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    🏠Home » Recipes » Breakfast Recipes

    Smaller French Toast Casserole

    Nov 11, 2020 | Last Updated Apr 14, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.35 from 58 votes

    French Toast Casserole is a classic breakfast/brunch dish for family gatherings or holidays. Now you can easily make an amount that fits smaller households. Make it ahead or bake right away with these quick and easy instructions.

    French Toast Casserole on orange plate

    Table of Contents
    • 🥖The Bread
    • ✔️Tips
    • ❄️Storage and Reheating
    • 📖Breakfast Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    Time to make your life easier. This overnight recipe bakes in the morning, so the cook (you) can participate in the family activities. French toast casserole is becoming the "green bean casserole" of Christmas for this reason.

    But if you're not feeding an army for breakfast, you had to choose other options. Let's make a smaller version that will serve a smaller household or every day for a family.

    After reading many recipes and reading hundreds of comments on the recipe sites, I have concluded, "just do what you want."

    I started with a Taste of Home recipe as the model recipe, but like every other recipe I looked at, it required a small army to consume it all. So my first act, cut in half. Then a little change here and there, and we have a smaller version that is quick and easy but still tastes great.

    My Rating

    My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

    My rating is a nice 4+. My wife is at 5. She loved it, as did I. Her argument is for the given situations (Christmas morning, etc.), it is a solid home run. I'll yield to her.

    🥖The Bread

    While the most common bread recommended was a crusty French, almost any bread should be fine. If you are buying bread, get a small baguette of French but otherwise, use what you want.

    I suggest the best choice will be a mild stale crusty bread in cubes. A softer bread will tend to get mushy. If you had a soft bread you want to use, toss it on a tray in a 200 oven for about 10 minutes first to dry it some.

    ✔️Tips

    Baking without the overnight soak is ok, but it missed the point of having a dish to toss into the oven with little fuss in the morning while you enjoy the fun. But still, it is OK to mix and bake.

    This recipe is easily doubled. Use a 9 by 13 pan. The baking time will be perhaps 10 minutes longer. The topping might get browner than you want, so tenting with foil near the end will prevent that.

    For food safety, please bake until an internal temperature of 165°.

    The original recipe baked entirely covered. I wanted some crispiness and baked entirely uncovered. Again, a matter of taste.

    ❄️Storage and Reheating

    Storage before cooking is limited to 24 hours for me due to the eggs. Others will suggest longer. Of course, covered and refrigerated.

    After cooking, this can be stored covered and refrigerated for 2-3 days. Best if reheated in the oven at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes. This will help crisp the crust some again where reheating with a microwave will be soft.

    📖Breakfast Recipes

    How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

    How to Cook Sausage in the Oven

    Cinnamon Roll Cake

    Healthier Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Breakfast Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    bread with eggs and other ingredients for French toast casserole

    Coat a 6 by 9 baking dish with butter.

    cubes of bread in a small casserole dish

    Cut 8 oz of crusty French bread into 1-inch cubes and add to the pan.

    whisking batter in metal bowl

    Combine 4 eggs, 1 ½ cups milk, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix lightly.

    pouring batter over bread cubes

    Pour milk mixture over the bread, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or you can proceed to the next step and cook now.

    brushing the batter on the bread

    In the morning, remove from refrigerator and uncover—preheat oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in microwave and brush top.

    sprinkle topping of sugar with cinnamon

    Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top.

    browned French bread casserole

    Bake until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165°—about 40-45 minutes. Helpful hint, the bread will puff up some near the end. When the center is puffed, that is about the minimum time, but it will be soggy still. Go a little longer to get a dryer casserole.

    French toast casserole on a spatula

    Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

    French toast casserole on orange plate with syrup

    Top with maple syrup if you want or a dusting of powder sugar.

