This Overnight Baked French Toast has all of the sweet and savory flavors of traditional french toast, but in an easy-to-make and serve casserole form. Thick slices of bread get dipped in a lightly sweetened egg mixture, then cooked until golden on the outside and soft on the inside. When it bakes, the topping creates a nice, sweet crunch, and kind of slips in between the cracks of bread. It comes together in minutes, making it perfect for busy mornings or a weekend brunch. Pile on your favorite toppings like fresh fruit, syrup, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Ingredients Needed
- eggs
- half and half
- milk – whatever kind you have on hand is fine! I use 2 parts half and half to one part milk (whatever I have on hand) but you could also use all whole milk if you’ve got that around. Or 1 part cream 2 parts milk…you’ve got options. Just don’t use all skim milk for the liquid, you need to have the fat in there to get a nice creamy custard.
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- kosher salt
- vanilla extract
- French bread – you can use a number of different breads in this. A loaf of french bread works great; that’s what I usually use, but feel free to use something like brioche, challah, or any other good french-toasty bread. You can buy it a day or two ahead of time because slightly dry bread absorbs the liquid really well. Don’t fret if you have fresh bread though, I often don’t dry out my bread and it works great; I actually like it extra soft like that. If you’d like to dry out your bread, you can pop it (already chopped) into a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
- butter
- brown sugar
- white sugar
- cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- for serving: we recommend melted butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, berries, whipped cream, or whatever else you’d like! You can serve this a million and one ways. If you’re serving with frozen berries, thaw them (and drain if you want) and mix them with a little sugar before serving since frozen berries tend to be tart.
How to Make Overnight French Toast
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Whisk eggs, half and half, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Butter a 9×13 dish, cut bread into 1-inch cubes, and place in dish.
- Pour egg mixture over bread, gently toss to coat, spread evenly, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- For topping: mix brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; cut in cold butter until crumbly. Cover and refrigerate.
- In the morning, preheat oven to 350°F, uncover casserole, sprinkle topping evenly, and bake 40 – 50 minutes (until golden and set).
- Cool 5 – 10 minutes before serving; add syrup, berries, whipped cream, or powdered sugar if desired.
Storage & Other Tips
- Prep ahead: the best part of this recipe! This recipe was designed to sit overnight, so the bread can truly soak up all of that delicious, sweet egg mixture.
- Refrigerate leftovers (up to 3 – 4 days): let the casserole cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container or cover it tightly with plastic wrap in the fridge.
- Freeze for long-term storage: you can freeze baked casserole (wrapped in plastic or foil) in the freezer for 2 – 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to use day-old bread?
Yes, day old or slightly stale bread absorbs the custard better and keeps the casserole from getting soggy. If you’re using fresh bread, dry it out first in a low oven.
I forgot to prep it the night before. Do I still have time?
It happens! You want it to soak for at least 8 hours before baking, so as long as you can fit that in, you’re good.
How do I know when it’s done baking?
Look for a golden-brown top and a set center. When lightly shaken, it shouldn’t jiggle. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
What bread works best?
Sturdy, crusty breads like French, Italian, sourdough, challah, or brioche are ideal. Avoid soft sandwich bread unless it’s dried first. Having nice, thick chunks makes all the difference though!
Overnight Baked French Toast
This overnight baked French Toast with crunchy brown sugar topping comes together in just a few minutes the night before, then bakes in the morning for an easy, festive breakfast treat!
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 cup milk whatever kind you have on hand
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt a little less if using table salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 lb. loaf of French bread
- softened butter for greasing baking dish 2-3 tablespoons
Topping
- 4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons cold butter
For Serving
- melted butter
- maple syrup
- powdered sugar
- berries
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Crack eggs into large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk in half and half and milk. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Set aside.
- Use softened butter to butter bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking dish. Cut bread into 1 inch chunks and place in dish. Whisk egg mixture one more time and then pour evenly over bread. Use a rubber spatula to very gently toss bread, moving bread on bottom to top, and making sure all of the piece on top get dipped in egg mixture. Spread out evenly, cover dish, and place in fridge overnight.
- To make topping, place brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and stir to combine. Cut cold butter into very small pieces and add to bowl. Use clean hands to break up butter and combine mixture until crumbly. Cover and place in fridge until morning.
