December 2, 2019 · 82 Comments

Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole

Name: Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 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; 1/4 cup maple syrup; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted); 2 tablespoons milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; dash of salt

Breakfast Recipes· Budget Cooking· Holiday Cuisine· Kid Friendly· Real Food

This post may include amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

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.

Looking for more delicious breakfast casseroles? Try out my Easy Breakfast Casserole with hash browns, sausage, and eggs, or my Green Chile Egg Casserole. If traditional french toast is more your thing, be sure to grab my recipe for Classic French Toast.

Overnight French Toast Casserole

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

Not only is it absolutely delicious, it is so easy to make, in fact it is almost embarrassing how easy it is–but we all need easy recipes-right?!

This casserole takes 15 minutes of hands on prep and because it is made the night before, it is as simple as popping the french toast casserole into the oven in the morning and breakfast is done!

This French Toast Casserole is perfectly sweet and spiced and guests always rave about this easy breakfast casserole. It is fluffy in the center and a bit crispy on the edges. The cinnamon and maple are the dominant flavors, but the light vanilla glaze finishes off the french toast bake perfectly. 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!

How to Make French Toast Casserole

Like I said, this casserole is SUPER easy to make. It is as simple as cubing up the bread, whisking up a simple egg custard, and placing in the fridge overnight to let the bread soak up the egg custard before baking.

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!

While the casserole is baking in the morning, I whip up a simple vanilla glaze to serve over top of the french toast casserole. It is absolutely not needed, and you can opt to serve this french toast bake with maple syrup instead.

What is the best type of bread to use?

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 Challah and Brioche are a very sweet, eggy bread, there is not much contrast to the sweet custard and I find the french toast casserole a bit too sweet, when using those types of bread. If you like sweet casseroles, by all means, opt for Challah or Brioche as the base to this casserole.

Ideally, any bread you choose to use needs to be able to be cut into 1 inch cubes and bread, and dried out to absorb the custard. To dry out your bread, I like to use stale bread and cut up into cubes and lay out on baking sheets for 12 hours before preparing the French Toast Casserole. If you don’t have the time, you can dry out your bread in a 300 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. 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.

Pro-Tip: Save leftover scraps of bread or stale bread. Cube and place in freezer safe bag and then use that bread to make this delicious Overnight French Toast Casserole for pennies.

What if my casserole is soggy?

Chances are if your casserole is soggy, you did not use enough bread or your bread was too fresh (soft) to absorb the egg custard. To prevent this from happening, use dried out bread. And if after the casserole has set overnight in the fridge, be sure that most the custard is absorbed before baking. If you have more than 1/2 cup liquid not absorbed by the bread, you may want to drain off a bit of that custard before baking.

Storing 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 325 degree oven for 30 minutes until warmed through.

You can also freeze French Toast Casserole 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.

Gluten-Free French Toast Casserole

You can make Gluten-Free French Toast Casserole by following my instructions exactly, except for swapping out the bread for your favorite thick gluten-free bread.

Dairy-Free French Toast Casserole

To make Dairy-Free French Toast Casserole, use almond milk or coconut milk in place of cow’s milk. I personally have tried both with delicious results. I highly recommend canned coconut milk for Dairy-Free French Toast is rich and decadent, but it does have notes of coconut in the final product.

Also be sure to use coconut oil or a non-dairy butter substitute, instead of greasing the pan with butter.

Brunch Recipes

Overnight French Toast Casserole on blue plate

Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole

4.54 from 30 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: French Toast Bake, French Toast Casserole, Overnight French Toast Casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings:

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
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 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

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 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 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.

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.
Store leftover casserole in air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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.

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 freezer 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 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 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 bread down, fully submerging in custard. Let sit for 15 minutes, push bread down again, and then bake as for 35 minutes instead of 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole

Amount Per Serving

Calories 169 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 126mg42%

Sodium 327mg14%

Potassium 138mg4%

Carbohydrates 19g6%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 220IU4%

Calcium 140mg14%

Iron 1.3mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I would love to know how you enjoy this recipe!Snap a picture and tag #amindfullmom on Instagram or Facebook - I would love to see!

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.

Author
Recent Posts

Follow me

Kristen Chidsey

Hi, I am Kristen, creator of A Mind "Full" Mom. I believe that making a wholesome family meal does not need to be hard or expensive! I love nothing more than to share with you delicious solutions for your hungry family.

Follow me

Latest posts by Kristen Chidsey (see all)

Neiman Marcus Cookies - December 12, 2019
The World’s Best Oven Baked Meatballs - December 11, 2019
Homemade Tagalong Cookies - December 10, 2019

Comments