This overnight French toast casserole made in the oven, with buttery brioche bread, eggs, cream, and milk, is a super-easy, delicious breakfast, that can be prepped the night before.
Why this recipe works
1. Perfect recipe for breakfast for a crowd which can be prepped a night ahead.
2. Lay it out with syrups, fruits and nuts to make a breakfast or brunch buffet.
The ultimate shortcut recipe that will take you ten minutes to put together. The best part? No standing over the skillet in the morning. Pop this in the oven and enjoy this warm, comforting, baked French toast casserole with your whole family.
This perfect breakfast can feed a crowd on special occasions, lazy Sunday mornings, for a weekend brunch, or a cozy hands-off Christmas morning.
I often have my whole family plus a few friends over on holidays. Things can get pretty hectic, especially if you cook every meal.
This easy breakfast option doesn't take too much active time, but the results are just epic!
I usually make the basic version and keep a lot of fruit, chocolate, syrup, and dry fruit options on the table so people can make their combination.
We love making sweet and savory French toast at home! I have been eating it for breakfast for as long as I can remember, and my son loves it, too. Another family favorite is banana and Nutella crepes.
Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this delicious recipe
The exact measurements are in the recipe card.
Bread
We love using brioche bread to make French toast. The bread is so rich and cakey. I love any French toast, but with brioche bread, it's just another level of indulgence.
It sets the mood perfectly!
You can also use other breads like French bread, challah bread & regular bread. I am not a big fan of sourdough bread in the French toast, but if that's all you have, then that will work too. Here is a recipe for French toast casserole with croissants.
If you can, get un-cut bread to cut thick cubes or even triangles of bread. Thicker the bread, the more fudgy it will be in the middle after all that soaking!
Substitutions
Dairy-Free- You can easily make this casserole dairy-free by substituting
- Dairy milk for any non-dairy milk- Almond and cashew milk are my favs!
- Cream- Use cashew cream
- Butter - I would go for a neutral-flavored non-dairy butter or simply oil
Gluten-Free - This is simply the matter of using gluten-free bread to make the casserole. I would stay away from very crumbly bread and reduce the soaking time in this case.
Topping for the French Toast
Now this is not an absolute must, but if you are going the indulgent route, then a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon will take things up a notch!
I do this because I love the caramelized effect butter and sugar give together.
I do this even when making a single serving of French toast daily. The process is a little different and probably faster when making French toast for just one person.
Instructions to make Brioche French Toast Casserole
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make a perfect French toast casserole.
Step 1: Cut the Bread
I usually dice the bread. This saves me time and effort.If you want, you can cut it into triangles and arrange it nicely. But that will take more time.
Though, this could be one of the things you involve your kids in!For individual servings, you can use ramekins instead of a casserole dish.
Step 2: Make the Custard
By custard, I mean make the soaking liquid. Do this in a separate bowl instead of the baking dish because you want to pour the liquid over the bread so that the top pieces are also saturated.
Break the eggs and whisk them together. Add all the other ingredients- milk, cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar.Whisk, whisk whisk.
Step 3: Pour over the Bread
Slowly pour the custard mixture on top of the bread.
Don't just dump the liquid in; use a ladle or a measuring cup to pour the liquid all over the French toast. You want it to go to all the corners and nooks and crannies.
The liquid should come up to ¼ the height of the baking dish.
Step 4: Soak
You have three options here depending on your needs
Overnight Soak - This is the best option. Especially if your bread is thick, the overnight soak will saturate the bread to the inside.
30-minute Soak or Quick Soak- Let the casserole sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This is the best of both worlds.
Immediate Baking or The fastest Soak! -If you need to bake this immediately, then I suggest you do two things
- Use thinner slices of bread
- Once you have soaked the bread with the custard, press it lightly with a spatula.
Step 5: Bake
Preheat the oven to 360F or 180C for about 10 minutes.Bake the casserole for 30 minutes till it's golden brown.
Make this for your special someone on easter morning or mother's day. Breakfast in bed makes for the best kind of surprise.
Step 6: Topping
Crank up the heat of the oven or set it to broil mode.First, brush melted butter on top. Sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.Broil again for 10 minutes till the sugar looks caramelized.Serving Brioche French Toast
Serving Brioche French Toast
To serve the French toast, cut a piece of the toast like you would cut lasagna and place it on individual serving plates.
- Add toasted nuts like pecans and walnuts
- Fresh Fruit like bananas, strawberries, and blueberries
- Chocolate syrup
- Maple syrup or honey
- Ice cream or whipped cream
- Icing sugar
Speaking of holidays, a great no-bake holiday sweet dish is this chocolate covered strawberry dessert. I also like to make a dark chocolate babka or a nutella babka if there are kids for snacking.
Trick for Ultimate Holiday Lazy Breakfast
Assemble this a day or two in advance. Let it soak, and come holiday morning, Bake this to perfection!
