Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole

Overnight French Toast Casserole is a simple breakfast recipe for a crowd that everyone loves! This easy french toast casserole features a maple custard and light vanilla glaze and can even be made gluten and/or dairy-free. 

With flavors of classic french toast, this casserole is the EASY way to prepare french toast and is perfect for a crowd! I recommend pairing with Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole and a Christmas Fruit Salad for the perfect holiday brunch.

Overnight French Toast Casserole is one of my staple recipes for entertaining guests.

Not only is it absolutely delicious but it is also easy to make! In fact, it only takes 15 minutes of hands-on prep, and then in the morning, breakfast is as easy as popping this casserole into the oven to bake.

Filled with warm spices and rich maple syrup, this french toast bake is perfectly sweet and bakes up fluffy in the center and a bit crispy on the edges. It has all the delicious flavors of classic french toast--just without the work!

Only crumbs remain EVERY SINGLE TIME I serve it and people beg me for the recipe--that is how you know it is a winner!

Key Ingredients

• Bread: Traditionally Challah Bread or Brioche Bread is the choice for French Toast Casserole. However, I recommend a more basic loaf of bread, such as French bread, Italian bread, or whole wheat bread. Because both Challah and Brioche are very sweet and eggy on their own, there is not much contrast to the sweet custard, which can make the french toast casserole a bit too sweet.
• Egg Custard: A custard is key to a good french toast recipe and this one is made simply with eggs, spices, and sweetened with maple syrup.
• Vanilla Glaze: Made with powdered sugar and milk, a simple glaze finishes off this casserole with the perfect sweet touch.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step One: Prepare the Bread

Ideally, any bread you choose to use needs to be stale or dried out to absorb the custard. If your bread is not fully dried out, you may end up with a soggy casserole--so it is important to take the time to dry out your bread.

• Cube the bread into 1-inch cubes.
• Layout the cubed bread onto baking sheets for 12 hours before preparing the French Toast Casserole, to dry out the bread.
• Alternatively, you can pop your bread into a 300-degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, to speed up the process of drying out the bread.

Step Two: Prepare the Casserole

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt for french toast custard.

• Grease a 9x13 pan with butter and then lay out the bread cubes in the pan.
• Pour the custard over the pan and gently push down the bread cubes into the custard to fully submerge.

• At this point, cover the casserole with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Step Three: Bake

• In the morning, remove the casserole from the refrigerator while the oven is preheating.
• Remove the plastic wrap and cover with foil.
• Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake until just golden and set.

Step Four: Prepare Glaze

While the casserole is baking in the morning, if desired, whip up a simple vanilla glaze to serve over top of the french toast casserole instead of maple syrup.

• In a small mixing bowl, combine milk, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined.
• Add in sifted powdered sugar and whisk until smooth, adding in 1 tablespoon more powdered sugar at a time if needed to thicken. You want the glaze to drip off the whisk in a ribbon.

• Drizzle the glaze over the warm french toast casserole and serve.

Storage Instructions

Leftover French Toast Casserole can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave for 1 minute per serving. Or place casserole covered with foil in a 325-degree oven for 30 minutes until warmed through.

You can also freeze French Toast Casserole after baking for up to 3 months after baking if desired. If you are freezing the full casserole, be sure to bake in a freezer-safe container, such as a foil baking dish, and let the casserole cool fully before freezing. You also want to wrap well in plastic wrap and foil to prevent freezer burn.

Recipe Tips and FAQS

• French Toast Casserole is best when given time for the bread to soak up the delicious custard, hence why overnight preparation is best. If you skip the step of letting your bread sit in the custard overnight, the casserole will not be as fluffy. Plus, if you are like me, mornings are always hectic or I am not at my sharpest until that cup of coffee hits--so preparing the night before not only makes this casserole easier to make, it makes it turn out better!
• Save leftover scraps of bread or stale bread. Cube and place in a freezer-safe bag and then use that bread to make this delicious Overnight French Toast Casserole using the scraps of bread. Just be sure to thaw fully and dry out the bread as the recipe directs.
• Instead of serving with a vanilla glaze, dust with powdered sugar or top with maple syrup.

More Favorite Brunch Recipes

• Asparagus Frittata
• Quiche Lorraine
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
• Green Chile Egg Casserole

If you tried this Overnight French Toast Casserole, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below. 

Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole

Overnight French Toast Casserole is a simple breakfast recipe for a crowd that everyone loves! This easy french toast casserole features a maple custard and light vanilla glaze and is perfect for brunch or Holiday breakfast. Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Modifications included. 

4.72 from 88 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 169kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

For the French Toast Casserole

• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 16 ounces bread (French Bread, Italian Bread, Whole Wheat Bread) cut into 1 inch cubes (this is about 8-10 loosely packed cups)
• ▢ 2 cups milk (or 1 cups milk and 1 cup half and half)
• ▢ 6 eggs
• ▢ ¼ cup maple syrup
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Vanilla Glaze (optional)

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
• ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ dash of salt

Cook ModePrevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.

Instructions

• Cube up bread into 1 inch cubes. If time permits, spread the bread out on baking sheets and let dry out for several hours. If time does not permit, dry bread out in a 300 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
• Grease a 9x13 baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
• Place cubed bread in the prepared casserole dish.
• Mix together eggs, maple syrup, milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. 
• Pour custard over bread, lightly tapping bread down to be fully sumberged in the custard. 
• Cover casserole with plastic wrap and refridgerate for 8 hours or overnight. 
• To Bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and cover with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 15 minutes. Serve warm with glaze and/or additional maple syrup. 
• Store leftover casserole in air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For Glaze

• Whisk together milk, salt and vanilla. Add in powdered sugar and whisk until thin glaze forms. Add in more milk 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to thin out. 
• Drizzle over cooked French Toast Casserole and serve.

Notes

Gluten-Free Modifications: Use gluten-free bread in place of regular bread.

Dairy-Free Modifications: Use dairy-free milk in place of cream/butter and dairy-free butter (like Smart Balance or Melt) in place of butter. 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheat in the microwave in individual serving sizes or in a 300-degree oven until just warmed through. 

Freezing Instructions: You can freeze this casserole after baking. Prepare French Toast Casserole (minus the vanilla glaze) and bake in a freezer-safe container, like a disposable foil pan. After baking in a freezer-safe dish, allow casserole to cool completely. Once cooled, wrap the dish in plastic wrap-2 times and then cover with 1 layer of foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To cook, remove casserole from the freezer the day before you want to serve. Allow the casserole to thaw overnight. Remove foil and plastic wrap, recover with just a layer of foil, and then reheat for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until warmed through. To cook from frozen, remove the plastic wrap, recover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove foil and cook an additional 15 minutes, or until breakfast casserole is warmed through. Make the Vanilla Glaze and top casserole if desired.

To Prepare Morning Of: I do not recommend preparing the morning of, because the bread will not have time to absorb the egg custard. However, if you find yourself in a bind, make the casserole as directed. After pouring custard over bread, use your hands to push the bread down, fully submerging in custard. Let sit for 15 minutes, push the bread down again, and then bake as for 35 minutes instead of 45 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 327mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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This post was originally published in March 2018 but has been updated in December 2019 with new tips and pictures. The recipe remains the same.