Want a tasty, quick, easy, inexpensive yet company worthy breakfast or brunch dish? Overnight French Toast Casserole fits the bill!
This is so simple to make-and it can feed a crowd. I especially like that it is prepared the night before and then just placed in the oven in the morning-great for when you have overnight company! You also avoid the “I’m standing at the stove making breakfast while everyone else is eating” syndrome.
I’ve even been known to make this in the camper for a quick and easy morning breakfast (remember, we camp in an RV and have an oven-wouldn’t quite work on a campfire!). You can’t beat a breakfast that cooks unattended while you enjoy your morning coffee!
Overnight French Toast Casserole
1/2 C Butter
12 slices White Bread
1 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon or Baking Spice
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
5 eggs
1 1/2 c Milk
-Melt margarine & pour in a 9X13 pan (I melt it in a measuring cup in the microwave)
-Mix together brown sugar & cinnamon (or baking spice)
-Wisk eggs, milk & vanilla together
-Layer bottom of pan with half the bread
-Sprinkle half brown sugar mix over the bread
-Layer second half of bread
-Pour egg mixture over all then sprinkle remaining brown sugar
-Cover & refrigerate overnight
-In the morning, cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes
-Uncover and bake 15 more minutes (should be browned and set
Variations:
Reduce brown sugar to 2/3 C
Use any milk substitute-powdered milk, evaporated skim milk, thinned plain yogurt
Use any type of bread. I’ve made this with slightly stale hamburger & hotdog rolls.
Cube bread and toss everything together then pour into pan. Not as pretty, but it works.
Sprinkle top or layers with nuts (this of course ups the cost)
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.
What a great recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I wonder if this would work with 100 % bread. I guess I’ll have to try it out. Thanks for sharing
I think wheat bread would work fine-it just might give it a slightly different flavor.
First, I’ve been reading emails from your site and hadn’t seen your redesign. I love it!
This recipe looks terrific. I have a sort of similar one that uses cream cheese, but this looks like it would be a lot healthier. 🙂 Thanks!
dying for the one with cream cheese, can you share?
This look great! I think I may add it to my breakfast for dinner plan. Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
Thanks for posting this! I’m totally excited about it. I’ve got friends coming into town this weekend and this will be perfect for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday morning!
I’m so glad you guys like this recipe! Please pop back in and let me know how it turned out.
This sounds great!
It really is yummy!
Jen,
Finally posting a comment after making this 3 times. I love it… it’s about the only way I can get a hot breakfast going in the morning for my kids 🙂
Thanks!
Linsey Knerl
Glad you all liked it! It really is uber easy & tasty.
Made this recipe last night for a brunch this morning and I LOVED it!!! It was delicious and I absolutely loved that I could make it last night and just bake it this morning because I have two young kids who hate me being in the kitchen. I used one loaf of texas toast because I had it in the freezer and it turned out great. I didn’t even need to really add any syrup because it was sweet enough without it but maybe next time will put a little fresh whipped cream on top when serving it. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! I know I’m going to use it often!
This is a great recipe, also good when you add some raisins.
Well, it is in the fridge and I am on my way to bed. I hope it is as amazing as it looks!
Sooooo! How did you like it?
Just getting ready to whip this up for New Year’s Day breakfast…can’t wait. Looked at many other recipes and this looked like the best! Thanks
I have this in the fridge and it already looks great! I can’t wait to suprise my husband with this for breakfast tomorrow since he is working all night tonight.
I made this recipe for our family brunch. I made it with regular bread and also with wheat bread. Everyone loved it. Thanks so much.
Diane-I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!
Oh my this is sooo good. I tried this recipe, because it doesn’t call for French Bread which I never have and is too expensive for me. I assembled it late last night, popped it in the fridge, and baked it off this morning. Heavenly! Next time, I’m making a double recipe so that I can have leftovers!
So glad you enjoyed it. It is such a perfect breakfast when you need to feed a group first thing.
