French Toast Bake
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Serving an overnight French Toast Bake for breakfast is like starting the day with a warm hug! This sweet baked casserole recipe is easy to make. In fact, you only need 10 minutes of prep time the day before to assemble the casserole, then all you have to do is bake it in the morning!
If you’re a fan of a little sweet, a little tart, and a lot of delicious, then this is the holiday breakfast of your dreams! This french toast bake recipe is a wonderful dish to make for breakfast or brunch. I added fresh cranberries for a beautiful burst of tart flavors. I also added pears for a hint of sweetness and a crunch of texture in the casserole.
Adding the fruits is totally optional, but I love the flavor, color and texture that they add to the recipe. I’ve made this recipe several different ways over the years, since it first appeared on the blog in 2015. I first prepared the dish with King’s Hawaiian Rolls.
If you don’t want to soak the casserole overnight, this is the perfect bread for the recipe. When making it with these pillowy soft rolls, you don’t need to soak them overnight.
If you want to make an overnight french toast casserole, I recommend using challah or brioche bread. These thicker, denser breads will soak up all of the delicious flavors of the cinnamon sugar egg and milk blend, as they sit in the mixture overnight.
This is the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas morning french toast recipe. You can make it the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, then all you have to do is wake up in the morning and pop it in the oven. It’s so simple to make, it looks beautiful and it’s so scrumptious!
Ingredients
- Challah bread – this braided egg bread is perfect for making french toast. You can also use brioche bread. These would be my top two recommendations if you’re soaking the casserole overnight. If you plan to make it and bake it immediately, I would use a softer bread, like Hawaiian Rolls or white sandwich bread.
- Fresh cranberries – these are optional, but they add a beautiful burst of color to the french toast bake and they add a tart flavor that balances really well with the sweetness of the casserole.
- Diced pears – bartlett, bosc, or anjou pears are all good choices for baking. You can also use a diced apple in place of the pear. I recommend honey crisp, granny smith or pink lady apples.
- Milk + heavy cream – to make a creamy liquid to soak the french toast.
- Eggs – this is what gives the casserole its custard texture that is firm, smooth and velvety. I use 8 large eggs in this recipe. If you’d like the casserole to be less firm and more textured, only use 4 eggs.
- Light brown sugar – to sweeten the casserole.
- Vanilla extract – this little bottle of liquid goodness adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the french toast and makes the sugar taste more caramel-sweet.
- Ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg – to season the french toast bake.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare the egg mixture. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Soak the bread cubes. Dice up a loaf (1 pound) of bread into 1 inch cubes. Coat a 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add the bread cubes to the casserole dish, then add one diced pear and a cup of fresh cranberries. Toss them with the cubes of bread. Pour the prepared egg mixture over the bread and use a spatula to press down on any bread cubes that aren’t covered in the liquid. Cover the baking dish with a piece of aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
- Bake the french toast casserole. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator in the morning. Place it in a preheated 350°F oven, still covered with the foil. Bake for 30 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Optionally top the casserole with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and serve warm maple syrup on the side for pouring over the baked french toast. You can also add some bacon on the side for a delicious sweet and salty breakfast!
Recipe notes
- Remove the cranberries and pear for a traditional french toast bake.
- Replace the cranberries and pears with the fresh fruit of your choice. In the summer months, I love to add fresh berries, like raspberries, blueberries or strawberries, to this casserole. You can also replace the cranberries and pears with apples, then drizzle caramel sauce over the casserole before serving to make caramel apple french toast.
- If you don’t want to soak the casserole overnight, I recommend using a softer, lighter bread, like King’s Hawaiian Rolls or white sandwich bread. You will want to reduce the milk by one cup and reduce the eggs from 8 to 4.
- If your french toast casserole is soggy, that means you probably didn’t soak it long enough. You want the bread to sit and soak in almost all of the liquid so that the casserole comes out smooth and velvety, instead of soggy. If the bread doesn’t have time to soak up the liquid, it can create a soggy casserole. This is why I recommend cutting down the liquid if you’re not going to soak it overnight.
Storage and reheating
Store leftover french toast bake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
You can reheat the casserole in the oven or microwave. If using the oven, I recommend cutting the casserole into slices, then placing the slices on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for 7-10 minutes. This will heat them quickly and more evenly.
If reheating the french toast in the microwave, place a slice on a plate and microwave for 60-90 seconds.
More breakfast recipes
Try these other popular sweet breakfast recipes!
French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 loaf challah or brioche bread, 16 ounces
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 pear, diced
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 large eggs
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Coat a 9 inch x 13 inch baking dish in cooking spray.
- Slice the loaf of bread into 1 inch cubes. Place the cubed bread in the baking dish, toss in the cranberries and diced pears.
- Whisk the milk, heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish over the bread. Use a spatula to press down on any bread cubes that aren’t covered in the liquid. Cover with a piece of aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the casserole on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes, covered with foil.
- Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Remove the cranberries and pear for a traditional french toast bake.
- Replace the cranberries and pears with the fresh fruit of your choice. In the summer months, I love to add fresh berries, like raspberries, blueberries or strawberries, to this casserole. You can also replace the cranberries and pears with apples, then drizzle caramel sauce over the casserole before serving to make caramel apple french toast.
- If you don’t want to soak the casserole overnight, I recommend using a softer, lighter bread, like King’s Hawaiian Rolls or white sandwich bread. You will want to reduce the milk by one cup and reduce the eggs from 8 to 4. If the bread doesn’t have time to soak up the liquid, it can create a soggy casserole. This is why I recommend cutting down the liquid if you’re not going to soak it overnight.
Nutrition Facts
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