Baked French Toast (Overnight Casserole)

This easy baked French toast recipe can be made right in a casserole dish in your oven, so it’s perfect for stress-free holiday mornings. This French toast casserole serves a crowd effortlessly and features brown butter, caramel, and creamy eggnog sauce that takes it to the next level. Whether you’re hosting Christmas breakfast or a weekend brunch, this overnight French toast is the ultimate make-ahead recipe, delivering bakery-quality results with minimal effort.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Oven Baked French Toast Recipe

• Quick Prep Time: Only 20 minutes of active prep, so it’s perfect for busy holiday mornings.
• Make-Ahead Friendly: Assemble the night before and bake fresh in the morning, which means stress-free entertaining.
• Incredibly Delicious: Brown butter caramel, cinnamon-spiced custard, and creamy eggnog sauce create irresistible flavor.
• Feeds a Crowd: Serves 8-12 people from one casserole dish, so it’s perfect for family gatherings.

🍲 Ingredients

Bread – Thick, rich breads like challah or brioche work best for french toast casserole because their sturdy texture holds up beautifully to the custard without falling apart. Challah is slightly sweeter and denser, while brioche is buttery and tender, so you can choose based on your preference. Day-old or slightly stale bread is actually ideal because it absorbs the custard mixture better without becoming too soggy. You can also substitute with croissants for extra richness, sourdough for tangy depth, or gluten-free bread if you have dietary restrictions.

Brown Butter – Made by cooking unsalted butter until the milk solids turn golden brown while the water evaporates, brown butter delivers a nutty, toasty flavor that’s infinitely more complex than regular butter. This process creates hundreds of new flavor compounds, and as a result, it adds incredible depth to both the caramel layer and the overall dish. Brown butter contains the same nutrients as regular butter but with enhanced flavor, so you get maximum taste impact from every tablespoon.

👩‍🍳 How to Make This Oven Baked French Toast Recipe

Prepare Brown Butter Caramel:

1. In a medium pot, cook butter over high heat, stirring constantly. After a few minutes, it will foam up as water evaporates, so continue stirring until it foams a second time. Watch as it changes from golden to amber to brown, and once it’s mostly dark brown, immediately transfer to a heat-safe container because it can burn quickly.
2. Combine brown sugar with the cooled brown butter and spread evenly on the bottom of a greased 9×13-inch casserole dish.

Assemble the Casserole:

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut bread slices in half width-wise, but save the round top halves for better presentation.
4. Arrange bread pieces on top of the caramel layer in two lines across the dish, lightly fanning them like dominoes so they overlap slightly.

Make the Custard:

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, sugars, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Pour the custard mixture over the bread, and gently press the tops to ensure everything is coated because dry spots won’t cook properly.
6. For overnight method: Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8-12 hours, so the bread absorbs all the custard. For quick method: Let soak 30 minutes at room temperature, though overnight yields better texture.

Bake:

7. Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the custard is set. The internal temperature should reach 190-195°F, so use a thermometer for accuracy. If it’s browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil, but remove the foil for the last 10 minutes to crisp the top. Let rest 10 minutes before serving because the custard needs time to set fully.

Prepare Eggnog Sauce:

8. While the french toast bakes, heat eggnog, milk, sugar, and butter in a small pot to a simmer. In a separate dish, whisk flour with 2-3 tablespoons eggnog until smooth, and then add to the pot. Bring to a rolling boil to thicken, and immediately transfer to a bowl to cool so it doesn’t overcook.

Serve:

9. Dust with cinnamon sugar and drizzle generously with warm eggnog sauce. You can also top with fresh berries, maple syrup, or whipped cream.

Optional Streusel Topping: Mix ½ cup flour, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup cold butter, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over casserole before baking because it adds extra crunch and sweetness.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• Stale Bread Works Best: Day-old or slightly stale bread absorbs custard better without becoming mushy in the center, so don’t use fresh bread.
• Don’t Skip Soaking Time: Whether overnight or for 30 minutes minimum, proper soaking ensures even custard distribution and, as a result, a consistent texture throughout.
• Check Doneness: Use an instant-read thermometer because the center should reach 190-195°F for correctly set custard.
• Prevent Soggy Centers: Don’t overcrowd bread pieces and ensure even custard distribution, so press down gently during assembly.

