Easy Baked French Toast Casserole Recipe - Kindly Unspoken (2024)

Try my Easy Baked French Toast Casserole Recipe for a delicious and simple weekend breakfast or holiday brunch for your family. This easy French toast casserole can be made ahead or overnight and is made with your choice of crusty brioche bread or French bread, topped with a delicious brown sugar cinnamon glaze, and baked to golden perfection in the oven. Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar!

Easy Baked French Toast Casserole Recipe

Are you a French toast lover? Then you’ll love today’s recipe for my Easy Baked French Toast Casserole!

This Easy French Toast Casserole is made simple with cubed Brioche bread or French bread and has all the delicious flavors of traditional French Toast without all the hassle of frying individual servings.

Instead, it’s baked in the oven in one pan to save you time and energy! It can also easily be prepared as an Overnight French Toast Casserole – making it a great breakfast choice for the weekends or holidays.

If you want to learn how to make my delicious baked French toast casserole, then check out my full video tutorial over here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel for weekly recipe videos!

Easy Brioche French Toast Casserole

Wanna know why I love this French Toast Casserole so much?

A. Because it’s DELISH!

B. Because it’s SO SIMPLE!

Unlike a lot of recipes out there, this easy French toast bake is no-fuss, and is made with your choice of Brioche or French bread, alongside simple ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and pantry.

This Oven Baked French Toast Casserole is absolutely delicious, so easy to make, and can even be made into an Overnight French Toast Casserole so you can just pop it in the oven for a quick weekend or holiday breakfast.

Top it with some powdered sugar or maple syrup and serve with a side of fruit, crispy bacon, and cheesy scrambled eggs for an incredibly delicious breakfast or brunch.

French Toast Casserole Must-Have Ingredients

This French toast bake is SUPER easy to make, but there are a few key ingredients you definitely want to have to make it THE BEST French Toast ever.

1. STALE Brioche or French Bread

Brioche and French Bread are the two types of bread I’ve personally found to be best for making French Toast, and they are universally available at most grocery store bakeries.

You’ll also notice I said to use STALE bread, AKA bread that’s a few days old and has been dried out.

You want bread that will withstand being soaked in the wet custard, and fresh bread is much too soft and will turn to mush.

**For tips on how to dry out your bread, check out my FAQ’s section further down in the post.

2. GOOD QUALITY Cinnamon

Another key ingredient for delicious French Toast is good quality cinnamon.

A couple years back I actually started purchasing cinnamon sticks and grinding them up with this spice grinder and the difference in flavor is AMAZING.

It’s super easy to grind your own cinnamon and you can use them for so many recipes including my famous One Hour Cinnamon Rolls.

But if you’re short on time or don’t have a spice grinder, I’d recommend this organic ground cinnamon.

3. REAL Maple Syrup

Forget the cheap pancake syrup and top your French Toast casserole with REAL Maple Syrup.

Maple syrup is going to add the perfect robust flavor to your French toast and the fake kind simply doesn’t compare.

Our family loves this dark one from Walmart.

How to Make Baked French Toast Casserole with Brioche or French Bread

Preparing this French toast bake couldn’t be any simpler!

You can get the full printable recipe with a list of ingredients and detailed instructions at the end of this post, but I also wanted to include a quick, visual step-by-step tutorial to show you what the process looks like.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the FAQ’s section below with some helpful tips!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

• 1 Loaf of Brioche or French Bread
• Eggs
• Milk
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
• Granulated Sugar
• Orange Juice
• Unsalted Butter
• Light Brown Sugar
• Salt
• Maple Syrup (I recommend REAL maple syrup not cheap pancake syrup)

RECOMMENDED KITCHEN TOOLS:

• 13×9 Glass Baking Dish
• Glass Mixing Bowls
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Silicone Spatula
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk
• Cooling Rack
• Server Tool
• Sifter (for powdered sugar)

Step 1: Cut brioche bread or French bread into cubes or bite-sized pieces and spread on a cookie sheet to dry out overnight or for several hours.

