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Overnight French Toast Casserole makes the perfect holiday breakfast for a large crowd! Easy to prep in advance and topped with a crunchy Cinnamon Pecan Streusel this baked French toast recipe saves you time in the morning and tastes so delicious.
Baked French Toast is the perfect warm breakfast dish to make for a large crowd or big family during the holiday season. This easy overnight breakfast casserole comes together quickly the night before, and you just have to sprinkle the topping over it in the morning and bake it.
We are heading into the holidays, and one of my favorite things to do is make brunch for my family. I love to serve this recipe along with my Baked Oatmeal Recipe and my favorite Cranberry Orange Rolls (they’re so fluffy!!).
But this recipe also works without overnight chilling, so if you’re a morning person and have an hour to spare before everyone else wakes up, you can make this cozy breakfast casserole too! Just follow my tips below.
Just like our Air Fryer French Toast and French crêpes, this easy French toast bake is the perfect cozy, warm, family-friendly meal that is special enough for a holiday breakfast but easy enough to make every weekend this season. Serve it with maple syrup and everyone will want seconds, I promise!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to prep: Can be prepped in advance and baked the next morning. Perfect for special holidays or a weekend brunch!
- Easy to make: This easy French toast bake is the perfect cozy, warm, family-friendly meal that is special enough for a holiday breakfast but easy enough to make every weekend this season. Serve it with maple syrup and everyone will want seconds, I promise!
- Delicious: You want to have a balanced ratio of crunchy exterior to custardy, creamy interior. That’s why I think the Streusel Topping makes this recipe better than other French Toast recipes because it adds more crunch.
How to make this recipe
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found at the bottom of the page on the printable recipe card.
- Bread: After prepping the baking dish, arrange the sliced bread in it. Combine the ingredients for the egg mixture and pour it over the bread. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate overnight.
- Grate butter: You can make the topping ahead of time or just before putting the casserole in the oven, it stores well in the fridge, too. Combine all the dry ingredients, then grate the cold butter on top.
- Make topping: Mix with a fork or your hands until crumbly and combined.
- Bake: On the next morning, preheat the oven and sprinkle the topping over the French toast. Then bake until golden brown on top and cooked through. Serve it warm, drizzled with maple syrup.
Expert Tips
- Use stale bread to make French toast. Otherwise, you’ll end up with mushy, soggy slices. Cut the loaf into slices the day before and let them dry out on the counter, or put the sliced bread on a wire rack and put them in a 300°F oven for 8 minutes.
- Don’t use soft bread for this recipe! A crusty french bread cut into slices and dried out overnight works best in my experience.
- Using half cream and half milk gives the baked French toast a rich and custardy interior.
- You can assemble the streusel topping the night before or while you’re pre-heating the oven if you refrigerate the casserole overnight.
- Use quality ingredients! This recipe uses 8 eggs, for the best flavor use free-range or organic eggs.
- As a proud Canadian resident, it’s my duty to tell you that you have to use pure Maple Syrup!
Recipe FAQ
The best bread for a French toast casserole is French or Italian Bread, which you can get in any Supermarket. A 1-pound French Bread is the perfect amount of bread for this recipe. The bread should be stale, not hard like stone, but definitely dry and not fresh.
If you’re using really soft bread, the French toast will turn out mushy and soggy, so make sure to use dry bread!
If you want to bake this recipe right away, cut the bread into cubes instead of slices (preferably the night before if you have a fresh loaf so it is stale the next morning). This way you can toss the bread cubes with the egg mixture, and they get soaked faster without overnight chilling.
The Pecan Streusel Topping is so tasty! But if you can’t eat pecans or don’t have them on hand you can just leave them out or add the same amount of walnuts instead.
Tools and Ingredients
9×13 Baking Pan (affiliate link): I have this set of glass baking pans that come with lids! It’s perfect for storing leftovers.
Grater (affiliate link): Grating the butter makes making streusel easier! I love this Grater because it comes with a container and works great!
More breakfast recipes
German Recipes
Pfannkuchen
Breakfast & Brunch
Easy French Crepes
Breakfast & Brunch
Dutch Baby Pancake
Air Fryer
Air Fryer Bacon
French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
For the French Toast:
- 1 loaf French bread, DRY, cut into 1-inch thick slices
- 8 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter and arrange the dry bread slices in the baking dish in two rows.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour evenly over the bread.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate overnight.
- To make the topping, mix flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Grate the cold butter on top and mix until crumbly. Store in a plastic bag or container in the fridge until ready to use.
- On the next morning, remove the casserole from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Sprinkle the topping over the French toast and bake, uncovered, for 40–45 minutes until browned and set but soft in the middle. If it browns too fast, cover it with aluminum foil. (If you like your French Toast Casserole more set, bake for a few more minutes.)
- Serve warm, drizzled with maple syrup.
Notes
- Use stale bread to make French toast. Otherwise, you’ll end up with mushy, soggy slices. Cut the loaf into slices the day before and let them dry out on the counter, or put the sliced bread on a wire rack and put them in a 300°F oven for 8 minutes.
- Don’t use soft bread for this recipe! A crusty french bread cut into slices and dried out overnight works best in my experience.
- Using half cream and half milk gives the baked French toast a rich and custardy interior.
- You can assemble the streusel topping the night before or while you’re pre-heating the oven if you refrigerate the casserole overnight.
- Use quality ingredients! This recipe uses 8 eggs, for the best flavor, use free-range or organic eggs.
- As a proud Canadian resident, it’s my duty to tell you that you have to use pure Maple Syrup!
