Overnight French Toast Casserole
Overnight French Toast Casserole is THE BEST brunch dish. Crusty bread gets soaked in an egg custard, and then topped with a delicious crumble. Prep it the night before and then brunch is a breeze the next day!
Make-Ahead French Toast
I’m a big fan of make ahead meals. When company comes to town, or even when my boys are home during the summer or holiday break, I like to have easy dishes to throw in the oven. I love to cook and be in my kitchen, but I also hate missing out on down time with my guests or boys when we are just hanging out chatting.
Holidays are also THE perfect time for prep ahead dishes. There is so much celebration, and I love it, but it can be exhausting if you are the chef. I do believe that the best meals are the homemade ones, so with a little planning and imagination, we can all eat well and have time to relax too.
Making meals in advance is key to less stress. For others, try this Overnight Cinnamon Apple French Toast Bake or my fruit-filled Blueberry French Toast Casserole.
What You’ll Need:
For the bread layer:
- Bread – I used my Chewy French Bread for this casserole. You could use anything you like, but it’s best to use a hearty, crustier bread that is a few days old.
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg
For the Topping:
- Flour
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Butter
How to make Overnight French Toast Casserole:
Step 1
Prep. Prep a 9×9 casserole dish with baking spray.
Step 2
Cube bread. Slice some crusty bread into bite-sized cubes. We like to use our leftover Chewy French Bread. Add to casserole dish.
Step 3
Make custard. In a medium bowl, combine the custard ingredients – the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Step 4
Add custard to bread. Pour the custard evenly over the bread.
Step 5
Prep topping. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the cold butter and use your fingers to combine until mixture is crumbled. Sprinkle topping over the top of the bread layer.
Step 6
Bake. In a preheated oven, bake casserole uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until piping hot and bubbly.
Step 7
Serve. Serve French Toast Bake with a drizzle of butter, some warm syrup, or a dusting of powdered sugar.
To prepare this casserole ahead of time:
- After the egg custard is poured over the bread, cover tightly with cling wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight (or for a couple of hours).
- The following day (or when ready to eat), prepare the crumbly topping and sprinkle over top the casserole. Bake as directed.
- Likewise, you could prepare the topping ahead of time and store in the refrigerator as well.
The quantities can be easily adjusted.
- As you can see, this recipe is an 9×9 casserole and serves six (four if you have big eaters). This is a good amount for a family of four. But when you are entertaining over the holidays, you may want to double it and prep in a 9×13 casserole dish.
- To double this, just change the quantity (from 6 – 12) directly in my recipe. The amounts will automatically adjust for you to make a larger recipe. You may also want to increase the baking time slightly.
THE perfect way to eat French toast. Soft and slightly gooey, with a buttery brown sugar crumble. Mmmmmm good.
Enjoy!
Make this overnight casserole next: Overnight Omelette Breakfast Casserole
xoxo ~Sue
Overnight French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
For the casserole:
- 7-8 cups cubed bread – French bread or sourdough bread
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter – cubed
- butter and warm syrup – to serve
- powdered sugar dusting
Instructions
- Prep. Prep a 9×9 casserole dish with baking spray.
- Cube bread. Slice some crusty bread into bite-sized cubes. We like to use our leftover Chewy French Bread. Add to casserole dish.7-8 cups cubed bread
- Make custard. In a medium bowl, combine the custard ingredients – the eggs, milk, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.5 large eggs, 1 1/2 cups 1% milk, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- Add custard to bread. Pour the custard evenly over the bread.
- Prep topping. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the cold butter and use your fingers to combine until mixture is crumbled. Sprinkle topping over the top of the bread layer.1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- Bake. In a preheated oven, bake casserole uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until piping hot and bubbly.
- Serve. Serve French Toast Bake with a drizzle of butter, some warm syrup, or a dusting of powdered sugar.butter and warm syrup , powdered sugar dusting
Notes
- After the egg custard is poured over the bread, cover tightly with cling wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight (or for a couple of hours).
- The following day (or when ready to eat), prepare the crumbly topping and sprinkle over top the casserole. Bake as directed.
- Likewise, you could prepare the topping ahead of time and store in the refrigerator as well.
Can you make this two days in advance or will it be too soggy? I basically want to make this Tuesday night for thanksgiving morning! Thanks!
While I haven’t ever prepped two days in advance, I think it work fine. Good luck!
Oh my gosh! I saw this recipe on Foodgawker & saved it the other day. Made it last night & baked it this morning. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! Went straight into the keeper pile, thank you so much! 😀 I made ours with cinnamon raisin pecan bread, and because we had no syrup on hand for serving, I increased the brown sugar in the casserole portion from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup. Perfection. Thank you again, and I’ll definitely be back for more recipes!
Hi Lindsay! Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for your sweet feedback!! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I love French Toast and this is the best breakfast recipe ever! So goood!