My French Toast Casserole with a crunchy praline streusel is a delicious and easy breakfast dish that’s perfect for the holiday season or to turn a weekend morning into a special occasion.
My creamy, custardy French Toast Bake recipe is easy to make and can be set up ahead of time. Don’t fuss with classic french toast when this is every bit as delicious and so much easier to make.
The recipe is easy to customize, so you can add your favorite toppings and ingredients to make it your own. This casserole is sure to become a family favorite and a go-to breakfast dish for special occasions.
Ingredients to make French Toast Casserole
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make French Toast Casserole. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
What type of bread should I use?
Your favorite crusty bread, challah bread, brioche bread, potato bread, sourdough bread, unseeded Italian bread, or even regular white bread will work with this recipe. Use what you have on hand. You can save your stale old bread to make this French toast casserole.
How to make French Toast Casserole
- Add the ingredients for the pecan streusel to a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients together until they resemble wet sand-like chunks. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
- Add the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract to a large bowl.
- Whisk the egg mixture until well blended.
*feel free to add a little orange zest of lemon zest for added flavor.
- Butter a 9×13 casserole dish and add the bread cubes to the baking dish. Pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes (cut into 1-inch cubes), tossing the bread to make sure the cubes are all well coated. It’s okay if the bread looks a little wet any excess egg mixture will be absorbed as it sits.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
- Sprinkle the chilled pecan streusel topping over the top of the bread mixture.
- Place the casserole dish on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top of the casserole is golden brown and bubbly. *Check the casserole at the 40-minute mark, and If it begins to get too brown, cover the casserole with aluminum foil and continue baking.
When the French Toast Casserole has finished baking, let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve the casserole while warm, topped with melted butter and warmed maple syrup.
To make breakfast even easier, prepare the casserole the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it the next morning.
I know you really want to taste this decadent french toast casserole. If you want to kick it up a notch, serve it with fresh berries. Don’t wait for the holiday season to serve this delicious breakfast treat. My overnight French toast casserole is guaranteed to be a huge hit with your family and friends any time of the year.
Recipe FAQ’s
Your favorite crusty bread, challah bread, brioche bread, potato bread, sourdough bread, unseeded Italian bread, or even regular white bread will work with this recipe. Use what you have on hand. You can save your stale old bread to make this french toast casserole.
Don’t use seeded bread or any strongly flavored bread like rye or pumpernickel.
Absolutely, you can prepare the casserole the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it the next morning.
The reason most french toast casseroles are soggy is simply that they didn’t bake long enough. Was the oven temperature set right?
The other reason could be there was too much egg mixture, or there was not enough bread. Make sure to double-check the recipe for amounts.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Easy French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
Pecan Streusel
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 4 ounces salted butter sliced
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
French Toast Casserole
- 12 cups crusty bread cut into large cubes
- 8 large eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- maple syrup warmed for serving
Instructions
- Combine all pecan streusel ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together until they resemble wet sand-like chunks. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
- Butter a 9×13 baking dish.
- Add the bread cubes to the buttered baking dish
- Add the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and whisk until well blended.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes, tossing the bread to make sure the cubes are all well coated.It's okay if the bread looks a little wet, the excess egg mixture will be absorbed as it sits.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sprinkle the chilled pecan streusel topping over the top of the bread mixture.
- Place the casserole dish on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Check the casserole at the 40-minute mark, and If it begins to get too brown, cover the casserole with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- When done baking, let the casserole cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm topped with warm maple syrup.
Irv says
I do make French toast casseroles but much more savory, just a small amount of sugar. I sometimes use almond extract or add nutmeg to change up the flavor profile. I love and make many of your recipes but this one has too much sugar for me to consider.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m not sure why you would comment on a post you don’t like and you’re not going to make.
Irv says
Notice, I did not rate it, I’ll leave that to those that chose to make it. I simply commented… too much sugar for me and I am sure others, simply a data point for you.
Sarah says
All of your recipes are *chefs kiss*
Thank you!