- When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic from dish and sprinkle topping evenly over top. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until top is golden brown. You can stick a knife or skewer in the casserole to make sure the egg mixture is set on the bottom. *Note I have left a generous baking time window because it varies on ovens and the size of your bread cubes. I used to cook this closer to 60 minutes at my old house, but in my new convection ovens it’s done closer to 45. Keep an eye on it and let me know how long yours takes to bake!
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares. Drizzle with melted butter and syrup, top with berries, whipped cream and a sprinkle of powdered sugar if desired.
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Questions & Reviews
Has anyone tried this type of dish with almond or coconut milk? I have one child that can have zero dairy and would love to make this…I have been using rice milk for french toast but the recipe you need the milk fats…any thoughts?
I havent but I have made many custards with rice milk, etc. I think some thick coconut milk from a can would be super yummy!
This was so delicious and a big hit! Can you make ahead and freeze? If so do you recommend fully baking before freezing or freeze before baking?
I’m glad you loved it! I’ve never tried freezing so you’d have to experiment with that!
Coconut milk would be delish, I’d go with that one!
Thanks! I keep canned coconut milk around for coconut rice 🙂 I will use that with rice milk and let you know how it turns out!
Yes! I use a can of full fat coconut milk in a 2c measuring glass, i usually top it off with almond milk to equal 2c and then add another 1c almond milk. It’s delish! Just prepped for New Years Day.
I used a can of coconut cream 🙂 it was fantastic.
I made this with 1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups almond milk and it was amazing! This is going to be a recipe I come back to.
Made it. Loved it. Filing it under “holiday and overnight guest go-to breakfast!” I baked it in my convection oven for 50 minutes and it was perfect. Thank you for yet another hit! I also made the pear pomegranate salad for Christmas dinner–was the perfect complement to a Prime Rib dinner.
Hi Sherrie, did you adjust the temp when baking in your convection oven or keep it as written? I’ve made this several times in a traditional oven but wanted to use the convection oven in our rv this time. Thanks!
I made this for Christmas brunch and it was delicious. I did add extra cinnamon to the liquid and I used fresh ground nutmeg. Also, I didn’t soak it overnight, just made it the morning of and let the bread soak up most of the liquid (about 15 mins) and then popped it in the oven. I baked it as instructed and it was delicious!
I made an unsweetened raspberry puree which I served as a condiment with it. We all ended up drizzling some of the puree on it before adding maple syrup and the contrast of the tart raspberries with the sweetness of the maple syrup was definitely perfect! Thanks, this is going to be a new Christmas tradition!
Update: I made it again but soaked it overnight and I actually liked the texture of the first batch, which I made after only soaking for 15 minutes, more than the batch I soaked overnight. Both were good but baked same day wins for me.
Oh my gosh – this French Toast was amazing! I followed the recipe exactly, even the choice of toppings. Everyone loved it! This will be a family Christmas Eve tradition, as well as your oven-baked Cranberry Sauce (not together of course…well, maybe!). Thank you for sharing your stories and recipes with all of us!
We made this as well, and it was A-MAZING! Thank you for the great recipe!
This is not a comment on the post, but just wanted to say my husband bought me your new cookbook for Christmas. I was so excited I just had to hug him! I’m excited to get cooking! I love your blog and am now the proud owner of my first Best Bites cookbook. I’m going to love it, I’m sure.
this was delicious! Baked French toast has become a Christmas morning tradition for us, and this was the best recipe ever. I added some crusty whole grain bread to the mix and gave it a nice hearty texture. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made it for Christmas morning. We all loved it, and I ate the leftovers for breakfast today! Thanks for your hard work on this blog and sharing the delicious recipes with everyone. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
SO yum! I took this to our Christmas brunch and my father in law ate half the pan! It took 45 mins,and I agree- this is bread pudding and not French toast. Still scrumptious, especially with berries and syrup. Hope you had a Merry Christmas!
Made this along with the Overnight Sausage & Egg Casserole (which the girls call “egg cake” and is always always a big hit) and cooked it for about 65 minutes (after I started checking around 50 minutes) and it was delightful. I ended up running out of time the night before making the topping, so in the morning I just sprinkled on some Cinnamon Sugar and nutmeg and dotted with cold butter and it turned out great, especially with fruit syrups (My husband loved that it wasn’t overtly sweet unlike cinnamon rolls). Anyway! We loved it and will add to our Christmas and special morning treats. Thanks for the great recipe.