Made this last night and cooked it this morning. Doesn’t really taste like french toast, at least not like I make it. The cinnamon and brown sugar are the predominant flavors. The top layer of bread was very crispy, most likely from when uncovering. My bottom layer, though, was a big mushy mess.
Overall, not bad but not as phenomenal as I was expecting. At the uncovering step, I added a bit of cooked bacon to the top, to add some salty in with the sweet. Not too bad, but was still a bit disappointed. Probably won’t be making again.
Billy-I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out the way you expected.
I made this for my husband to bring to a work potluck today. I made a couple changes – I added a couple tbsp of orange juice to the egg & milk mixture, and I tossed some slivered almonds on top before putting it in the oven this morning.
I realized too late that I was out of foil, so I didn’t cover it while it baked, but it turned out perfectly anyway.
I didn’t get a chance to taste it, but my husband reported that it was really good, and there is none left!
Yay! It’s always great to hear variations on a recipe, as well as a positive review 🙂
I was thinking last night that I wanted French toast today, but I really didn’t feel like dealing with the preparation first thing in the morning. So, I thought to myself, “I wonder if I could make a baked version?” Lo and behold, I found your recipe….and it’s fantastic! 🙂 A wonderful new way to have all that French-toasty goodness! I’ll definitely remember this one for the future! And all from a fellow Upstater, too — even better! 🙂 Thanks for a new recipe for lazy weekends or hurried weekdays!
I made this as a holiday brunch with a big bakery fresh raisin challah (jewish bread). I also replaced half of the milk with fat free half and half and also added a little bit of honey to the milk mixture. It came out DELICIOUS!!! It was a big hit with all of my friends and they are looking forward to eating it again =)
I’m so glad it was a hit! This is just such an easy, and obviously versatile recipe!
I would like to bake two casseroles at once. Does anyone have a length of time & temperature suggestion/variation for this? Thank you!
Jakki- Honestly, as long as they are in two separate pans side by side I’d go with the original directions-If you made it thicker somehow-like made a double batch in the same size pan THEN I’d think you’d need more time for teh heat to penetrate all the way to the center.
hi…i have 8 people coming for bfast on thanksgiving and was thinking of making this….do you think i need to double it?
Jenna
Jenna-well it depends on how much everyone eats. . . It makes a 9X13 pan that is two slices of white bread deep. . . If it was my family and I wasn’t serving anything else I think I’d go for a second pan.
I have had a couple different variations of french toast casserole, and have been forever ruined on regular egg dipped bread fried in the pan. I make my own sourdough and am using a leftover loaf that I have sliced and dried out. I am really excited to see how it turns out. I see this recipe finding it’s way into my recipe folder to use on Christmas morning.
Thank you
Easy and delicious! Everyone loved it at my Christmas brunch. My g-sons just about fought over the last piece!
p.s. I used lightly toasted, whole wheat bread and added two egg whites. Once cooked I sprinkled it with powdered sugar.
So glad you all have had such success with this recipe. It’s hard to beat something that is inexpensive, easy, fast and delicious PLUS can feed a crowd!
I also love to hear about all the great variations that you’ve all used so successfully-it’s such a versatile recipe too!
I found your recipe through a google search and tried it last weekend and served it to my husband’s family. It was a huge hit. I made it again Christmas weekend for my family and again, it was a huge hit. The first time I goofed while making it and mixed all of the ingredients (except the bread) together in one bowl and it came out just fine. I also used egg beaters and splenda brown sugar and it tasted great. I cubed my bread too, just because. The second time I made it, I used leftover hamburger buns. The buns got a little crumbly once I mixed them with the liquid mixture, but once baked that was a non-issue.
This will be a go-to recipe from now on. My MIL even asked for the recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Lucia-glad it was such a success for you!
Jenn, I made this for Chrtistmas Morning Brunch. I had another recipe which is similar but thought I’d try your version. They loved it. The texture was perfect and no need for syrup. Perfect!!
