French Toast Casserole is an easy make-ahead breakfast that’s perfect for holidays, brunch, or weekend mornings at home. With cozy cinnamon-vanilla flavor and a buttery topping, it’s an easy recipe everyone will love.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Rich cinnamon-vanilla custard soaks into the bread and bakes up soft and sweet, finished with a buttery brown sugar pecan topping that adds the perfect warm, crunchy bite.
- Recommended Tools: A 9×13 baking dish, a mixing bowl, a whisk, and a piece of foil for covering the casserole while it rests.
- Time-Saving Tip: For a quick shortcut, use pre-cubed bakery bread or dry the bread cubes in the oven for a few minutes to save time.
- Serving Suggestions: I love serving it warm with maple syrup, whipped cream, or fresh fruit. When I’m feeding a crowd, I like to set out a simple topping bar with berries and whipped cream so everyone can build their own plate.
French Toast Casserole Ingredients
- Bread: Use a sturdy, dense bread like brioche, challah, braided bread, or a thick-sliced bakery loaf for the best custardy center, and dry the cubes first so they soak up the custard without getting mushy.
- Custard Mixture: Whisk the custard ingredients at room temperature for a smooth, lump-free mixture, making sure to beat well so you don’t get any “egg pockets.” Using half-and-half or light cream makes the casserole rich and bakery-style, but feel free to swap for milk.
- Variations: Make it nut-free by skipping the pecans and adding a streusel or coarse sugar topping. Toss in blueberries or sliced strawberries for a fruity brunch twist, or stir in orange zest for a bright, bakery-style flavor.
How to Make French Toast Casserole
- Dry the bread cubes. Add to a greased 9×13 dish.
- Whisk the custard and pour it over the bread.
- Mix the buttery brown sugar topping and spoon it over the top.
- Cover and chill. Bake (full recipe below).
Holly’s Tips For Fantastic French Toast
- For perfectly dry bread: 6 to 8 minutes in a 350°F oven helps the custard soak in evenly and prevents a gummy middle.
- Press to soak: After pouring custard, gently press bread down so the top layer gets moistened too.
- Chill time matters: One hour is the minimum, overnight is even better for a cohesive, custardy slice.
- Avoid a too-brown top: If the topping is getting dark before the center is hot, loosely lay foil on top for the last 10 to 15 minutes.
- Know when it’s done: The center should be hot and set, and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Scaling: This recipe halves well for an 8×8 dish, but it bakes faster, so start checking early.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze portions in an airtight container with parchment between pieces for best separation. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm in the oven or air fryer. Reheat in the oven at 325°F covered with foil until warmed through (best for keeping it fluffy).
Brunch Board Favorites
Did your family love this French Toast Casserole? Leave us a comment and rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 cups bread cubes 1-inch cubes
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups half and half or light cream
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
Instructions
- Dry out the cubed bread by leaving it out for a few hours or baking in an oven preheated to 350°F for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish and spread the bread cubes evenly in the dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until well combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread.
- For the topping, whisk the melted butter and ⅓ cup brown sugar. Stir in the pecans, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gently spoon the topping over the casserole.
- Cover the casserole dish and allow it to sit for at least 1 hour (or up to 48 hours).
- Remove the casserole from the fridge and let it rest on the counter while the oven preheats to 350°F.
- Bake the French toast uncovered for 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and is hot.
- Serve warm with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.
Notes
Any type of bread will work in this recipe, we prefer dense bread such as brioche or other thickly sliced bread.
Leftover French toast casserole can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Reheat portions in the microwave, oven, or air fryer until warm.
Optional Streusel Topping: If desired, the pecan topping can be replaced with a streusel topping. Combine 3 tablespoons each brown sugar, flour, and butter with ¼ cup oats, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix until well combined and sprinkle over the casserole.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 417 | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 443mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 527IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Casserole
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I LOVED this recipe! I made it with the streusel topping.
Next time I won’t melt the butter before I mix it in
with the streusel ingredients.
Could you use vanilla sourdough bread in place of the brioche? Thank you!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure but that should work great. I would love to hear how it turns out!
So good! My son called it “perfect!” Made it exactly as directed and we had it as breakfast for dinner with berries and bacon. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Looks Delicious! Can’t Wait to Try!
made this this morning and it was delicious. thank you!
Absolutely delicious!!! Made it for a brunch and everyone loved it. I liked that I could prepare it a day ahead and bake it the morning of the brunch. I used French bread and it turned out really good. As always another amazing recipe from Holy!! Thank you
Could I use Kings Hawaiian Bread for this?
Yes, that would work just fine!
I’m disappointed, I miss the old recipe with the vanilla brioche! it was perfect size for smaller family and it was nut free. Any chance we can publish this recipe variation again?
Absolutely, here you are:
8 cups Marketside Vanilla Brioche Bread, cubed and dried as below
5 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Topping
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
¼ cup oats
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut brioche bread into 1 inch pieces. Place in a warm oven for about 8-10 minutes to dry slightly, or cut and let stand uncovered on the counter overnight.
Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, brown sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
Pour wet mixture over bread and very gently toss to coat. Place in a 8×8″ inch baking dish. Allow it to sit least 1 hour (or overnight).
Combine topping ingredients and incorporate the butter using a fork or pastry blender until crumbly.
Cover the bread mixture with the topping and place in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve warm with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.