by HollyFrench Toast Casserole is one of our go to dishes during the autumn and winter months! This easy warming casserole combines all the classic flavors of light and fluffy french toast with the ease of a make ahead breakfast casserole!
I am so excited to partner with SheKnows and Walmart and their beautiful bakery selection to create a breakfast casserole that you will not be able to resist!
A french toast bake or casserole is like the holy grail of comfort food, it is so inviting on a Sunday morning! This one has a delicious crumb topping, (which I stole from my fave Easy Blueberry Crisp). It is the perfect extra buttery streusel topping you never knew you needed on a french toast casserole!
As much as I love a good savory Overnight Breakfast Casserole, I also love the sweet custardy flavor and texture of a simple french toast. Combing the two to create an amazing breakfast casserole was bound (and required) to happen in my life.
Like this dish wasn’t easy enough, you can find all of the ingredients you need at your local Walmart including the BEST vanilla brioche in the bakery! Marketside Vanilla Brioche has a buttery texture and flavor and let’s face it, all french toast recipes start with bread. The better the bread, the better the French toast casserole.
The brioche is so moist, buttery, and soft, it really makes all of the difference in this french toast casserole. If I wasn’t making this, I could probably just sit down with a loaf and a stick of butter (don’t judge me).
What Is Brioche?
Brioche is the king of delicious bread. This yeast based bread is usually made in a roll form and is known for its rich texture thanks to the higher content of butter and eggs in the dough.
It is perfect for this recipe because it is naturally so light and airy and absorbs the custard mixture and create the perfect casserole. Marketside Vanilla Brioche has a the most nummy vanilla custard swirl which really makes this recipe next level (they also have a Chocolate Brioche which would work perfectly in this recipe too)!
The Marketside Vanilla Brioche and the other Marketside bakery items are available exclusively at Walmart.
Overnight French Toast Casserole is the perfect breakfast as it can be made the night before and in the morning simply placed in the oven to bake. If you’re looking to bake it right away, be sure to give the bread at least 20 minutes or so to soak up the custard mixture.
How To Make French Toast Casserole
- Cut the brioche into one inch cubes & dry overnight or in the oven.
- Combine eggs, heavy cream, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes and very gently toss to coat
- Top with crumb mixture and bake until golden.
- Top with fruit, syrup, whipped cream or your own fave toppings!
Can you Freeze French Toast Casserole?
Yes, definitely! This easy recipe can be prepared and frozen either before or after baking. To bake the uncooked casserole from frozen, place in the oven uncovered at 350°F for 55-65 minutes or until the center is cooked through.
As the summer ends and autumn begins. Between french toast casserole and pumpkin pancakes, I know that my breakfasts are going to put some smiles on my families’ faces!
More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love
- Overnight Breakfast Casserole with Bacon – My personal favorite breakfast!
- Banana Breakfast Cookies
- Pumpkin Pancakes – Comforting and warm!
- Easy Quiche Recipe – Classic and easy, add in your own favorites!
- Overnight Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Corned Beef Hash – Simple and delish!
French Toast Casserole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 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
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Instructions
- 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 8x8" 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.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
I am excited to have partnered with SheKnows and Walmart to bring you this beautiful breakfast recipe. While I was compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!
What type of oats do you use?
We use old fashioned oats in this recipe Arlene. Enjoy the recipe!
I am wanting to make this for an after church brunch. I need to make the recipe for about 60 people. How would you increase the recipe for mixing, tossing lightly and for pans for baking? Also, would any other bread work, as I read the possibility of pieces of nuts in the bread. Thank You!
As long as the bread is fairly heavy and dry, it should work well in this recipe. As for the tossing, you’ll want a very large bowl as the bread soaks the custard (egg mixture) it can become a bit heavy. I have only baked this in the pan as directed. A larger pan (and full oven) will take longer but I can’t say for sure how long. I would suggest cooking it a bit early in case you need extra time and then keeping it warm if it’s done early.
I am excited to make this since I found apple-cinnamon brioche! I wanted to double the recipe and was wondering if I should use two 8×8 casserole dishes or if one 9×13 dish would work? Also, do I need to make any adjustments to the recipe, other than doubling it? Thanks in advance!
Either would work. A 9×13 pan will need closer to 50-60 minutes. I would suggest cooking it covered for the first 25 minutes so it doesn’t get too brown on top.
I had a lb. of stale brioche on hand (shicking! I know) and in the mood for French toast. My child prefers bread pudding, so this is the perfect compromise. I have a tendency to cut back on sugar in recipes, but this was a reasonable amount. I was impatient and only allowed it to rest for a half hour, but the custard soaked into the bread sufficiently. I cooked some frozen berries stovetop while the casserole baked. I used a 9×14 pan and it took about 25 min to cook. Loved the crunch of the oats. May add flax, sliced almonds or chopped walnuts in the future. Thanks for the streusel idea!
Isn’t this bread pudding with crumbles?
Yes, it is similar to a bread pudding.
I made my own brioche in my bread machine for a French toast casserole, and this was the perfect one! Delish
Is it possible to prep this recipe 2 days in advance? Or will it be too soggy?
Since the french toast soaks up all of the liquid, 2 days should be just fine!
I absolutely love this recipe. I tell everyone I come in contact with that asks for breakfast dishes. I even brought it to a work function and it was a hit. Thank you so much. I used one loaf apple cinnamon and one vanilla. I used both almond and vanilla extracts and removed the brown sugar. This is a keeper.
Your additions sound perfect Tammy! I’m so happy to hear you love this French toast casserole!
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it out next weekend!! One question – will I want to use the quick-cooking oats or the traditional style? Thanks!
In this recipe we used old fashioned oats T M. Enjoy!
When you say let it sit for any hour or overnight, do you mean on the counter or in the fridge?
We refrigerate overnight.
OMG! This was amazing!! I just served this for Easter morning breakfast and it was fabulous. I made my brioche in my bread machine. So, so good! Definitely a keeper!
I’m so glad you loved it Laurie! Happy Easter!
I am making this again, only using some leftover hot cross buns from Good Friday. (I can’t believe these buns are still good—dry, but edible. They will be perfect for my casserole!)
I love that you were able to put your leftovers to good use Laurie!
I am making this tonight for “brinner,” only using some leftover hot cross buns from Easter. Can’t wait to try it that way!
What a great use of leftover rolls Laurie! I hope you love it!
My store doesn’t have the vanilla, would it still be as good with the regular brioche?
Or should I add a little something?
It should work just fine, the vanilla brioche does have a bit of sweetness to it so you could add a touch more sugar but I don’t think it’ll need it! Let us know how it goes!
I make this French toast casserole for special brunches. I add blueberries, bananas and pecans to the bread and pour the batter over the French bread. I top it with the strudel and I serve it with a choice of whipped cream or syrup. It is always a big hit!
Sounds so delicious Caro! Thank you for sharing!
Could you tell me how many loaves of brioche the recipes takes? Thank you!
It takes approximately one loaf Becky. Enjoy!
we love eating french toast Sunday mornings! So this will be an amazing change!
Enjoy Marilyn!
Yum!!! Sorry to be one of those “substitution” people, but based on what I had on hand I scaled down the recipe slightly and used leftover French bread. Added a little bit of apple butter, and only refrigerated about half an hour.
This is so yummy. I really think high quality vanilla helps because that is the main thing you taste. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing Kelsey! It’s great to be able to use what you have on hand for recipes!