French Toast Casserole
Make your mornings special with this easy French Toast Casserole. It has everything you love about traditional French Toast, and is baked all in one pan!
When I was growing up, my older sisters did a lot of the cooking. They each had their own specialties, and my younger brother and I always looked forward to their meals.
One of our favorites is French Toast, and to this day my sister makes it better than anyone I know. Since we are separated by lots of land, I don’t get to scarf down her French Toast as much as I would like.
But I have found that no matter if you’re missing your family or simply just the food of your memories, sometimes the only solution is to head to the kitchen and get a little creative.
I’m telling you right now that this French Toast Casserole is so good, you may find yourself wanting it for not only breakfast, but also for your lunch, midday snack, dinner, and dessert as well!
You will make the bottom layer with brown sugar and melted butter, and it is just absolutely swoon-worthy!
Ingredients to make French Toast Casserole
- french bread
- butter
- brown sugar
- eggs
- milk
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- powdered sugar
How to Make French Toast Casserole – Step by Step
- You’ll start out with half a loaf of French Bread and then cut it into cubes. I am going to be a stickler for this one, because while you could substitute other breads, it really just won’t have that perfect flavor and texture. After you chop up the bread, then next melt some butter in a small sauce pan and stir in a cup of brown sugar. This is the bottom layer of your French Toast Casserole and it gives it an amazing caramelly flavor once it’s been baked.
- Next you’ll add in your bread cubes, then pour a mixture of eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla over the top.
- Pop it into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, and you are on your way to one of the most yummy breakfasts you’ll ever sink a fork in to! Really, I mean it!
Tips and Notes
Which bread is best for French Toast Casserole?
I prefer to use french bread, and it’s best if the bread is dry and not too soft. This allows it to soak up the yummy sauce from the casserole better and prevents the the french toast from becoming too soggy. If time allows, cut your french bread into cubes and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet over-night or for around 12 hours to help the bread dry out before baking.
You could also use sourdough, brioche, or Italian bread in this recipe, but like I said french bread is my favorite!
Can French Toast Casserole be Frozen?
Yes! Make the casserole in a freezer safe baking dish (such as a disposable aluminum foil pan) and bake as directed, then allow it to cool completely. Wrap in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to three months. Allow the casserole to defrost completely in the refrigerator for roughly 24 hours before baking. Reheat the casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Can this be Made Ahead of Time?
Yes, and that’s one reason why I love it for the holidays! It makes a great Christmas morning breakfast because you can prepare it in advance and pop it in the oven to bake while you open presents! Simply prepare as directed up until the final baking step. Cover the unbaked casserole with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed in the morning!
Gluten Free and Dairy Free Options
This recipe can be made with gluten free french bread, and can also be made dairy-free by substituting the butter and milk. You can replace the butter with either coconut oil or dairy free butter, and the milk with your favorite dairy free substitute like almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. All of these substitutions would be a 1:1 ratio.
More Delicious Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
Recipe: French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ a loaf of French bread, (about 8 oz) cut into cubes
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, for topping
- powdered sugar for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 13x9 inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Once butter has melted, stir in brown sugar until dissolved and mixture is smooth. Pour mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread evenly.
- Add bread cubes to the pan, spreading over the top of the brown sugar/butter mixture.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Pour egg mixture over the top of bread cubes, insuring that all pieces of bread are saturated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Best Bread to Use: I prefer to use french bread for this recipe, and it's best if the bread is dry and not too soft. This allows it to soak up the yummy sauce from the casserole better and prevents the the french toast from becoming too soggy. If time allows, cut your french bread into cubes and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet over-night or for around 12 hours to help the bread dry out before baking. You could also use sourdough, brioche, or Italian bread in this recipe, but like I said french bread is my favorite!