I love a good breakfast that can just be popped in the oven! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Do you suppose this could be put in the crockpot over night and ready in the morning?
Hmmm. I don’t know. I’ve always either put it together ahead of time, stuck it in the fridge and then just popped it in the oven in the morning *or* gone ahead and cooked it, refrigerate it and then microwave it to heat in the morning.
What type of dish do you put this in? I’m always afraid to take a glass dish from the frig to the oven.
I’m pretty sure I’ve used my 9X13 glass baking dish. But if you are at all concerned just use a metal one-or even a lidded casserole dish with the lid off (just rearrange it a bit to fit and if you have to make extra layers cook it a bit longer)
Made your recipe this morning and it was a HUGE hit! Husband and toddlers (boys) all loved it! I love French toast, and this recipe sure beats having to stand over a stove to cook all morning. Same taste, less work…. thanks for posting it!
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
Was at money saving mom and she had this as one of her meals. Can’t wait to try this. I have some friends coming for a visit and have to feed 13 people (yes that is just two families). Love how easy this sounds and now I will be able to visit instead of trapped in the kitchen. Thanks.
Heather, I’m glad this will help you out! I haven’t heard anyone who tried it yet say they didn’t like it, so I’m confident you will too 🙂
Anyone have a suggestion for how to make this egg-free? My son is severely allergic to eggs and dairy, but I would love to try something similar. I’ve made traditional french toast before with bananas and soymilk, but not sure how that would work here. Ideas?
Kristen-I don’t know how to make it egg free, but that is such a great question that I’m going to research it and put it up as a “reader’s Question” this week so we can get some input (sometimes folks don’t read the comments-so someone might have the answer & not see it here!)
Thanks Jenn! I can’t wait to see if someone has an idea.
Sounds great. I can’t wait to try it, especially on a special morning when I want to serve a special breakfast, but don’t want to be tied up in the kitchen making it.
Lori-that is how I use it-for “special” mornings like Christmas & Easter. Although there is no reason it couldn’t be used frequently as a quick and easy weekday breakfast.
I have a question, do you put all the butter at the bottom? or is it supposed to be mixed with the other stuff?
Denise-you just leave it in the bottom of the pan 🙂
Kristen-
For any dairy and egg free recipes,there are lots of vegan cookbooks to buy, and websites like vegweb.com and vegetariantimes.com. I’ve seen a lot of recipes for french toast with no eggs or milk in these books & sites. Hope that helps.
Dawn~I copied your comment over to Kristen’s question as well-I wanted to make sure that she sees your answer!
The flavor was good but my bottom layer of bread was a bit mushy. I used a glass pan, any suggestions? Thanks!
Lisa-Hmmm. Sounds like too much liquid. Maybe you could try either adding a bit more bread or reducing the amount of liquid a bit?
Just curious if you can do it with frozen bread? Would it thaw enough to all absorb the liquid or maybe the top layer wouldn’t? Have you tried it?
Beth-I have not tried it with frozen bread. You could halve the recipe, use a brownie pan, and try it to see how it works. If the bread didn’t seem “soaked” enough in the morning, turn it into lunch instead 😉
“WOW! This is restaurant-quality!” This was my husbands comment after tasting the Overnight French Toast Casserole!
Thanks for a keeper!
Found your recipe from MoneySavingMom’s link : )
Joy-Wow, that is high praise indeed! I’m so glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Does this recipe have to sit in the fridge overnight or can it just be cooked the same day? Does anyone know or has anyone tried it?
Thanks
Judy-I have never tried it the same day. It does need time for the egg/milk mixture to soak into the bread. I would guess that you could just let it sit for an hour or two. . . it would depend on how dense the bread is (ie storebought white bread will soak it up pretty fast, homemade bread would take a lot longer)
Hi…I didn’t read all the posts so I’m not sure if anyone has tried it this way…but I made it this morning with bagels (Thomas’) and it came out delicious! This is a great recipe, thank you so much!
