I love this recipe because it’s an overnight breakfast that isn’t a casserole!
Prepare this super easy overnight French toast the night before. Tender eggy bread slices with a cinnamon butter crust are soaked in a quick custard overnight and baked in the morning. Now, even the chef can sleep in!
I love to wake up to the fragrant aroma of baked French toast! Everyone will rush to the kitchen to get a serving of this beautifully baked breakfast treat.
Why We Love Overnight French Toast
- It’s a make ahead breakfast that isn’t a casserole!
- It’s super simple to make. Use any kind of bread and add your fave flavors from nuts to fruit.
- No more flipping separate slices of French toast in the morning while everyone waits for theirs. This breakfast is an easy take French toast for a crowd!
- This is the perfect recipe for everyone to wake up to on the holidays or a birthday, sleepover, or take to a brunch, it’s that easy and elegant!
Serve with a side of fresh Rainbow Fruit Kabobs, or top baked French toast with a generous serving of citrus and berries like this easy Fresh Fruit Salad. Don’t forget the Whipped Cream and warmed maple syrup!
Ingredients and Variations
BREAD This recipe is great for using up older bread, ends, or leftovers. French bread baguettes, and even cubes of raisin bread are great for overnight French toast! Make this DIY Homemade French Bread, cut the slices as wide as you like for perfect slices.
BATTER French toast needs a thick, creamy batter made from eggs, milk, and vanilla extract to make it rich and fluffy. Heavy cream will make a thicker batter and a dairy-free version can be made with oat milk.
SEASONINGS This is the basic recipe, but get creative and replace the plain cinnamon with a homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice made with nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves…so fragrant.
TOPPINGS Walnuts or pecans give overnight French toast a little crunch and a lot of flavors. I use either or both!
How to Make Overnight French Toast
Creamy and delicious overnight French toast is so easy to prepare ahead.
- Use dry bread (or dry in the oven per the recipe below).
- Combine melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange bread slices evenly over top.
- Prepare the egg mixture and pour it over the bread (per recipe below).
- Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, just pop it in the oven and relax!
- Let the pan rest at room temperature for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Bake uncovered, then enjoy!
Serve warm with whipped cream and maple syrup.
PRO TIP: For a ‘stuffed’ overnight French toast, mix your fave berries, or jam with cream cheese and drop it in dollops between the slices of bread before pouring on the egg mixture. Blueberries, strawberries, sliced peaches, or green apples are colorful and delicious ‘stuffers’ or toppings for French toast!
Tips & Tricks
- The best overnight French toast is made with bread that is dried out so it can absorb the batter perfectly!
- Keep leftover overnight French toast covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze before or after baking by wrapping it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 6 weeks. Allow it to thaw completely before baking.
More Breakfast Ideas
- Easter Breakfast Bake
- Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes – So soft and fluffy.
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Fluffy Homemade Waffle Recipe – Add some whipped cream and yum!
- Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
- Bacon Pancakes – Yes, really!
Did you make this Easy Overnight French Toast? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 loaf french bread sliced 1" thick
- 12 eggs beaten
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or ½ teaspoon maple extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon divided
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- whipped cream for serving, optional
Instructions
Before Bed
- Slice bread into 1" thick slices and let dry on the counter for a couple of hours (or place in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes using caution not to brown the bread).
- Place melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on a large rimmed baking sheet (mine was 17.5" x 12.5"). Mix well and spread on the bottom of the pan.
- Arrange bread in the pan over the brown sugar mixture.
- Combine eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
- Gently pour half of the egg mixture over the bread ensuring all of the bread is soaked. Flip the bread and pour the remaining egg mixture over top.
- Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
Morning time:
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 30 minutes ensuring that the french toast doesn't brown
- Serve with maple syrup and whipped cream
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine French© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Hi Holly, this looks delicious. I have a loaf of Brioche bread in the freezer, can I use this after the bread has thawed and left out to dry a bit? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes–you keep my recipe file growing.
Yes, that will work beautifully Anne! So glad you’ve loved the recipes!
I want to make this for christmas morning breakfast. The night before is busy too… would it work to make it ahead and freeze it? Do I let it sit overnight in the fridge to “soak up” before I put it in the freezer? Then thaw and cook one Christmas morning??? Any tips are appreciated!
I haven’t tried freezing this overnight although I do think it would work. I would suggest exactly what you said, let it soak up the custard before freezing and thaw overnight. If it is very cold from the fridge, it may need extra baking time. Let us know how it goes!
