Overnight French Toast Bake
This simple French Toast Bake is the easy way to make overnight French toast for the family. Top with fresh berries and syrup for the ultimate holiday breakfast or brunch.
Table of contents
What is a French Toast Bake?
French Toast Bake is a delightful twist on the classic French toast we all know and love. Instead of the traditional method of cooking each slice of bread individually on a griddle, this dish is prepared by arranging bread cubes in a baking dish, soaking them in a creamy, egg-based mixture, and baking to golden perfection. The result? A heavenly breakfast casserole that’s both fluffy and full of flavor.
Whether you’re feeding a house full of people or just close family this simple make-ahead breakfast casserole is an easy way to make french toast for everyone without spending your whole morning standing over the stove.
Make it the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator. When you wake up it’s ready to pop in the oven. The heavenly smell of french toast casserole will have everyone up and ready for breakfast in no time.
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Ingredients for a Baked French Toast Casserole
- French Bread – We used about 1 and a half loaves of French bread which is approximately 24 ounces. The weight doesn’t need to be exact it’s just an estimate to help ensure you are getting the right size loaf.
- Eggs – You can’t make French toast without breaking a few eggs!
- Whole Milk & Heavy Cream – You’ll use a combination of whole milk and rich heavy cream whipped together with the eggs to soak and bind your bread together. It makes a deliciously creamy french toast!
- Salt & Vanilla Extract – Just a little pinch of salt and a good dollop of vanilla brings out the flavors in this simple dish.
- Fresh Fruit – You can use any fresh fruit but some that work the best are bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries.
- Syrup – Pick just one or mix and match all three flavors along with real fruit. I love having all three of them available, especially when I’m serving this at a brunch, that way people can choose their favorite flavor.
Other Variations: the great thing about a French toast bake is that you can easily change up the ingredients to give you a totally different flavor. our Cinnamon Roll Casserole uses brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and cream cheese to make a decadent cinnamon roll breakfast casserole. To make our holiday Egg Nog French Toast Bake we use creamy egg nog to flavor the casserole.
Best Bread to Use for French Toast Bake
We use French bread for this recipe, but you can also use a good brioche, Challah, or a thick white bread. The key is to make sure the bread is cut into nice thick cubes (about an inch) so you end up with a nice fluffy French toast bake!
If you love a French toast bake you probably love bread pudding too! Buy an extra loaf of bread and make our delicious pecan pie bread pudding for Christmas dessert.
How to Make Overnight French Toast Casserole
Prepare the bread. Cut bread into large cubes (about 1-1.5 inch cubes).
Mix your liquids. In a bowl mix together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until fully combined. Set aside.
Soak Bread. Place the bread cubes in a greased 9×13 inch casserole dish and pour the egg mixture over the bread making sure to moisten all of it. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Bake. When ready to bake remove the casserole from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and let it stand while you preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Once preheated place the casserole in the oven and bake for 45 – 55 minutes. When the casserole has finished baking remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
Add your toppings. Serve with fresh fruit and your choice toppings.
French Toast Casserole Toppings
You can top French toast with all sorts of things. Fruit and syrup are the most common but the sky is the limit. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Fruit – Fresh fruit makes a great topping. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and bananas are always delicious. You can also use fruit fillings such as apple pie filling or cherry pie filling.
- Syrup – Maple syrup, strawberry sauce, and blueberry syrup are just a few.
- Sweets – You can also go the sweet route with some chocolate chips, chocolate sauce or caramel sauce, a drizzle of cream cheese frosting, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Does French Toast Bake Have to Sit Overnight?
No. While you can totally make this french toast bake and let it sit overnight to save yourself some time in the morning you certainly don’t have to.
If you don’t have all night, or even 3 hours, to let this casserole sit in the refrigerator just combine your bread and the egg and milk mixture according to the recipe and then gently press down on the bread to help it absorb more of the liquid.
Don’t press it flat or anything, you don’t want to mash the bread together, but press down lightly and then let it spring back a little. Do this a couple of times to help the bread suck up the liquid like a sponge.
Let it sit for at least 30 minutes and then bake. You’ll have a delicious french toast and no one will be the wiser.
How to Store It
If you manage to have any leftovers (it rarely happens in my house) you can store this casserole in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
When you are ready to reheat microwave for 1-2 minutes or place in the oven at 300 degrees F for 7-10 minutes or until warmed through. The oven method will dry it out more than a simple reheat in the microwave but a little extra syrup on top and it’s still delicious!
Looking for More Easy Breakfast Recipes?
- Ham Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sliders
- Breakfast Burrito Casserole
- Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole
- Ham and Cheese English Muffin Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole
- Everything Bagel Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole
- Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole {Overnight}
- Cranberry Orange French Toast
- More Breakfast Recipes…
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Overnight French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 24 ounces French Bread
- 6 large Eggs
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Your choice of toppings
Instructions
- Cut bread into large cubes (about 1-1.5 inch cubes).
- In a bowl mix together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until fully combined. Set aside.
- Place the bread cubes in a greased 9×13 inch casserole dish and pour the egg mixture over the bread making sure to moisten all of it.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to bake remove the casserole from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and let it stand while you preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Once preheated place the casserole in the oven and bake for 45 – 55 minutes.
- When the casserole has finished baking remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with additional fresh fruit and your choice of toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