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    📖Recipe

    Image of French Toast Casserole on orange plate

    Smaller French Toast Casserole

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    French Toast Casserole is a classic breakfast/brunch dish for family gatherings or holidays. Now you can easily make an amount that fits smaller households. Make it ahead or bake right away with these quick and easy instructions.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.35 from 58 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 6 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 8 oz French bread - cubed about 1 inch, but other bread would do
    • 4 eggs - large
    • 1 ½ cup milk
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla

    Topping

    • 1 tablespoons butter
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

    Instructions

    • Coat a 6 by 9 baking dish with butter.
      bread with eggs and other ingredients for French toast casserole
    • Cut 8 oz of crusty French bread into 1-inch cubes and add to the pan.
      cubes of bread in a small casserole dish
    • Combine 4 eggs, 1 ½ cups milk, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix lightly.
      whisking batter in metal bowl
    • Pour milk mixture over the bread, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or you can proceed to the next step and cook now.
      pouring batter over bread cubes
    • In the morning, remove from refrigerator and uncover—preheat oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in microwave and brush top.
      brushing the batter on the bread
    • Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
      sprinkle topping of sugar with cinnamon
    • Bake until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165°—about 40-45 minutes. Helpful hint, the bread will puff up some near the end. When the center is puffed, that is about the minimum time, but it will be soggy still. Go a little longer to get a dryer casserole.
      French toast casserole on a spatula
    • Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
      French toast casserole on a spatula
    • Top with maple syrup if you want or a dusting of powder sugar.
      French toast casserole on orange plate with syrup
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. I suggest a crusty bread and if it is a little stale, that is good. If you opt for a softer bread, you might want to dry it out a bit in a 200° oven for about 10 minutes.
    2. This uses a 6 by 9 casserole dish but an 8 by 8 pan will work fine also.
    3. Double in a 9 by 13 casserole or cake pan. A double recipe may take a few minutes longer to cook.
    4. Some recipes suggest cooking covered but I think the crunchy top is important and suggests uncovered.
    5. The endpoint of cooking is nicely browned and an internal temperature of 165° due to the eggs.
    6. Storage before cooking is limited to 24 hours for me due to the eggs but others will suggest longer. Of course, covered and refrigerated.
    7. After cooking, this can be stored covered and refrigerated for 2-3 days.
    8. Best if reheated in the oven at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes. This will help crisp the crust some again where reheating with a microwave will be soft.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Calories : 191 kcal (10%) | Carbohydrates : 27 g (9%) | Protein : 8 g (16%) | Fat : 5 g (8%) | Saturated Fat : 2 g (10%) | Cholesterol : 114 mg (38%) | Sodium : 446 mg (19%) | Potassium : 89 mg (3%) | Fiber : 1 g (4%) | Sugar : 6 g (7%) | Vitamin A : 217 IU (4%) | Calcium : 36 mg (4%) | Iron : 2 mg (11%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Breakfast
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published December 22, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. John

      April 21, 2022 at 9:58 pm

      5 stars
      I found using the following sequence of steps makes for a more uniform distribution of ingredients.
      Break eggs into bowl. Use whisk to break up eggs thoroughly..
      Add cinnamon, salt and sugar to eggs using whisk.. The cinnamon will stay uniformly distributed.
      Slowly add milk, whisking. Add vanilla. .
      Pour over bread.

      Reply
    2. Joanne

      March 03, 2022 at 12:40 pm

      Making tonight for my daughters requested birthday breakfast tomorrow, and using a chocolate chip brioche small loaf (her request) which I plan to dry up a bit in the oven first. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

      Reply
    3. Michelle G.

      January 03, 2022 at 9:39 pm

      5 stars
      This was great! I made it for dinner tonight, without the long soak. I sprinkled a generous handful of blueberries over the bread before adding the egg mixture and we loved that addition! My 7 year old even asked for this to be added to his favorites list!

      Reply
    4. Linda Gimnich

      November 19, 2021 at 1:49 pm

      My small casserole is 11X8 vs 9X13. Will the smaller on work for this recipe?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        November 19, 2021 at 1:58 pm

        Hi Linda,
        he
        Welcome to the blog.

