Overnight French Toast Casserole

My easy French Toast Casserole recipe is decadence in a dish, and it's make-ahead friendly, too! Start the day right with a plate of joy!

Course Breakfast or Dessert, brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword french toast casserole, french toast casserole overnight, overnight french toast, overnight french toast casserole

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 518kcal

1 loaf Brioche or Challah bread; we used chocolate chip brioche bread, how fun!
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
8 eggs
3 cups milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons cinnamon divided (one half is for egg mixture, other half is for topping)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar mixed with 1½ tsp. cinnamon for topping
Powdered sugar for topping - optional
Fresh fruit - optional

Preheat oven to 425°F and butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.
Cut or tear your bread loaf into cubes.
1 loaf Brioche
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and mix well, until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture is smooth and beginning to thicken.
1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup butter
Pour the mixture into the bottom of your greased baking dish. Smooth out evenly across the bottom of the dish.
Add cubed bread to the baking dish.
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, and half of your cinnamon. Once whisked well, pour egg mixture over the cubed bread. Make sure all pieces of bread have been soaked with the mixture.
8 eggs, 3 cups milk, 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, 3 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Mix together remaining cinnamon and sugar to make cinnamon sugar, then sprinkle it over the loaf.
1 cup brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and fluffy. Remove from the oven and top with powdered sugar and fresh fruit if desired. Enjoy!
Fresh fruit - optional, Powdered sugar

If your casserole is browning too quickly, cover it with foil for part of the cooking time.

I recommend using brioche or challah bread for this recipe, or a nice thick sourdough. Don't bother with regular sliced white bread; it's so thin and airy, it will just turn to mush.

1-2 days old bread works best for French toast as it holds up better to the liquid. If you're using a fresh loaf, just leave the loaf out, unwrapped, for 1-2 hours. You can even speed up the process by tearing it into cubes and leaving them out for 30 minutes.

If you want to avoid dairy milk, you can use almond, oat, or coconut milk instead.