French Toast Casserole is a classic breakfast/brunch dish for family gatherings or holidays. With this small batch recipe, you can easily make it for two or a crowd.
A Christmas morning tradition in many families, it is simple to make ahead in one dish, refrigerate overnight, and bake it in the morning.
Ingredients
Bread—French bread or other
Eggs
Milk
Pantry ingredients—salt, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla extract
Topping—butter, sugar, cinnamon
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Featured Comment from Anne:
"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!"
Time to make your life easier. This easy French toast casserole is the perfect breakfast casserole for Christmas morning, so the cook (you) can participate in the family activities.
This traditional overnight French toast casserole recipe is simple to make the day ahead and oven-baked in the morning. Just follow the step-by-step photo instructions.
How to Make a Small French Toast
1️⃣Coat a 6 by 9 baking dish with butter.
2️⃣Cut 8 oz of crusty French bread into 1-inch cubes and add to the pan.
3️⃣Whisk 4 eggs, 1 ½ cups milk, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix lightly.
4️⃣Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes, cover with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or you can proceed to the next step and cook now.
5️⃣In the morning, remove it from the refrigerator and uncover it. Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the microwave and brush top.
6️⃣Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
7️⃣Bake 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.
8️⃣Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving. Top with butter and maple syrup, fresh fruit, or a dusting of powdered sugar.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Tips to make it right every time
Baking without the overnight soak is OK, but it misses 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.
For food safety, please bake until an internal temperature of 165°.
You can bake the casserole covered with aluminum foil for the entire time, but I wanted some crispiness and baked entirely uncovered. Again, a matter of taste.
🥖What type of bread to use
While the most common bread recommended was a crusty French, almost any bread should be fine. If you buy a loaf of bread for this recipe, get a small loaf or baguette of French, but sourdough, Italian, or brioche bread are also good choices.
The best choice is mildly stale, crusty bread cut into cubes. A softer bread will tend to get mushy. If you have 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.
Breakfast Recipes
Check out these other breakfast recipes, like Baked English Muffins, Blueberry Breakfast Cake, Cinnamon Roll Cake, and Healthier Sausage Gravy and Biscuits.
🥣Options and variations
Step up your game with this easy breakfast casserole with fresh blueberries, diced apples, nuts, or a streusel topping.
Use blueberries on top or mix them with the bread cubes. A half cup will do. Fresh can be used or frozen if you are delaying cooking. Mixed berries or other berries may be similarly used.
Add some small chopped apple bites mixed with the bread cubes or sprinkled on top. Give them a light sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon before adding them.
Top with a drizzle of cream cheese frosting or a streusel topping of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts like pecans or walnuts, which is a good touch.
📆Making ahead
According to the USDA, you can safely make this casserole up to 24 hours ahead. Refrigerate covered with foil or plastic wrap.
When ready to bake, remove it from the refrigerator and set it at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes while the oven preheats.
↕️How to make French toast casserole for two or double for family size
This is an easy recipe to cut in half or double to fit your needs
The full recipe needs a 6 X 9 baking dish for six servings. You can also use a 9-inch round or 8-inch square baking pan. A double recipe needs a 9 X 13 casserole or cake pan. A half recipe needs a 6-inch round baking dish or something similar.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half or double.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- Use the pan sizes discussed above.
- Cook until browning and 165° for safety. Baking time for a half recipe will be 25 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness. A double recipe will need 50 to 60 minutes.
🍴How to serve French toast casserole
Serve with breakfast meat, which is easy and quick. If you have not tried it, learn how to bake bacon in the convection oven or cook sausage in the oven.
Serve with butter and a generous amount of Maple syrup for topping. Sides of breakfast meats like bacon or sausage
❄️Storage and Reheating
After cooking, it can be stored, covered, and refrigerated for 2-3 days. Or freeze for 3 months.
If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. It is best if reheated in the oven or an air fryer at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes. This will help crispen the crust some more. When reheating it with a microwave, it will be soft.
❓FAQs
The obvious source of gluten is the bread, so a gluten-free bread is required. The other ingredients are usually gluten-free, but please read all labels before using.
To prevent a soggy casserole, try these steps.
1) Use stale bread.
2) Use a fully preheated oven.
3) It is better to use a "too large" baking dish than a "too small" one. The thicker casserole will tend to be more soggy.
4) Do not undercook—better over than under.
Once it has been baked but is soggy, you can spread the soggy casserole on a rimmed sheet pan and bake a bit longer.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Smaller French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 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 extract
Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Coat a 6 by 9 baking dish with butter.
- Cut 8 oz of crusty French bread into 1-inch cubes and add to the pan.
- Whisk 4 eggs, 1 ½ cups milk, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix lightly.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes, cover with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or you can proceed to the next step and cook now.
- In the morning, remove it from the refrigerator and uncover it. Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the microwave and brush top.
- Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
- 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.
- Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- I suggest a crusty bread; if it is a little stale, that is good. If you opt for softer bread, you might want to dry it out a bit in a 200° oven for about 10 minutes.
- This uses a 6 by 9 casserole dish, but an 8 by 8 pan will also work fine.
- Instructions for half and double recipes are in the post.
- The endpoint of cooking is nicely browned and has an internal temperature of 165° due to the eggs.
- Storage before cooking is limited to 24 hours for safety due to the eggs.
- After cooking, this can be stored, covered, and refrigerated for 2-3 days. Or frozen for three months.
- It is best if reheated in the oven or air fryer at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes. This will help crispen the crust, whereas reheating with a microwave will make it soft.
Your Own Private Notes
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
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Based on a Taste of Home recipe with changes.
Editor's Note: Originally Published December 22, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Rose says
Hi DrDan,
Would like to try this recipe. Just a couple questions, what's the oven temp and the 1 tb butter mentioned in the topping ingredient list is not mentioned in the directions.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Rose,
Welcome to the blog and you are so right. Instruction #5 was missing from the recipe card that had both. It was in the text of the post but really you should not need to look that hard.
Thanks so much for finding the error and saying something.
Dan
Anne says
Ha! Your email spotlighting your updated post of this recipe just showed up in my inbox, and I immediately recognized it as one of my favorite breakfast recipes. Came to the blog to leave a comment to tell you so, and saw my own comment from 2019 as your featured comment! Loved it then, love it now. This delicious casserole never fails. Thanks again, Dr. Dan. You're awesome!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Anne,
Yeo, as I rewrite posts (the recipe rarely changes) to improve user experience, I frequently add a "featured comment" snippet. It tells people that other real people like the recipe, and encourages them to comment or ask questions. Plus, Google likes it.
Glad you are still enjoying this one, I did add a few options and clarify some language, but nothing else but the presentation changed.
Dan