Step 2: Next, combine ingredients to prepare your French toast custard mixture and pour over your bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.

Step 3: Gently fold until combined, and transfer to prepared baking dish.

*I recommend scooping the bread in a little at a time, instead of pouring it in directly so that you don’t include the excess custard.

Refrigerate covered for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight.

Step 4: Once ready to bake, prepare your brown sugar cinnamon glaze and evenly drizzle over top of your French Toast Casserole.

Bake in the oven until it is a light golden brown and you’ve reached your desired level of crispiness.

Baked French Toast Casserole: Frequently Asked Questions

What type of bread is best for Oven Baked French Toast Casserole?

The best type of bread for making French Toast Casserole is stale, crusty bread that is a few days old.

My favorite kinds of bread for French Toast (in order of preference) is Brioche, French Bread, and Challah.

You can also use other types of bread but the more dense/crusty the bread, the better.

Does stale bread make better French Toast?

110% yes!

Soft, fresh bread unfortunately isn’t strong enough to withstand the heavy, wet egg/milk mixture without turning to mush.

That’s why you want to use bread that’s several days old and stale.

Should you toast bread before making French Toast?

Unless your bread is already stale and dry, I recommend setting it out on the counter to dry out or pre-toasting it in the oven before preparing your French Toast Casserole.

This also comes in handy if you want to make Baked French Toast for a holiday or special occasion and you don’t have the time to wait for your bread to naturally dry out.

How to dry out bread for French Toast – 2 Easy Ways:

1. No Bake Option: Cut your bread into cubes, and place on a wire rack over a cookie sheet to air out overnight or all day on your countertop. (This is the method I use 99% of the time)
2. Bake Option: Cut your bread into cubes, place on a wire rack over a cookie sheet, and bake in the oven at 300 degrees for 8 minutes on each side. (This is great if you’re in a hurry)

How do you keep Baked French Toast Casserole from getting soggy?

3 keys to making great French Toast Casserole is

1. using dry/stale bread
2. tossing the bread and wet mixture in a bowl and pouring away any excess
3. allowing your bread to soak for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight

What should I top my French Toast with?

This baked French toast casserole is honestly SO good you can eat it plain without any toppings, but here’s a few of our favorites:

French Toast Topping Ideas:

• Maple Syrup – Use good quality, organic maple syrup like this one not cheap imitation – trust me the difference is night and day.
• Powdered Sugar – I like to sift a light dusting over top. This also makes it super pretty!
• Chopped Nuts – Walnuts and pecans are great choices!
• Fruit Syrups – Strawberry or Blueberry would be YUM!
• Peanut Butter Drizzle – I mean you can NEVER go wrong with peanut butter, right?!
• Chocolate Chips – Kids would love this one! Sprinkle a few on top while it’s still warm so it will slightly melt.

What side dishes go with Baked French Toast Casserole?

I love serving up this Brioche French Toast Casserole with a side of crispy bacon, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs and topping it with a drizzle of this delicious maple syrup.

The possibilities are endless though and you can even eat this as dessert! 🙂

Can Baked Brioche French Toast Casserole be frozen?

Yes, it can.

Prepare casserole in a freezer safe baking dish or transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Once ready to eat, refrigerate overnight or at least 24 hours before baking.

Bake in the oven uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Can I make this overnight?

Absolutely! Assemble the casserole, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, uncover the casserole, prepare the brown sugar cinnamon topping and drizzle evenly on top, and bake in the oven as directed.

More Popular Breakfast Recipes:

• One Hour Cinnamon Rolls
• Better than Hardee’s Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
• Cinnamon Sugar Banana Muffins
• Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins
• Homemade Pop Tarts

Easy Baked French Toast Casserole Recipe & Video Tutorial

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More Breakfast Casseroles You’ll Love:

• Sausage, Stuffing, and Egg Casserole
• Apple Peanut Butter French Toast Casserole
• Healthy Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole

Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe for my Easy Baked Brioche French Toast Casserole! Would your family love this for breakfast this weekend? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by! – Cara

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