This oven baked french toast casserole is made with soft and buttery brioche bread soaked in a sweet custard and topped with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping. It's a delicious treat and a true crowd pleaser.
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Why this recipe works
French toast is one of my family's favorite weekend breakfasts. Specifically my cinnamon French toast sticks! But when you're serving a larger crowd it takes some time to cook all of those slices. With this easy baked French toast you'll get those same yummy classic French toast flavors without the flipping.
This baked french toast with cinnamon topping is perfect for serving a crowd for a special occasion breakfast like Mother's Day and Christmas morning. And it's a great choice for a make ahead breakfast that you can prepare the night before and pop in the oven the next morning.
Ingredient Notes
- Brioche bread is my go to for this baked cinnamon French toast. It's rich and buttery and perfect for soaking up the custard. Slightly stale bread works best, or you can dry it out in a 225°F oven for 20 -25 minutes.
- Milk and Heavy Cream give the custard richness, but if you want to avoid the heavy cream whole milk, half and half or milk alternatives will work too.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg add warm cozy spice flavors and Brown Sugar brings the sweetness in both the custard and the topping. But if cinnamon isn't your thing, you can leave it out.
How to make French toast casserole
- Cut your bread into 1 inch cubes and place them in an even layer in a 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs, milk, cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread cubes.
- For the topping, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Then add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry blender or two forks, until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
- Sprinkle the topping over the bread cubes then cover the casserole dish with foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
How to bake French toast
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Cover the baking dish with foil and set on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until the French toast has puffed up and is set. There may be a slight jiggle in the middle when you shake the dish.
What to serve with baked French toast
I like to top this overnight French toast with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. Fresh berries are also a must!
This breakfast casserole is a perfect sweet dish for a breakfast or brunch buffet. For another sweet option check out my Oatmeal Banana Pancakes, and some savory pairings I recommend serving it with:
- Spinach and Mushroom Breakfast Casserole
- Spinach Feta Egg Bites
- Hashbrown and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet
Recipe Tips and FAQs
Challah bread is another good choice for this recipe. It has a similar texture and richness, but isn't as buttery as brioche bread. Thick sliced bakery sandwich bread or French bread will also work, but will have a different texture.
The main cause of a soggy French toast casserole underbaking. I recommend baking for around 50 minutes. But time can vary slightly. Be sure to bake the French toast until the casserole is puffed up and has just a slight jiggle when shaking the dish.
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days
Reheat leftovers in a 350°F oven until warmed through. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave.
📖 Recipe
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf brioche bread
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
Topping
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 Tablespoons cold butter
Instructions
- Cut your bread into 1 inch cubes and place them in your baking dish in an even layer.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread cubes.
- For the topping, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Then add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry blender or two forks, until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
- Sprinkle the topping over the bread cubes, then cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Remove the dish from the fridge and let sit for around 15 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and set on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until the French toast has puffed up and is set. There may be a slight jiggle in the middle when you shake the dish.
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
TracyV
This is an excellent recipe. Had an entire bag of leftover brioche sliders to use up. It was first time baking French toast & definitely won't be my last. I halved the sugar in the filling & topping & ate with mixed berries & bananas with maple syrup. This amount of sweetness was perfect for our family. Go make this - it's delicious!!!
Kim
My kids loved this. Do you think there's a way to incorporate some hidden cottage cheese to add more protein?
Scott
Thanks Kim! Sorry, but I haven't tried it with cottage cheese, so not sure how that would work. Greek yogurt may be an option for added protein. I haven't tried this myself, but check out this French toast casserole with Greek yogurt.
Kathy
Hello and May I ask what is the different when baking the bread pudding with water-bath or without it (it seems like your recipe does not require with the water bath baking)? Thank you
Scott
Hi Kathy, I've never used a water bath for this recipe. I assume the added moisture would result in a softer/creamier texture. If you try it let us know!
Tracy
Absolutely Delicious!! However, there needs to be some instructions on how to store and reheat if any leftovers.
Scott
Thanks Tracy! Storage and Reheating instructions can be found in the Recipe Tips and FAQs section of the post.
Kim
This is amazing I made it for my family on Christmas Eve for breakfast and everybody absolutely LOVED IT!! I'm making it again right now because they loved it so much they want it again, thank you for sharing it, it is AWESOME!!!!
Scott
Thanks so much!
Kelsey
This was delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe xx
Brittany
Wow was this good.. I made it with brioche slider rolls and just put into a pie tin I had sitting around, just to serve me and my hubby this morning. It was a smash hit.. Even though I cut the recipe down to half or alittle less, it's going to be constant fav in my household.. Thank you for sharing..
Scott
Thanks so much Brittany!
Terra
We JUST got done eating this for our first (definitely not last) time and OH MY TASTEBUDS IS THIS DELICIOUS!!! Today is my husband's birthday and I wanted to make him French toast for breakfast but sometimes it feels like a lot of effort for little gain. Enter this Brioche French Toast tasty goodness. It was easy to prep the night before. Threw it in the oven and had time to decorate the living room before he woke up this morning. He LOVED it. He said it was like a breakfast monkeybread. I doubled the streusel topping because why not. Thank you for sharing this easy and indulgent taste creation!
Scott
Thanks so much Terra!