That sounds like a great idea Regina. I love that you can use just about any kind of bread you having lying around for this recipe.
we make one very similar every year for Christmas morning. We cube 2 blocks of cream cheese and put it in the middle layer….sooo good! I will have to try it with the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture, ours doesn’t have that step but how can you go with more sugar!!
One tip we do is to press the bread down once we put the egg/milk mixture in. This may help with the soggy bottom. I helps the bread really soak the liquid up.
Saw this recipe last month on moneysavingmom.com. I just made it this past Monday. I halved the recipe (how do you halve 5 eggs? I used 3 and it came out fine); used whole wheat bread torn into pieces. It came out great. It even reheats well! Thanks Regina, I’ll have to try it with bagels. I hadn’t thought of that.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this recipe for pot luck brunches and lunches and it always gets RAVE reviews. If you’re on the fence about trying this, go for it! You won’t be disappointed. If you are, call me, I’ll come eat your leftovers.
*I use Pepperidge Farm’s Hearty White – more expensive, but this needs a bread with substance, not like Wonder (it’s a Wonder they can call it bread!) or the store brand. Part of a French or Italian loaf would work too.
I am excited to make this, but my glass pan is too small, so I have split the bread into two glass pans. Do you think I need to add more egg/cream mixture? The bread isn’t completely submerged and the tops still feel dry. Thanks!
Karen-well, you could use a metal baking pan that is larger, or you can split it like you suggested. Since you aren’t changing the amounts of bread or other ingredients you should just be able to divide by two. . . but if you are concerned you could do a little experiment and add more egg mixture to one of the pans and see which you like better when it’s all done. Let me know how it turns out!
I almost never leave reviews of recipes I use but this was so great! I had a ton of bread I needed to use up so I was searching for something on the web. (Browsed your site too which is great. Going to ‘like’ it on FB as soon as I’m done here.) I cubed up whole wheat bread. Added raisins to the brown sugar mixture. And used 1/2 cup of vanilla creamer instead of all milk. It was great and my 2 children under 4 ate it all up. We had some cool whip so I put that on top but it didn’t need it. So great and I love how easy this is to play with. Other casseroles I came across seemed so specific I was afraid to make any changes. Thanks again!
What a great comment Jen-thanks so much! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe and the versatility, and glad to have you as a new FB fan as well 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe! I made it heart healthy by using skim milk, butter substitute, and very stale whole wheat (make sure your first ingredient is not unbleached) bread. Delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Do you just use a regular loaf of white bread? It seems to me the bread should be thicker?? Any suggestions?
Stacey-you can use any kind of bread. A thin white store bought bread will soak up the liquid more and become sort of a little custardy. More hearty bread will remain more discrete. It’s up to you (and what you have on hand)
My boyfriend & I loved this recipe! I tried it with Challah bread, cut the brown sugar to 1/2 cup and used nutmeg & cinnamon. It turned out delish! I loved that I made it last night and baked it this morning in the oven. I highly recommend this recipe. It will be my new easy, breakfast dish!
Hey, this recipe does work on the camp fire. We put them in the pie irons and have a great breakfast.
It works over a campfire? How cool is that!
made it with pepperidge farm cinnamon swirl bread,yummy!!
Sound Delish!
Thank you for the recipe! My boyfriend and I made it for a friend’s brunch and it was a hit! So easy to make and so tasty! We altered the recipe a bit and used 1/2 and 1/2 in place of the milk and used a total of 18 slices of bread to soak up the custard 🙂 It was so delish! thank you again!!
Joanna-I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I used cinnamon swirl bread and it was fantastic! I’m making this for the second time to take to a family reunion this weekend. Thanks for the easy, affordable recipe!
Mmm. Cinnamon!
Awesome french toast, everyone loved it! A huge plus: it was super easy!
I just wanted to let you know that I made this for a friends brunch and it was a hit! It is so easy to put together and was truely delicious! Thanks for the recipe