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    Home » What We're Eating » Easy French Toast Casserole

    Easy French Toast Casserole

    Published: Mar 19, 2018 by Blair Lonergan

    Jump to Recipe
    Long collage image of Easy French Toast Casserole

    With very little prep work, you can stash a Dump-and-Bake Easy French Toast Casserole in the refrigerator, let it sit overnight, and wake up to a deliciously satisfying breakfast! Perfect for an easy holiday brunch or a lazy Sunday morning, the cinnamon and brown sugar topping on this baked French toast sets it over the top!

    Slice of Easy French Toast Casserole on a white plate topped with fresh strawberries and pour of maple syrup

    Is there anyone who doesn't love French Toast? As far as I can tell, it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

    Add a cinnamon and brown sugar streusel on top and bake it in a thick casserole, dust with powdered sugar, garnish with fresh spring berries, and drizzle with maple syrup?!?!?! Lawd, help me.

    There's just nothing better!

    A close up shot of an easy French Toast casserole on a plate topped with powdered sugar and strawberries

    The best news of all, though? I've managed to keep this about as simple as possible!

    You guys love my dump-and-bake dinners, so this is basically the brunch version of a dump-and-bake casserole. With practically no prep work necessary, you just assemble the dish and you're ready to go!

    There's no need to dip bread in an egg custard, and there's no need to stand over a griddle flipping individual slices before they burn. Instead, just pull the dish out of the oven in the morning, pop it in the oven, and bake it until your house smells AMAZING. Trust me...it's the best.

    So Let's Get To The Details - Tips For Making This Easy French Toast Casserole

    To keep this really easy, I use store-bought frozen slices of buttered Texas Toast that I pick up in the freezer section at our local grocery store. Be careful that you don't grab the garlic-flavored Texas Toast -- that would just be GROSS!

    If you can't find a plain butter-flavored frozen Texas Toast at your store, then you can just use your favorite thick-cut fresh bread from the bakery section. Any bread that you would choose for a classic French Toast will work here as well (for instance, either day-old brioche or a stale French baguette would be delicious)!

    A photo of food lion butter texas toast sitting on a white wooden surface

    As I said, once you have all of your ingredients together, it's just a matter of whisking some eggs with whole milk and assembling the casserole.

    Here's what it looks like before it goes in the oven:

    You'll notice that I prepared this particular version in a smaller 8-inch square dish to feed a smaller group. In the recipe below, you will find instructions for a larger casserole dish as well as the modifications for a smaller dish. Pick the option that works best for your family!

    You can also see that I cut the bread to fit the dish. It doesn't need to look perfect!

    An overhead shot of and Easy French Toast Casserole ready to go in the oven

    Once the Easy French Toast Casserole comes out of the oven, you will realize just how PERFECT this meal really is!

    The part that truly makes it special, however, is the cinnamon brown sugar streusel that forms a perfect crispy crust on top. It's the best contrast to the soft, tender bread inside.

    In other words, we're having Bread Pudding for breakfast!????A side shot of an easy French Toast casserole in a green casserole dish with spring flowers

    What Can I Top This Easy French Toast Casserole With?

    • The only thing that could possibly make it better is the addition of fresh spring berries on top such as strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries
    • Add a dusting of powdered sugar
    • Or a drizzle with maple syrup

    Go big, or go home, right?!

    A slice of Dump and Bake Easy French Toast Casserole on a plate with berries and maple syrup

    This decadent (yet easy) French Toast Casserole is perfect for your Easter brunch, for your next quiet Sunday morning at home, or for a weeknight breakfast-for-dinner!

    With cinnamon, spice, and everything nice, it's one dish that I know your family will adore!

    More easy breakfast casseroles that you might enjoy:

    • Sallie's Overnight Easy Breakfast Casserole
    • Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
    • Berry Baked Oatmeal
    • Crustless Quiche with Spinach
    Slice of Easy French Toast Casserole on a white plate topped with fresh strawberries and pour of maple syrup
    Print Pin
    4.5 from 4 votes

    Easy French Toast Casserole

    With very little prep work, you can stash a dump and bake easy French casserole in the fridge overnight, and wake up to a deliciously satisfying breakfast!
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine American
    Keyword baked french toast, easy french toast casserole, make ahead french toast casserole
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 55 minutes
    Chilling Time 8 hours
    Total Time 9 hours 5 minutes
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories 521kcal
    Author Blair Lonergan

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
    • 12 slices frozen buttered Texas Toast (2 boxes), thawed *
    • 1 cup brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 7 eggs
    • 1 ½ cups whole milk
    • Optional, for serving: maple syrup, powdered sugar, and/or fresh fruit

    Instructions

    • Pour melted butter into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
    • In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together vanilla extract, eggs and milk.
    • Arrange 6 bread slices in a single layer on the bottom of the buttered baking dish. You can cut the bread, as necessary, to fit the bottom of the dish.
    • Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over top.
    • Add another layer of bread slices. Pour egg mixture over the bread, and gently push down on the bread to make sure that they are evenly submerged.
    • Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over top.
    • Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight. The longer it sits, the better!
    • When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
    • Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the casserole is set and the top is golden brown.
    • Drizzle with maple syrup or dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

    Notes

    *I use Food Lion brand Butter Texas Toast. If you can’t find a similar butter Texas Toast in your grocer’s freezer section, you can substitute with any thick-cut fresh bread from the bakery. Spread a thin layer of butter on each slice before assembling casserole.
    Cooking for a Smaller Family? As you can see here, I baked my French Toast Casserole for these photos in an 8-inch square dish. To do so, just cut the ingredients in half. Baking instructions remain the same.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/8 of the recipe | Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 61.8g | Protein: 11.6g | Fat: 30.7g | Saturated Fat: 12.5g | Cholesterol: 200.4mg | Sodium: 487.2mg | Sugar: 28.9g
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

      March 20, 2018 at 7:55 am

      French toast casseroles are my favorite! Love this easy version. Sounds perfect for Easter!

