Easy baked french toast casserole – Quick breakfast bake recipe made with french bread. Homemade casserole ready 20 minutes. Overnight or bake immediately.
French toast casserole has always been my favorite breakfast that needs a little prep work. Smoothies are great. Cereal is super kid friendly. Eggs are simple. But when I’m ready to spend just a few extra minutes in the kitchen I go for the french toast. Or waffles. I adore homemade waffles!
I love the flavor of the cinnamon. And it involves bread, why wouldn’t I be in love? I love the way the top bakes all crispy with golden flakes of sugar. Mmm…. it’s just a marvelous way to start the day. Not to mention that the smell is super amazing!
I may or may not have been able to eat this whole pan by myself. Just sayin’!
I would throw on some pecans like a lot of varieties do by my hubby has a hard time eating different types of nuts. He’s not completely allergic but they really make his throat all itchy and then he’s miserable. I don’t like to start off our day on the wrong foot so I try to make him happy. I’ve found others ways to do that besides food too. Wouldn’t you know!
I know there are thousands of french toast recipes out there but Melanie’s little kitchen won’t be complete until she shares her recipe. So here it is friends.
I think you’ll love:
- The simplicity
- The flavor
- The easy make ahead factor
Please do me a favor and eat this with Pure Maple Syrup. I know it’s crazy expensive but it’s worth it! Rant over. Buy whatever you want and just make this soon. *wink*
We hope your family enjoys Easy Baked French Toast Casserole as much as ours! Don’t forget to leave your feedback. Let me know what you think!
Til we meet and eat again,
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TO MAKE THIS RECIPE WELL:
Easy Baked French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf DAY OLD French or other crusty bread 14-16 ounces
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup sugar See Notes
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For topping
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoons cold butter
Instructions
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Cut bread into cubes or tear into small pieces. Place in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, half and half, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over bread in the pan.
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Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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In a small bowl combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour mixture. With a fork blend butter into mixture until it resembles small crumbs; sprinkle over bread in the pan.
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Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. To check, shake the casserole. If it wiggles a lot it's not done. Continue to bake until it cooked through completely.
Recipe Notes
Use crusty or 1 day or 2 old bread as listed in ingredients. A soft bread will result in a soft (soggy) casserole.
To crust up a fresh bread loaf: Let bread sit out for several hours or toast cubed bread in the oven at a low temperature around 200 for approximately 10-15 minutes.
This has turned out well with refrigerating for several hours,overnight or baking immediately.
Feel free to cut back on the sugar. I have made it successfully by cutting the sugar in half and no one seems to notice. Make to your preference.
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I actually love french toast casseroles, because you can do all the prep work the night before. Then in the morning, you just put it in the oven and it’s ready for you! Knowing I’d have this delicious french toast casserole in the oven waiting for me would really get me motivated to wake up in the morning : )
Ahhhhh just heavenly….
I never used to be a fan of french toast when I was younger, but I’m beginning to love it these days. This casserole looks incredible, Melanie! I made a blueberry one a few months ago, so I love how easy they are, with minimal prep work!
I just adore overnight french toast and I MUST try your version—It looks totally gorgeous, Melanie! Pinned. 🙂
I think it’s fabulous! The photos are amazing; the casserole looks so fluffy and delicious- perfect for a brunch or when you have overnight guests. Love it, Melanie!
I wish I had had this for breakfast today!! BIG TIME.
We love baked french toast! Love how easy yours is!
I just posted a french toast recipe as well! We must totally be on the same wavelength this week! Your’s looks absolutely beautiful! When’s breakfast?! I’m coming over…
Haha Chris. Just saw your picture on Instagram. Great minds think alike! 😉
I love a good hearty baked french toast. I feel like I can smell this one baking now!! 🙂
This looks SO good Melanie! I love french toast and in a casserole form?! Sign me up!!!
I am excited to try this! Can you tell me please about how much your French bread loaf weighs or how many cups of bread cubes you get out of it? I want my bread measurement to match yours as much as possible. Thanks!
I’d love to answer this accurately for you Jocelyn. But unfortunately that’s impossible at the moment. I’m on vacation without a scale or a loaf of bread. 🙂 I’ll get back to you next week as soon as I can.
Thanks for your patience!
I made this recently and used a very (crusty several days old) 12 oz loaf. Other times I’ve used a softer bread (about 16 oz). The type of bread does dictate the amount of liquid needed. Let me know how it works out for you!
Where does the 1/2 cup of sugar come in? It’s in the ingredient list but I don’t see it in the instructions. Thanks!
Thanks for catching that Heather! It’s been updated.
Thanks! It was fantastic!!