Here are some more Ultimate breakfast & brunch options for you.
If you make this easy Brioche French Toast Casserole, do leave me a comment and a rating. I would love to hear from you.
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Dish 13*9 inches
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf Brioche About 500 gms or 10 cups in cubes
- 8 Eggs
- 1 Cup Cream
- 1 Cups Milk
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Topping(Optional)
- 2 tablespoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Butter
Instructions
- Cut the Bread into thick cubes. Add it to a baking dish.
- In a big bowl, break the eggs. Whisk them together.
- Add Milk, Sugar, Cinnamon, Cream and Vanilla Extract. Grate about ⅛th teaspoon of Nutmeg on top.
- Whisk it up till you get a homogenous mixture
- Using a ladle, add the liquid over the cut bread in the baking dish.Wrap up the dish with plastic wrap or foil.
- Let it soak Overnight or for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.(Check the notes to bake it immediately.)
- Take it out of the refrigerator. Remove the wrap.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes at 180 C or 365 F, till the tops look crispy and brown.
- Once the time is over, remove from the oven.
- Brush the tops with melted butter. Sprinkle a mix of cinnamon and sugar.
- Broil or Bake at 220C or 430 F for 5 minutes to caramelize the sugar on top.
- Remove from the oven. Let it cool a bit before serving.
Video
Notes
To Serve
Serve a slice of warm French toast with any of the following toppings- Honey, Maple syrup, Nutella, biscoff spread
- Dusting of icing Sugar
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Fruits- Strawberries, Blueberries, and banana slices
- Nuts - flaked almonds, toasted pecans, or walnuts
- Dried Berries- Cranberries, raisins
To Bake Without Resting Overnight or even 30 minutes
You only need to help the bread soak the custard by pressing it a little. Exactly what you do with a sponge. Do this step carefully and gently. The bread cubes can break.Storing & Freezing
You can store the prepped uncooked French toast, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It can also be frozen at this stage for up to 2 months. Though make sure you wrap it multiple times and store it in a freezer and baking-friendly container like a disposable foil container. After Baking, you can store the French toast in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. To eat, reheat it in the oven at 180C/365F for 10 minutes till it's warm through the tops are crisp and golden brown.Nutrition
There are two reasons for this.
1. Too high Oven Temperature- when this happens, only the tops cook to a crispy brown perfection, but the insides are still not fully cooked. If that's your problem, cover the French toast with foil and let it bake for another 10 minutes.
2. Too much liquid could happen when your liquid is way too much for the amount of bread. When finished with the soaking, you should not see too much liquid at the bottom of the pan. Use a spoon to investigate. If it looks too much, drain some of the liquid.
You can do two things
1. Pop it in a preheated but shut oven. This should keep the French toast warm for 1-2 hours.
2. Crank the oven heat to the lowest setting. Leave the door slightly open. Pop the French toast inside. You should be able to keep it warm for 3-4 hours.
if you are reheating the whole casserole, cover it with foil, and heat it in the oven for 10-15 minutes(depending on the temperature of the french toast)
If you are heating only a slice, you can microwave it and then broil it to make the top crispy.
You can also air fry it.
Making Breakfast for a Crowd
This casserole will serve about 9-10 people if you make this for a larger group, double/triple the recipe.
I suggest disposable baking containers to soak, bake, and serve the French toast.
The other option is to add more breakfast dishes. Here are some options
- Quiche- with or without the crust
- Savory French toast bake
- Scrambled eggs & Bacon
- Bread and nice Garlic Butter
- Baked Oatmeal
Variations
You can add these to the French toast depending on the look / taste you want.
- Christmas - fresh berries - like cranberries, strawberries, and Nutella. Gingerbread spices in the custard.
- Skinny Everyday French Toast - Skip the cream and substitute it with milk. You can also skip the topping.
Equipment
You need an oven and a baking dish to make this.
I have used a 9* 13 inches Baking dish to make this. It fits perfectly, almost to the brim. You can adjust the recipe as per your baking dish.
You can also make this in the air fryer. You will have to halve the recipe based on the size of your air fryer.
Refrigerating & Freezing
Refrigeration - The uncooked French toast can last in the fridge for up to 1-2 days. Cooked French toast will last for about 5-6 days. Just make sure you keep it in an airtight container.
Freezing - You can freeze the prepped uncooked French toast for up to 2 months. Remember to place it in a freezer-friendly container covered twice with plastic wrap and foil.
To bake it, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature and bake it as per the recipe.
My suggestion is to use disposable foil containers. You can bake the french toast in the same dish.
You can also freeze the cooked French toast. Again, wrap it up multiple times and freeze it in freezer-safe containers. I like to make individual portions of this and freeze them. That way, it takes less time to thaw, and I can eat it for breakfast whenever possible!
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