- Freezer Option: This can be frozen by making the casserole in a freezer safe baking dish (such as a disposable aluminum foil pan) and bake as directed, then allow it to cool completely. Wrap in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to three months. Allow the casserole to defrost completely in the refrigerator for roughly 24 hours before baking. Reheat the casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
- Make Ahead Option: This recipe can be made in advance and makes a great holiday breakfast or a great option for busy mornings. Simply prepare as directed up until the final baking step. Cover the unbaked casserole with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed in the morning.
- Gluten Free and Dairy Free Options: This recipe can be made with gluten free french bread, and can also be made dairy-free by substituting the butter and milk. You can replace the butter with either coconut oil or dairy free butter, and the milk with your favorite dairy free substitute like almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. All of these substitutions would be a 1:1 ratio.
This was too die for!!! I added pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, raisins and made it like a cross between French Toast and Cinnamon Rolls!!!
So good!
We used baguettes instead. It was perfect. Not soggy at all. We also let it sit all afternoon and all night and flipped the baguettes a couple of times so both sides completely soaked up the batter.
After filtering through a lot of the comments, I notice no one mentioned it turned out soggy. Maybe I did something wrong? I followed directions, even left the bread out for 12+ hours to dry out. Cooked it at 30 mins at 425. Pretty good otherwise, even better with blueberries. Thoughts?
Mine did too! Interested in some suggestions for next time because it was delicious!
This was delicious. My family loved it. Thank you for sharing.
If this had to be made in a 9×9, how would you adjust the time and/or temperature?
We made this for New Year’s but modified. I only put about 1/3 cup of butter and no sugar on the bottom, and only 1/2 tbsp on the top. Then we had it with pecans and maple syrup. It was delicious.
I always like to change the recipes a bit so I added almond extract and a banana and chopped walnuts. I always kick up the spices, add pumpkin pie spice as well as substitute a little heavy cream with the milk. Really a great recipe. Everyone loves it!
Made this for the first time on Christmas Eve morning. It was a big hit! Followed the directions exactly, only adding the 2 extra tbsps of butter into the brown sugar as one of the reviewers suggested. The bottom was perfect! I used French Bread. This is a keeper!!!!! Thank you!
I made this for Christmas breakfast yesterday and OMG it was a hit! I did not change anything and it was perfection. Super easy and it didn’t take much time. My family wants it every year, it’s a new Christmas tradition! 🎄
Excellent! Baked at 400 degrees based on other reviews. Base was like creamy caramel and so so good. This was so good I may have leftovers with ice cream for dessert tonight.
For anyone looking to make this gluten free – we used a loaf of the Canyon Bakehouse Hawaiian Sweet bread and it turned out delicious. Made it the night before and baked on Christmas day.
Delicious! I made it for Christmas brunch. It was easy and loved by all.
Mmm mmm delicious! I made this for Christmas breakfast. To avoid the brown sugar/butter crunch, I chopped & melted my butter (3-15 sec intervals) in the microwave then added brown sugar, mixed it well then microwaved it another 30-45 sec then mixed it well, then added to bottom of pan. I then mixed the rest of the ingredients, adding an extra egg and substituting 1 cup of french vanilla creamer. I used french sub buns for the bread and everyone loved this recipe. It tasted totally amazing!!!
This turned out perfectly! I followed the recipe as written and it was delicious. Not soggy, great texture, no eggy parts- it was the best!
Oh my goodness, this recipe was just amazing. I’ve never made this before and everyone just loved it including myself. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for the recipe, I put it together last night and baked it this morning. I doubled it and tried to put it into a 9″ x 12″ pan. Unfortunately the sugar on the bottom of the pan started to smoke and caused the fire alarm to go off. This was a very distressing thing to happen on Christmas morning. I think the temperature is too high for these ingredients (brown sugar, butter). Please also warn people not to double the recipe and try to bake it in the same pan. Thanks and have a happy holiday.
This was really good! I doubled the recipe and cooked it for 40 minutes which was perfect because it had a nice crusty top! Sprinkled some powdered sugar on it and served it with raspberries and blueberries! My sister who doesn’t even like French toast went back for seconds!