French Toast Casserole

This EASY French Toast Casserole is crunchy on the outside, sweet and custardy on the inside, and delectable all over. 

Regular French toast is already fantastic, but when topped with cinnamon-sugar and baked to perfection, it becomes a breakfast you won’t soon forget!

It’s all the goodness of french toast in a sweet, syrupy casserole.

This warm and hearty dish, especially when smothered with some ooey-gooey Maple syrup, makes the perfect Saturday morning breakfast. It’s also the perfect brunch recipe to serve to friends.

And since it’s baked, it eliminates that extra hassle of frying and flipping every slice of bread. All you need to do is to let your oven do its magic. Amazing!

Tips & Tricks for the Best French Toast Casserole

• What’s the best bread for french toast casserole? Always use crusty and stale bread because it absorbs the egg mixture much better. Some of the best options include day-old French bread, ciabatta, challah, brioche, and sourdough. Don’t take out the crusts because they give the casserole a wonderful crunch.

• Want to make this dish a little more sinful? Use day-old doughnuts or leftover cake for the base instead. Delightful!

• Instead of cutting the bread into cubes, you can also just tear them into bite-sized chunks. The irregularity of the shapes helps the bread absorb the egg mixture better. With this method, you’ll get a soft and pillowy interior and a brown and crispy exterior.

• Top your French toast casserole with your favorite berries to give it that delicious burst of flavor! Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries all make fine options. Infusing it with some orange peel also gives it an interesting flavor. 

• To allow the bread to soak in all the egg custard goodness, let it refrigerate overnight before baking. This will give you a much more flavorful and fluffy dish. Make this the night before and you’ll have a tasty treat for the whole family in the morning! 

• You can refrigerate leftover French toast casserole, as well. Place it in an airtight container and it will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, take out of the fridge and either bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or microwave until warm.

• If you’re serving this dish on a relaxing weekend, why not make things a little more exciting? Pour a few tablespoons of Amaretto or rum to the egg mixture to give the casserole a nice kick.

• Take it up a notch by adding a layer of cream cheese filling to the bread. To make, combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Top the bread with the cream cheese filling before pouring the egg mixture. 

• If the bread becomes too soggy after soaking it in the egg mixture, it means either you didn’t put enough bread or your broad wasn’t stale enough. You can try to remedy this by draining off some of the liquid before baking.

• Don’t worry if the casserole turns out a bit mushy after baking. Let it sit on the counter for a few minutes and it will firm right up.

• Apart from the usual maple syrup, you can also sprinkle some powdered sugar and spread some butter over your French toast. Delish!

• If you’re serving French toast casserole for Christmas morning, here’s a great idea to make it more in keeping with the holiday spirit: use egg nog instead of milk!