Easy French Toast Casserole (Overnight Recipe)

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This easy make ahead French toast casserole recipe is great for entertaining and saves you from standing over a griddle or stovetop all morning. Serve alongside sheet pan pancakes, a tray of cheese blintzes, and all of your favorite toppings for an epic brunch spread.

This make ahead French toast bake has lived on my site since 2018, about three weeks after our second son was born.

Two years prior to that, I published my super popular make ahead breakfast casserole at the same time in the newborn phase: that dreaded third week. 

There is something about three weeks into newborn-hood. Something oh-so-awfully special: sheer exhaustion.

Sleep deprivation for a week is rough. Another week on top of that is a bit worse.

Add a third? Then we’re talking real sleepy.

And thankfully, all that sleeplessness subsides a bit eventually, but until it does…

Food you can make ahead of time, perhaps while you have a crying, cluster-feeding newborn strapped into a carrier in the evening and then bake in the morning when you’re feeling hungry and desperate for a meal, should be a staple in your kitchen.

Oh, and hopefully some people are bringing you some meals, because that is a godsend with a newborn. GODSEND.

Shoutout to ALL of the people who brought us snacks and meals and so many other things during both of our newborn phases (like meatballs, gin and tonic ingredients, nutritious salads, and zucchini ravioli).

You people absolutely carried us through that and we are so appreciative, even so many years later. 

…or any special occasion (or non-special occasion!) you need to have a lot of food for a lot of people and don’t want to hang out over a stovetop all morning, dipping bread slices into an egg wash and waiting to flip each piece at the perfect time.

This is the easy peasy way to French toast, and it’s just as delicious as the individually sliced kind.

For the bread, you can use any kind you like: brioche bread, challah bread, Italian bread, sliced sandwich bread, really any kind of crusty bread. This is also a great place for sourdough bread! There’s just one very important qualifier here, and that’s that you’ll need stale bread.

Why are we going to use stale bread for this French toast recipe? More dry places for the egg custard to go.

Fresh bread won’t work quite the same and you’ll find yourself with some goopy French toast casserole instead of soft in the center with a crispy exterior.

Cut up a fresh loaf of bread and let it sit out on the counter all day. Cut the bread in the morning, start the casserole in the evening, bake it the next morning.

We’ll amp up the flavor for this French toast overnight casserole with some brown sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Feel free to add more spices like nutmeg and ginger if you’re into them.

This is definitely no “set-in-stone” recipe when it comes to the flavors. You could also use some almond or citrus extract in place of the vanilla, if you’re feeling extra fancy.

I’ve also thrown in orange zest, orange juice, and fresh fruit to turn traditional French toast into something easier and more interesting.

Your breakfast/brunch, your choice!

Could that be simpler? I don’t think it could.

You’ll spend a whole 24 hours with your casserole, but the hands-on time is seriously minimal. Only about 20 minutes in total!

You’ll be left with soft bites of custardy French toast, topped with crispy pieces that sat on the top of the whole shebang. And leftovers? Toast them in the toaster oven and you’re in for a real treat.

How to serve Overnight French Toast Bake

You can serve this French toast casserole as is, or with pure maple syrup, powdered sugar, homemade whipped cream, salted caramel sauce, strawberry compote, fresh fruit, or any other topping you enjoy on your traditional French toast.

Looking to share this French toast overnight breakfast casserole with someone else? Bring them a container of stale bread and the custard pre-mixed.

They can just dump it all together, stick it in the fridge, and bake when they’re ready to enjoy. 

This is truly one of my favorite overnight recipes, because it can serve as breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or a snack. Give me a drizzle of maple syrup any time of day, eh?

Storing Overnight French Toast Casserole

Store baked French toast casserole in the refrigerator, covered tightly, up to 5 days. This casserole freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and reheat portions as needed.

You can also freeze an unbaked casserole, up to 3 months: add the custard, allow to soak for 3 hours, then freeze. The night before you want to eat it, thaw in the refrigerator, then bake in the morning.

Looking for some make ahead French toast casserole with fruit? Or a make ahead French toast casserole with cream cheese? Look no further than my make ahead blueberry French toast. And don’t forget to check out some of my other easy breakfast recipes with my make ahead breakfast egg casserole, sheet pan pancakes, and homemade instant oatmeal.

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