Really easy and baked up beautifully. No fuss in the morning: just got the maple syrup and peanut butter out and that was it!
what size loaf of French bread for this recipe? A one pound loaf? They come in different sizes..
A one pound loaf of french bread should be perfect for this recipe.
can this be frozen? to use later
Yes it can be frozen before or after baking by wrapping it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 6 weeks. Allow it to thaw completely before baking.
This was delicious! I used a 50% whole wheat cinnamon bread from Great Harvest bakery. The French toast is super by itself and pairs well with fruit. Leftovers freeze well.
Sounds delish, Marie!
Best French Toast I have ever had. My boys loved it and definitely making again.
So I’m not sure if I messed up, but the bread didn’t soak up all the mixture and resulted in eggy bread, I used French bread and instead of milk I used half and half. I followed the recipe to a “T”. What went wrong? Should I not have used half and half?
French bread is a great option for this dish. You will want to make sure that the bread of thoroughly soaked before flipping the bread over on the pan. Then make sure your pan is the right size so that the bread sits in enough egg mixture to soak it up while sitting overnight. I hope that helps!
OK, this is easily the best French toast I’ve ever bad! Absolutely loved it and it will be part of my regular hosting menu! It’s even still delicious reheated. Loved it. First time, I did carmelized bananas and maple syrup on top. Second day, I melted some peanut butter and drizzled that on top and it was delicious AND added protein FTW! Great recipe!
So happy this recipe was a hit, Anna!
Can i use sourdough bread
I have not tried it but I think that would taste delicious, Jamie! Please let us know how it turns out!
I’m looking for an easy french toast recipe that is not a casserole and came across this one. I’d like to try this with eggnog in place of milk. Have you ever tried this recipe with eggnog? Any suggestions? I, too, am a big fan of yours. Your website is my go-to when looking for a new recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your kind words Alicia! I haven’t tried eggnog in place of milk in this recipe but I have found the recipe to be very forgiving and I do think it would work. The eggnog will be a bit sweeter compared to milk. I’d love to hear how it works out for you!
I would like to try the stuffed French Toast you suggested. Are there any other changes needed besides the addition of cream cheese and fruit? extra egg mixture?
Hi Diane, no other changes are needed Just mix cream cheese and your fave fruit, then stuff it between slices of bread before pouring the egg mixture. You could also try this Nutella stuffed French toast as well!
This is the easiest and, by far, best overnight French toast ever. We are in the middle of renovations so I used a cast iron skillet because it was the only thing I could reach. I’ll be making this over and over!
I’m so glad you loved this recipe Betty!
Christmas breakfast, so I wanted something special, and this definitely was. Rave reviews by all who ate it. Thanks!
So happy to hear that Debra! You are so welcome!
Planning to make this tonight but would like to know what constitutes one serving? One slide of bread; two? And what size slices of bread (deck of cards size, 4″x5″, bigger?). Since I am diabetic I will be using Swerve brown sugar. I just need to know my limit in bread! :-)
P.S. I’ll let you know how it turns out, too! :-)
This would be ⅛th of a standard loaf of french bread although it is an estimate based on general ingredients. If you are counting I would suggest using My Fitness Pal and plugging in the actual ingredients you’ve used. Enjoy the recipe Linda!
I have leftover hot dog buns. Will that work?
Sure it will!
I was wondering if I can let the egg mixture sit overnight and throughout the next morning? I want to make this for brunch on Christmas Day (around 1:00). Will it be too soggy?
That should be just fine Shari. The best overnight French toast is made with bread that is dried out so it can absorb the batter perfectly!
Thank you for your prompt reply! Looking forward to making it!
This looks really good but could you make it with half a loaf of bread and would you half everything else I have half a loaf of homemade bread left and this looks like a good way to use it thanks your recipes are always good
Hi Deb, yes this can be made with a half loaf and I would half the rest of the ingredients too. The cook time should remain the same. Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing your recipes. I’m a big fan of yours and have tried quite a few of your recipes. Just wondering if the brown sugar and butter mixture makes it more soggy when serving up the dish. Would it be just as good if you omit these 2? I want to make this tonight for tomorrow’s breakfast. Thanks again
Hi Claudette, I don’t find it make the bread particularly soggy. I have only made this recipe as listed so I am not sure if it would turn out as delicious without the melted butter and brown sugar.
I am sooooo making this Christmas morning!!! My family is going to LOVE this!!! Thank you for the great recipe!!!! So easy to make and can prepare the night before! I love it!!