        Let's do the math. We go on the volume. We will take the depth as approximate the some in all the dishes. So we use the "area". Suggested is 6X9=54 sq. inches. 11X8=88 9X13=117 So the 11X8 will be ok if you increase the recipe by 50% but very thin if you don't increase it. Also, the bigger 9X13 is a double recipe size.

        So, my answer is no—increase the recipe by 50% to use that dish.

        Hope that makes sense.

        Dan

    5. Sue Shortley

      November 17, 2020 at 12:04 pm

      Hello! Dr. Dan, what do you think about adding some breakfast sausage to this and how would you do it? Thanks, Sue

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        November 17, 2020 at 12:38 pm

        Hi Sue,

        I probably would not add it in the dish. Raw would have too much drainage and cooked probably would dry out. Try cooking it in the same oven https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/cook-sausage-oven/ You can vary the oven temp on both these dishes. Maybe go up to 375 and put to sausage in at about 10 minutes. You are cooking both to a final internal temperature so you can fudge around a bit.

        Dan

    6. Kathy

      April 18, 2020 at 2:49 pm

      I like that this is in a small dish. By 9 x 5 do you mean a large loaf pan? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        April 18, 2020 at 2:58 pm

        Hi Kathy,

        Welcome to the blog.

        I used a small casserole that is 5X9 os a large loaf pan will usually by 9X5 so that is fine.

        When substituting pans, many times just the area of the surface will tell you if you are fine. Here both those are 45 sq. inches. But some smaller loaf pans are 8X3.5 so only 28 sq. inches. An 8 inch round is 50 sq. inches - close enough. I try not to vary by over 20%.

        Dan

    7. Kelly

      December 27, 2019 at 2:35 pm

      Does the bread need to be dried out beforeahand?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        December 27, 2019 at 2:45 pm

        Hi Kelly,
        Welcome to the blog.
        The answer is no, the liquid in the recipe will rehydrate the bread if it is dry but there is really not much water in bread after it is baked so it doesn't really matter if it is dry or not.
        Dan

    8. Katy Flaherty

      December 25, 2019 at 1:13 pm

      5 stars
      Just...Yummy. My picky husband loved it - even had a 2nd helping. Definitely a keeper. Thank You!

      Reply
    9. Anne

      September 29, 2019 at 8:53 am

      5 stars
      This one is a winner, Dr. Dan! Very easy to put together the night before, dead simple to finish in the morning, with a great presentation. Thank you!

      Reply
    10. Jessica Waters

      July 19, 2019 at 8:36 pm

      I made this for AirBnB guests, added bacon and cheese to make it hearty!

      Sprinkled lemon cardamom sugar on top. Oh yeah.

      Reply
    11. Janet

      July 07, 2019 at 8:22 am

      Can this be frozen after baking? If yes, for how long?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        July 07, 2019 at 8:29 am

        Hi Janet,
        Welcome to the blog.
        It should freeze well for 3-4 months.
        Dan

    12. Jen

      August 07, 2018 at 12:21 pm

      Baked for longer. Top was crunchy and bottom was soupy :(

      Want to try again, maybe original recipe in a 9 x 13 pan.

      Reply
    13. Andrea

      March 12, 2017 at 12:40 pm

      Not bad but after it was made we noticed that something was missing, the vanilla. It calls for it in the ingredients but if your reading through the instructions it fails to mention it in the mixture. I should have realized it was missing but unfortunately I was making it by reading the instructions only. Without the vanilla I would give it a 2 out 5. With the vanilla it would probably get a 4 out of 5

      Reply
      • DrDan

        March 12, 2017 at 1:30 pm

        Sorry about that... Fixed
        Dan

      • Amanda

        May 23, 2020 at 10:30 am

        If we needed to make it same day due not having overnight availability, can it be done? If so for how long or does it Have to be refrigerated for 8 hours? Before cooking?

      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        May 23, 2020 at 10:56 am

        Hi Amanda,

        A few hours should be fine.
        Dan

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