      Reply
      • Blair

        March 20, 2018 at 8:11 am

        They're definitely one of my favorites too, Gayle! SO GOOD! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Jean Dudley

      April 02, 2018 at 7:26 am

      This was a hit for Easter brunch! Used a dense Italian loaf that is made locally and sliced it thick. Will definitely make again. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Blair

        April 02, 2018 at 7:48 pm

        Hi, Jean! I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Emily Kemp

      May 11, 2018 at 6:24 am

      5 stars
      Wow I've never made a french toast casserole before this looks amazing. Perfect for weekend brunch!

      Reply
      • Blair

        May 11, 2018 at 10:19 am

        Thanks, Emily!

        Reply
    4. Barbara

      November 25, 2018 at 9:44 am

      5 stars
      Super Easy to follow and bake up. I prepared everything and left overnight. yummy...yummy have printed out a copy for my Mom. I have 3 more breakfasts for myself. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Blair

        November 25, 2018 at 1:58 pm

        Awesome! So glad that you enjoyed it, Barbara. Thanks for sharing the recipe with your mom, too! 🙂

        Reply
        • Sharon Svrcek

          December 07, 2018 at 11:01 am

          3 stars
          was very easy , good flavor . but was a little too soggy and very sweet .
          should I bake it longer and how can I make it a little healthier?

          Reply
          • Blair

            December 08, 2018 at 6:15 am

            Hi, Sharon! You can bake it longer, and just cover loosely with foil if the top starts to get too brown before the inside is cooked to your liking. If you found it to be too sweet, you could try cutting the sugar mixture in half. It won't have that crusty, thick streusel-like topping, but there will still be a little bit of sweetness and crunch...maybe you would prefer it that way?

            Reply
    5. Burlene

      April 13, 2019 at 8:00 pm

      5 stars
      Kudos to a very good recipe which allowed me to recover from several errors and I still received praise for the dish.

      I decided to fix the French toast casserole for a brunch for about 20 people... I made the mistake of fixing it for the first time for this group... I made two batches rather than double the ingredients planning that each 9X13 pan would serve 10. Smaller serving size justified by all the other food at the brunch.

      My first problem was that I could not locate frozen buttered Texas toast, (Yes, I found garlic and also cheese, but not plain or buttered.) I decided to use a French baguette for each batch, However, I was concerned that my bread was "too fresh". To "dry it out" I preheated my oven to 170 degrees and turned it off. I had sliced the baguette in slices which were 3/4" to 1" thick and placed them on cookie sheets. I put them into the previously warmed oven for 10 minutes. This dried them out nicely. (I did butter them on both sides before assembling the dish.)

      When I started assembling the dish, I saw my next problem. I did not have enough bread to cover most of the bottom of the pan. However, I could fix two layers in each pan with each layer containing 2 rows of 5 slices, so I thought it was ok.

      When I added the egg/milk/vanilla mixture, I saw that the problem was greater than I previously anticipated... Because the liquid settled to the bottom, I basically had rivers with 10 very dry islands... Because my bread was dry (and hard), I could not compress it into the liquid... My recovery included: (1) I "flipped" some of the "islands' so the "dry bread" was on the bottom and the soaked bread on top, and, (2). I also mixed up some more liquid using 4 eggs, 3/4 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I poured half of this into each pan.

      I did tell my guests that the recipe was good even though "presentation" was lacking.

      Bottom line is that the Baked French Toast was a big success. There were no leftovers. I received many compliments and 4 people asked for the recipe. I did give credit to the Seasoned Mom recipes.

      It is a fantastic recipe which allows a cook to recover from his/her errors. I definitely will be fixing this again and looking forward to trying other "dump and bake" recipes.

      I would request that you consider changing the phrase: "You can cut the bread, as necessary, to fit the bottom of the dish" to something stronger such as: "You should cut the bread, as necessary, to fit the bottom of the dish. Small gaps are ok."

      Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

      Reply
      • Blair

        April 14, 2019 at 4:44 pm

        I'm so glad that it was a forgiving recipe and that your friends enjoyed it! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Kerri

      April 01, 2021 at 5:00 pm

      Can you clarify some confusion I have.....if you layer the bread and pour the egg mixture on the top layer, how does the bottom layer get any of the egg mixture? The recipe splits the sugar mixture in 1/2 so it covers each piece of bread, but the egg mixture does not?
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Blair

        April 01, 2021 at 5:56 pm

        Hi, Kerri! It just kind of all soaks down, and as the bread absorbs more liquid, you can gently press the bread down so that it's almost all submerged. Hope that makes sense! If you'd like to pour half of the liquid mixture over the first layer of bread, then repeat with the remaining bread and liquid, that certainly won't hurt. 🙂

        Reply
    7. Mimi

      June 10, 2021 at 5:59 pm

      Hi,

      If I make this for only 4 guests, do I use 4 eggs or 3?

      Thanks you

      Reply
      • Blair

        June 10, 2021 at 7:50 pm

        Hi, Mimi! I would use 3 extra large eggs. If you don't have extra large eggs available, then go with 4 small/regular eggs.

        Enjoy!

        Reply

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    Hey, I'm Blair!

    Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you'll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It's down-home, country-style cooking!

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