This easy overnight French Toast Casserole recipe tastes fantastic and is the perfect breakfast comfort food! Make it ahead the night before so you can easily throw it into the oven when ready for a delicious French toast breakfast casserole!
Overnight French Toast Casserole
One of my goals this year is to make more overnight breakfast casseroles. I am working on planning our meals for the week ahead of time, so I don't have to scramble and come up with something last minute.
My husband and I are having our weekly Bad A$$ meetings to discuss what each week looks like and what we need to have ready. These meetings help keep us on the same page and make sure nothing is getting missed.
The 20 minutes we spend talking helps me feel like we have a plan to ensure we get things done and have time to relax.
This overnight French Toast Casserole takes a few minutes of prep, and then it relaxes in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. I wish I would have made one of these for Christmas morning. It would have been perfect.
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of the simple ingredients needed to make an epic Overnight French Toast Casserole! The printable recipe card at the bottom of the post includes specific measurements and step-by-step instructions.
- Sliced Bread
- Eggs
- Cream Cheese
- Milk
- Maple Syrup
- Ground Cinnamon
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
Equipment Needed
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray: You can also grease the pan with butter.
- Tablespoons/Teaspoons/Measuring Tools
- 9x13 Casserole Dish
- Large Mixing Bowl: We are big fans of this glass batter bowl with a handle. It makes it easy to mix ingredients and keeps the mixing bowl steady on the counter.
- Aluminum Foil
- Heat-Resistant Potholders: A couple of years ago, we had a fire scare when we didn't realize we had turned a burner on, and a cloth potholder caught fire. Thankfully, we walked by the kitchen, saw the smoke, and got it out ourselves. Since then, we have only used these heat-resistant potholders.
How to make baked French Toast Casserole
I've included complete instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, but here's a quick version.
Step 1 - Add eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until well combined.
Step 2 - Tear slices of bread into bite size pieces and add half of them to the casserole baking dish.
Step 3 - Top bread pieces with cut up cream cheese pieces evenly spread out. Top with remaining bread pieces until evenly spread in the casserole dish.
Step 4 - Pour egg mixture over the bread pieces evenly.
Step 5 - Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Step 6 - Remove French Toast casserole baking pan from the refrigerator about 30 to 45 minutes before you plan to bake it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees when you are ready to bake this overnight French toast casserole.
Remove saran wrap and cover with aluminum foil before placing in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, remove aluminum foil and bake for additional 20-25 minutes.
Serve warm with maple syrup and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle extra cinnamon, fresh berries, or almonds for extra flavor.
Preparation and Storage
Make Ahead: If you don't want to wait overnight for this French Toast Casserole, refrigerate it for 4-6 hours before baking. You want to give time for the custard mixture to soak into the bread.
Storage: If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Freezing/How to Freeze: Freeze leftovers in an airtight, freezer-safe container and enjoy them within three months.
How to Reheat: Microwave leftover portions for 30-45 seconds to reheat.
Recipe Variations
Substitutions:
We usually use Hawaiian bread, Challah Bread, brioche bread, French bread, sourdough, or leftover sandwich bread to make this French Toast Bake. Some days, I toss in the random slices of a few different types of bread so they get used.
Vegetarian Option: This Overnight French Toast Casserole recipe is vegetarian!
Vegan Option: Swap the eggs, cream cheese, dairy milk, and bread with plant-based substitutes to make this recipe vegan. It is great with almond milk.
Gluten-Free: Gluten-free eaters should use gluten-free bread.
Alcohol-Free Option: We don’t use alcohol in our dish, but we’ve seen other recipes using sweet dessert liqueurs like Grand Marnier and amaretto if you’re interested in a boozy twist!
Smaller Serving Size + Larger Group/More Servings: The written recipe makes eight servings. Scale it up or down to your desired yield. You can bake it in ramekins for cute individual portions.
Sugar-Free: The written recipe contains 25 grams of sugar per serving. Use sugar-free maple syrup to make it sugar-free. The sugar content will also depend on the bread and cream cheese you use, so check that both ingredients are sugar-free.
Tips for the Best Overnight French Toast Casserole
- You can serve it with homemade whipped cream or try this Eggnog Whipped Cream for the holidays.
- Find this featured recipe in our Cream Cheese Recipes collection!
What to Serve with Overnight French Toast Casserole
Prepare this Overnight French Toast Casserole on Friday night and wake up on Saturday morning to a delectable brunch dish! Here are menu planning suggestions for a hearty brunch from home.
Sides: Air Fryer Hash Browns, CrockPot Cheesy Hashbrowns, Muffin Mix Pancakes, Spicy Deviled Eggs, CrockPot Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread, Easy Fruit Salad
Main Dishes: Caprese Eggs Benedict, Slow Cooker Banana Oatmeal, CrockPot Breakfast Casserole, Crock Pot Ham and Cheese Grits, Sausage, Biscuit, and Gravy Casserole
Drinks: Bay Breeze Drink, Raspberry Lemonade Moscato, Irish Breakfast Shot
When to Serve
- Breakfast (especially breakfast for dinner!)
- Brunch
- Holidays
- Potlucks
- Christmas Morning
Great Breakfast Recipes
Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
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Overnight French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 18 slices Bread cubed
- 12 Eggs
- 8-12 oz Cream Cheese cubed
- 1 ¼ cup Milk
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- dash Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Cube bread and place to the side.
- Add 3eggs, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Add ½ of the bread cubes to a greased casserole dish. Top with cubed cream cheese, add the remaining bread cubes on the top.
- Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread cubes. Cover the casserole dish with saran wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the dish from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove saran wrap and wrap the dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered in aluminum foil. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.
Kitchen Tools
- 9X13 Pan
- Large Mixing Bowl
Chrissy
I've had and made this recipe before. Quite a while ago, I remember taking it to work for everyone. They loved it!! The recipe I used was exactly the same but I didn't use cream cheese or cube the bread. I layered whole pieces of cinnamon bread back then. That recipe was lost so I was very happy to see yours. My better half doesn't like (too, too sweet) so I'll try the sugar free syrup. I love this recipe for the am and for dinner. I can eat breakfast anytime of day. Thanks for posting this, glad I got it again. It's so easy for anyway and even the leftovers are great! Thanks again. I might toss some chopped pecans in when I make it next. Would make a wonderful brunch dish ,too.♡♡