very yummy. I left out the maple syrup from the egg/milk mixture and served it as “breakfast-for-dinner.” Everyone loved it! Ok, truth to tell, the kids preferred the part with the maple syrup topping on it 😉
Great recipe! I actually make fresh bread occasionally, but there’s always leftovers that nobody eats bc it gets hard … so I cube it and place it in the freezer! When it adds up, I make this recipe with it and everybody loves it! Thank you!
This is exactly what I’m planning to do! I’m glad I read through the comments to see that it works well! Very excited to try!
Very good! I used leftover French bread and sourdough bread and then prepared it exactly like the recipe. (I let it rest for 20 mins in the refrigerator.) We poured a little heavy cream over our hot slices instead of adding syrup. Thanks for sharing?
This is delicious! I made it exactly as directed in the recipe. I’m very pleased to have found a recipe that avoids the eggy bottom that other recipes end up having. The only thing that I will change next time it to double the yummy topping so that I will have more of the sweet crust on top. Thanks for the great recipe!
Will Texas toast work?
Yes, that should work.
Hi Kristine,
I made this recipe for our Church fellowship. It was a HUGE crowd pleaser!! 3 different people asked me for the recipe. I actually used Pepperidge Farm French Toast and Cinnamon bread for this recipe. We have some some chilsren (ages between 7-15) they loved it as well!!
This recipe is awesome for using up old bread! I save my bread ends (usually Dave’s Killer Bread) and maybe some stale pieces from dips or dinners. I keep a bag in the freezer and when it’s half full I make half the recipe (for my family if 3). We all love it and it’s so great that it can be prepped overnight!
This was awesome! Most recipes have way to much sugar and are more like dessert. This tastes like french toast! I used a bunch of leftover handmade whole wheat hamburger buns I let go stale. It was perfect!
Easiest and best recipe! Always a hit with friends and family members. I also too with berries and then bake. At the end I broil on medium for 5 minutes, uncovered.
can this recipe be made with day old challas?
That should work fine. Enjoy!
I made it exactly how you said but it’s more like a bread pudding type of texture. I wanted more of a firm texture not so jiggly or mushy. Can you help please?
This baked French toast is supposed to have a texture similar to a bread pudding.
Very tasty and cooks up exactly as described. I added pecans to mine before cooking and topped my slice with maple syrup at the table.
Used up my dried up cinnamon sugar and cinnamon raisin sour dough breads and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It came out delicious!! Thank you!!
Love these recipes. And the lighter version substitutes
I used leftover homemade cinnamon sugar sourdough bread and this turned out amazing! I left the topping off and it was perfect for us. Thank you for the great recipe! 🙂
Hi Kristine!
Could you please give an approximate measurement in cups for the amount of bread to be used. Loves of bread vary in size. Thank you, Mary Ann Younk
The next time I make this I will try to measure. This recipe is very forgiving, so it doesn’t need to be exact. You can get a rough estimate by placing the bread cubes in an empty 9×13-inch baking dish – that’s how much you’ll need.
Hi Mary Ann,
I prepped this last night to bake for breakfast this morning so I measured out how many cups of bread cubes I used. You’ll want to use about 10 cups of bread cubes, a little more or less is ok. Enjoy!
Could I use heavy cream instead of milk?
I would suggest only replacing part of the milk (no more than half) with heavy cream or the dish may turn out too rich.
Are used almost 2 baguettes and followed the recipe. When I uncovered yet, I tossed it up a little to get the middle pieces to the edges and the edges to the middle. I was worried about it being too mushy. This seem to work well, and I also left it in the oven a bit longer uncovered. Next time I think I will wait until I uncover it to put the topping on. After I tossed it, I added a little bit of brown sugar and cinnamon on top since I mixed it up before. turned out absolutely delicious. I cannot stop eating it.
My best experience reheating leftover french toast casserole, is some slices pan fried like a grilled cheese. I use ricotta and fresh fruit as the filling! It’s insanely delicious and decadent!
I wanted to bake at 425 degrees with my home fries at same time. Would that work or keep at 350?
Hi Mary,
I haven’t tested this recipe at a higher baking temperature. It will probably be ok to bake it at 425 degrees, but it may cook through a bit faster and the top may brown more. With that being said, I always find that whenever I put two (or more) items in my oven at the same time on different racks, they don’t cook as evenly and they typically take longer to bake.
My Family Favorite!
I made it and it was great! Yummy and easy! Only question I have is what to do with leftovers.
Hi Shannon,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days and reheated. I usually reheat in the microwave. The top won’t be crispy but it will still be delicious.
I would love to be able to make this, but I am gluten free and bread is a big problem. Do you have any ideas for thicker bread for me to use. Gluten-free bread is not very good and I have never seen any whole loaves of gluten-free bread. It is all sliced pretty thin.
I haven’t experimented with gluten-free bread in this recipe. You could try baking your own loaf of gluten-free artisan-style bread and then using it in this recipe. You can find recipes online (I did a search for “gluten free artisan bread recipe”). Alternatively, you could search for a gluten-free French toast casserole recipe and see if that turns up any bread suggestions. 🙂
Love this recipe! I’ve had it saved for years in my favorites and always go back to it. Last time I used challah bread and this time I used cinnamon swirled brioche. Absolutely divine. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I’ve made this casserole literally every week. Nothing better to start my day than this !
I have made this for some years and my recipe called for a brick of cream cheese cut into squares and dotted over the top before baking and serving with maple syrup. Always a family favorite.