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!
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.
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.
There are basically two layers to my Overnight French Toast Casserole.
- The cubed bread with an egg custard layer. Use a nice crusty bread, and make sure you have plenty of custard to soak the bread.
- The cinnamon sugar crumble. A combination of brown sugar, flour, spices, and butter – gives this casserole a perfect crumb topping.
Prepare the first layer, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator overnight. The second layer can be prepared in advance too. Just store it in the fridge, and spread on top of bread right before baking.
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.
The quantities can be easily adjusted.
- As you can see, this recipe is an 8×8 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
Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.
xoxo ~Sue
Overnight French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
For the casserole:
- 7-8 cups crusty French bread or sourdough bread – cut into cubes
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 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 salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter – cubed
- powdered sugar dusting
- warm syrup – to serve
Instructions
For the casserole:
- Grease an 8×8 casserole dish.
- Cut or tear the crusty bread into cubes, and place in casserole dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, whip the eggs, half and half, milk, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour evenly over the bread.
- Cover the casserole dish tightly with Saran Wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
For the topping:
- In medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cubed butter and use a pastry cutter (or fingers) to combine, until mixture is crumbled.
- Store in a resealable plastic bag in refrigerator overnight.
- In the morning, pour topping mixture evenly over the casserole.
- Bake casserole on 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.
- Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and some warm pancake syrup.
Notes
- If serving a large group, double this recipe by changing the serving size (directly in the recipe) from 6 to 12. This will automatically change the quantities. Use a large 9×13 casserole dish instead, and you may need to bake for a bit longer.
- I use my Chewy French Bread recipe for this, but you could use any crusty bread you find at the store.
- Leftovers are great, up to 3 days.
- Serve with my Breakfast Omelette Casserole for a complete meal.
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!