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for SO long, but so many of them have too many steps, too many ingredients, you can’t prep the night before, you HAVE TO prep the night before, yada yada. This right here hits the spot! Simple ingredients, flexible prep, and pretty amazing looking results 🙂
I love your dish! Where did you get it?
I wish I could remember exactly but it was Home Goods, Marshalls or T J Maxx. Hit or miss at those stores. I love it too!
Can this be made without the half & half? Maybe add more milk?
That should work Angela. Hope it turns out well!
Can this be frozen? Either before or after cooking? I’d like to make it ahead for some company we’re having next weekend…Thanks!
I’ve never tried freezing it either way. I wish I could give you a good answer but I don’t have one. I don’t want to lead you to a flopped recipe.
If you decide to try it, come back and let everyone else know for the future. Thanks for stopping by!
Let’s just say you don’t have tinfoil… Can this be baked uncovered? Should I adjust when I add the topping? Thanks!
It should be fine. Just keep an eye on it. If it’s browning you can lower the oven temperature. Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe completely sucked. I followed all instructions and baked it for the time and the temp given and it turned out mushy and gross on the inside. I had my husbands family over for breakfast and ended up throwing out the entire casserole and making pancakes instead.
Sorry that it didn’t work out for you Katie! That stinks when a recipe doesn’t turn out.
Ovens vary. Sounds like it just needed more time in the oven. Insert a knife in the center, when it comes out clean AND the center is not ‘jiggly’ then it is cooked through.
Various breads make a difference too. If you’re using sandwich bread versus day old French bread or crusty bread it will come out much ‘softer’.
Perfect! I tweaked it a little…I added an extra egg, used a total of 2 cups milk/ half and half, and also used less sugar. Thank you for an awesome breakfast recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Amanda! Thanks for sharing.
So I made this casserole this morning. The top of it tasted very good but the bottom was way to soggy. I’m not sure I would make this again.
Sorry that happened Alexa. That is frustrating when a recipe doesn’t turn out. What type of bread did you use? And did you consider baking it longer?
We’re going to make your French toast casserole recipe for Christmas morning breakfast. And by “we” I mean my daughter Maddie. 🙂 I can’t wait to dig in!
Hope the family enjoyed it! That makes me smile. 🙂 Enjoy your Christmas weekend.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! My family loves it and I love the ease of prepping the night before!! My kids started eating before I could even get the maple syrup on it. They didn’t want any either when I asked! It’s good just like this they said. It has become our new favorite for breakfast.
Awesome! I love hearing when readers try the recipes. I’m so glad you’ve found a new family favorite. If you could take a moment to fill out the star rating in the recipe area, I’d appreciate it so much.
Our family loves this casserole too! Thanks for stopping by.
Made this today. It was really good it did end up soggy in the middle at the bottom. It was still delicious and I will try it again. I added bake time already and the outside was plenty crunchy. I think I just need to tinker with the amount of liquid. Next time it will be made on a bbq. We will see how that goes. I’m excited!
Sorry that it didn’t go perfectly. What type of bread did you use and how many ounces was the loaf? Both of those are key factors in the success of this recipe. If you’re using a softer bread it typically ends up much softer. A day or 2 old crustier French bread is best
This looks delish! I’m making it now for a potluck for breakfast at work. Fingers crossed it comes out great! I toasted the bread after I cut it to crisp it up a bit. Hopefully this takes care of the soggy middle others commented about.
Hope it works out great for you Heidi! It’s a favorite here on the blog. Can’t wait to hear how you like it!
I wish I would have seen in the recipe/instructions that if you use a softer bread that this recipe required less liquid, rather than in the comments section. I used an entire loaf of French bread, which was soft, baked for about an hour and half, followed the recipe exact, and it was still incredibly soggy. I won’t be trying this again. What a waste of all those ingredients. P.S. I did not give this 5 stars. It automatically did that.
I’m so sorry that it didn’t work out for Heather! The recipe does state ‘crusty’ bread. Unfortunately, I just don’t think this recipe would work good with any soft bread unless you significantly cut back on the liquids.
I’ve made this many times with good success. The bread is the key ingredient.
I made this for a staff breakfast and it was a hit!
I had to bake mine quite a bit, and it was still a little jiggly, but was cooked through.
Also, thought you’d want to know that the links aren’t loading correctly on your website, so it makes the steps very difficult to read.
Thanks for the feedback! So glad you enjoyed it.
I’ve updated that. Thanks for the heads up!
I just made this for my daughter’s sleepover and it was heavenly! I used leftover croissants instead of French Bread (it’s what I had on hand) and it turned out amazing!
Thanks for the positive feedback Elise! So glad you enjoyed it. Croissants sound great in this recipe!