This baked french toast casserole recipe is the KING of breakfast casseroles! To make, you’ll cover stale bread cubes in a delicious brown sugar egg custard, top with buttery crumbs, and bake until golden brown! A sweet glaze and maple syrup are delicious on top. Wrap in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months!

If you love breakfast casseroles…

The older I get, the more I savor a long and lazy weekend morning spent at home. Let’s focus on that key word for a second: lazy! As a mom of toddlers, there’s no shortage of long busy mornings at home lol. So when I want the morning to feel lazy, cozy, and indulgent, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

Step 1: I wake up before everyone else. Brew coffee, listen to music, tuck away the laundry and toys leftover from the night before.

Step 2: Pull this breakfast casserole from my freezer, pop it in the fridge to thaw for a few hours. Then pop in the oven to bake!

Step 3: Let the sweet aroma of warm brown sugar and cinnamon wake everyone in the house out of their slumber.

I almost always have a baking dish with this easy breakfast casserole in my freezer. And if you love breakfast casseroles, I suggest you try this too! That way it’s ready to bake, and you’ve done all the step by step work and dirty dishes well in advance.

Tips for Freezing French Toast Casserole

If you’d like to freeze this recipe, here are a few tips:

• I suggest freezing this French toast casserole unbaked. Although you can freeze any leftovers, as long as they don’t have maple syrup on them.
• Assemble as direct, cover tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
• Then thaw in the fridge for a few hours or ideally, overnight.
• Bake covered for 30 – 35 minutes and then uncovered for another 30 minutes.

If you don’t plan on baking soon, I’d suggest freezing the breakfast casserole in a disposable tray. That way you’re not down a baking dish for a few weeks or months.

Is French Bread the BEST bread for French Toast?

As you jump to the recipe, you might be surprised to see I don’t call for French bread. The reason I use challah instead of French bread is 100% personal preference. You may substitute an equal amount of sourdough, brioche, or French bread if that’s what you have on hand. Keep in mind the texture will vary depending on what kind of bread you choose. Challah and brioche will yield a softer French toast while sour dough and French bread will yield a chewier more textured French toast.

Coffee Cake French Toast Ingredients

There are three parts to this recipe, so don’t get alarmed when you look at the recipe and see a long list; I promise a lot of the ingredients are repeated in each section. Below is everything you’ll need to make your French toast dreams a reality!

• Flour: All-purpose flour is used to make the crumb topping. I do NOT suggest using any other variety of flour in its place!
• Light Brown sugar: Flour, light brown sugar, and butter make the most delicious crumb topping! But the light brown sugar is also used in the French toast base to sweeten things up. In a pinch, dark brown sugar will work fine. But I don’t suggest using granulated sugar instead.
• Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances the other flavors like cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. Don’t worry, it won’t make the casserole taste salty.
• Cinnamon: Just a pinch adds warmth, subtle spice, and depth of flavor. Feel free to add a little more if you REALLY love cinnamon.
• Melted Butter: I always suggest using unsalted butter when it comes to the melted butter, but salted will work if that’s all you have on hand. Simply omit the salt called for.
• Bread: I used a 1 pound loaf of challah, but you may use French bread, brioche, or sour dough. Day old bread tends to work best for French toast, as it’ll really absorb all of the liquid when you pour on the egg mixture.
• Cream Cheese: Gives this a cheesecake vibe. It softens while baking and is absolutely delicious. If you want to skip it, simply leave it out; nothing needs to be substituted in its place.
• Milk: I have only tested this recipe with whole milk, aka full-fat milk, so I cannot suggest a plant based alternative. My guess is coconut milk would work well.
• Heavy Cream: Adds richness and flavor! Please don’t skip this ingredient.
• Eggs: You’ll use whole eggs and egg yolks. Yolks create a binder without making the French toast taste “too eggy”. Don’t replace them with whole eggs.
• Vanilla Extract: Enhances the sweetness and adds flavor. Don’t use imitation vanilla, which will add a fake flavor and not enhance the dish.
• Espresso Powder: Adds just a subtle hint of coffee flavor. You may 100% omit this ingredient if desired. No need to replace it with anything.
• Confectioners’ Sugar: Aka powdered sugar. This sweetens and thickens the maple glaze. If you’d prefer to skip the glaze, that’s totally fine. Just serve with maple syrup instead.
• Maple Syrup: What’s French toast with syrup…?! You’ll use this in the glaze, but you’ll also want to have some on hand for serving. For an extra special treat, warm up your syrup before pouring it on your French toast. Warning: it’s a game changer!

How to Make Overnight French Toast

1. Make the Crumb Topping: You’ll want to do this first so that the flour has time to absorb the butter and get nice and crumbly. You can make the crumb topping up to 48 hours in advance and store in the fridge until needed.
2. Make the French Toast Casserole: Combine the bread cubes with the egg mixture. Top with cream cheese, then top with crumb topping. If you can’t find cream cheese or don’t like it, you may omit it from the recipe.
3. Chill: Cover the pan tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight. If you can’t refrigerate overnight due to time, chill for at least 4 hours. This gives the bread cubes time to absorb the custard.
4. Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Let the casserole come to room temperature as the oven preheats. Then bake until golden brown. I suggest baking for about 30 minutes covered, then another 30 minutes uncovered.
5. Serve: Drizzle the French toast casserole with glaze and serve warm, with plenty of maple syrup! This is also delicious served at room temperature. However, I don’t suggest serving this recipe chilled or cold.

If they French toast casserole gets too dark at any point, you can recover with aluminum foil and continue baking.

More Coffee Cake Recipes:

• Chocolate Swirl Coffee Cake
• Coffee Cake Donuts
• Pumpkin Coffee Cake
• Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping
• Bakery-Style Coffee Cake Muffins

More Breakfast Casseroles:

• Easy Italian Overnight Breakfast Casserole (A must-try if you love savory breakfast casseroles!)
• Overnight Bourbon Pecan Pie French Toast Casserole
• Overnight Raspberry French Toast Casserole

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