🗒 Variations

• Berry French Toast Casserole: Layer fresh or frozen blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries between bread slices before adding the custard, as they add bursts of fruity flavor.
• Chocolate Chip: Sprinkle chocolate chips between layers for an extra indulgent breakfast treat, but use mini chips so they distribute better.
• Apple Cinnamon: Add sautéed apple slices and extra cinnamon to the custard to create a fall-inspired flavor.
• Savory Version: Omit sugar, add cheese, herbs, and cooked sausage, and as a result, you get a breakfast strata instead.

🗒 Substitutions

• Bread: Use brioche for buttery richness, challah for sweetness, or sourdough for tang. You can also use gluten-free bread, but it may absorb custard differently.
• Dairy-Free: Replace cream and milk with coconut milk or almond milk, and use coconut oil instead of butter because they provide similar richness.
• Eggnog Sauce: Swap eggnog for heavy cream or whole milk and replace nutmeg with extra cinnamon, so you can enjoy this year-round.
• Sweetener: Use maple syrup instead of brown sugar in the caramel layer because it adds a different depth of flavor.

🍽️ Other Brunch Recipes You’ll Love

• Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
• Chocolate Brownie Hemp Whoopie Pie
• How to Make Sugar Cookies (Holiday Themed)
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store leftover baked French toast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, warm individual slices in the oven at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or microwave for 30-60 seconds until heated through. You can also freeze baked slices wrapped individually for up to 3 months—thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving. For an unbaked casserole, assemble completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 2 months to make holiday mornings even easier. Bake from frozen, but add 15-20 extra minutes to the baking time.

🤔 Common Questions

Baked French Toast (Overnight Casserole)

5 from 7 votes

🍞 This baked French toast casserole with brown butter caramel and eggnog sauce is perfect for holiday mornings! Make it overnight for easy entertaining!

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Vegetarian

Cuisine Baked Goods

Servings 8 -12

Calories 338 kcal

Ingredients

  

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For Brown Butter Caramel:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar

For French Toast Bake:

• ½ loaf soft bread challah, brioche, etc
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 ¼ cup whole milk
• 5 eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tbsp vanilla

For Eggnog Sauce:

• ½ cup plant-based eggnog
• ½ cup heavy cream or plant-based milk
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 ½ tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp fresh nutmeg grated
• ½ tsp salt

For Cinnamon Sugar Dust:

• ½ cup icing sugar
• ¾ tsp cinnamon

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Instructions

 

• To brown the butter: in a medium-sized pot add the butter, and stir constantly over high heat. In a few minutes, the butter will foam up, cooking off any water content. Continue stirring, waiting for it to foam up a second time. After it foams the second time, the butter will begin to change color from golden to amber to chestnut red to brown.  Once it contains mainly dark brown color, immediately transfer to a heat-safe container, and allow to cool. 
• Combine the brown sugar with the butter and evenly spread it on the bottom of a 9×13 in casserole dish. 
• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Cut your slices of bread in half (width-wise), saving the round top halves.
• Arrange the pieces of bread (on top of the caramel layer) in two lines across the casserole dish, lightly fanning them like dominos.  Set aside while you prepare the custard filling.
• In a medium-sized bowl, combine eggs, cream, milk, sugars, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the egg custard mixture over the casserole dish. Lightly push the tops of the bread to ensure being coated with custard. 
• Bake for 32 – 35 minutes, until the top is browned and the custard is set.
• While the French Toast bakes, prepare the Eggnog Sauce. In a small pot, heat + combine the eggnog, milk, sugar, and butter, and bring it to a simmer. In a small dish, whisk together the flour and 2 – 3 tbsp of eggnog until smooth. Add the pot and bring the sauce to a rolling boil to thicken.  Transfer immediately to a bowl to cool.
• Once the French Toast Bake is done, serve immediately with cinnamon sugar dust and Eggnog Sauce.

Notes

Replace soft bread with croissants, your favorite bread, or gluten-free bread! Like brioche, challah, or other soft rich bread.

Add different nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, whipped cream, ice cream, OR anything you desire for this delicious baked French toast!

Store in the fridge in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight, reheat to serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 12 | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 40.4g | Protein: 5.2g | Fat: 19.6g | Saturated Fat: 11.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 311.3mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 37g

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