French Toast Casserole is a classic, easy, make-ahead recipe for holiday breakfast or brunch. It's a simple small-batch recipe for overnight French toast casserole for two or a crowd. I assemble it the night before in an 8X8 pan, then on Christmas morning, I top it with melted butter and cinnamon sugar and bake.
🍞Ingredients
Bread—French bread or other
Eggs
Milk
Pantry ingredients—salt, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla extract
Topping—butter, sugar, cinnamon
Serving—maple syrup, butter, optional fruit
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🍞Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make a Small French Toast Casserole—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ⏲️How long to cook French toast casserole
- 🥖What type of bread to use
- ✔️Tips to make it right every time
- 🥣Options and variations
- 📋Other Breakfast Recipes
- 📆Making ahead
- ↕️How to make French toast casserole for two or double for family size
- 🤔How to prevent soggy French toast casserole?
- 🍴How to serve French toast casserole
- ❄️Storage and Reheating leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Featured Comment by :
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"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!"
It's time to make your life easier. I love this simple small-batch French toast casserole recipe, which features a crunchy cinnamon top and a soft custard center soaked in maple syrup.
It is the perfect breakfast casserole for traditional Christmas morning breakfast or brunch, so the cook (me) can participate in the family activities. I make it the day ahead and bake it in the morning, even though it is an easy, fast prep.
👨🍳How to Make a Small French Toast Casserole—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Cut 8 oz of crusty French bread into 1-inch cubes and add to an 8X8 or 6X9 buttered baking dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. You may cover and refrigerate or cook now.
4. Brush the top with melted butter.
5. Mix sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
6. Bake at 350° until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165°—about 40-45 minutes.
7. Let it cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving. Top with butter, maple syrup, fresh fruit, or powdered sugar.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏲️How long to cook French toast casserole
Since it contains eggs, French toast casserole must reach 165° internal temperature for safety. This small batch recipe will take about 40 to 45 minutes. A double-size recipe will take about an hour. Cooking time will vary by the thickness and size of the casserole, so it is always best to check the internal temperature.
A helpful hint: the bread will puff up slightly near the end of cooking. When the center is puffed, that is about the minimum time, but it will still be soggy. Go a little longer to get a dryer casserole.
🥖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.
✔️Tips to make it right every time
Baking without the overnight soak is OK. However, the casserole will have less of a custard texture. Plus, it misses the point of having a dish to toss into the oven with little fuss in the morning while you enjoy the fun. Still, it is OK to mix and bake.
For food safety, please bake until an internal temperature of 165°.
Whole-fat milk will give the dish a slightly richer taste, but you can use whatever you have. You can also use non-dairy milk if you wish.
You can bake the casserole covered with aluminum foil for the entire time, but I wanted some crispiness, so I baked it entirely uncovered. Again, it's a matter of taste.
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🥣Options and variations
Step up your game with this easy breakfast casserole topped with fresh blueberries, diced apples, nuts, or streusel.
Use blueberries on top—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. Before adding them, lightly sprinkle them with brown sugar and cinnamon.
A streusel topping of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts like pecans or walnuts is a good touch. I also like to add a drizzle of cream cheese frosting glaze. Or keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar.
📋Other Breakfast Recipes
Check out these other breakfast recipes, like Baked English Muffins, Blueberry Breakfast Cake, Small Cinnamon Coffee Cake, and Healthier Sausage Gravy and Biscuits.
For breakfast meats, try sliced ham, baked breakfast sausage, or crispy baked bacon.
Baked Breakfast Sausage
The best and easiest way to cook crispy and juicy sausage is in the oven. We always bake breakfast sausage patties or links, Italian sausages, or other full-size sausages for perfect sausages every time without the mess.
📆Making ahead
According to the USDA, you can safely make this casserole up to 24 hours before. Refrigerate it 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 small-batch recipe requires an 8X8, 6X9, or 9-inch round baking dish for six servings.
A half recipe requires a 6-inch round baking dish or something similar.
A double recipe requires a 9X13 casserole or cake pan.
- 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. Depending on the thickness, a half-recipe will take 25 to 30 minutes to bake, while a double recipe will take 50 to 60 minutes.
🤔How to prevent soggy French toast casserole?
To prevent a soggy casserole, try these steps.
- Use stale bread.
- Use a fully preheated oven.
- Using a "too large" baking dish is better than a "too small" one. The thicker casserole will tend to be more soggy.
- Do not undercook—better over than under. See the section about how long to cook.
Once it has been baked but is soggy, you can spread the soggy casserole on a rimmed sheet pan and bake a bit longer.
🍴How to serve French toast casserole
Serve with butter and a generous amount of maple syrup as a topping. Or add fresh fruit or dust it with powdered sugar.
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 breakfast sausage in the oven.
❄️Storage and Reheating leftovers
After cooking, it can be stored, covered, and refrigerated for 2-3 days. Or freeze for one month.
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 bread is the obvious source of gluten, so gluten-free bread is required. The other ingredients are usually gluten-free, but please read all labels before using them.
While similar, bread pudding contains more milk in relationship to the eggs than French toast casserole. Bread pudding is also generally served as a dessert, is sweeter, usually has raisins, and is served with a sweet sauce.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Small French Toast Casserole
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 8 oz French bread - cubed about 1 inch, but other bread would do
- 4 eggs - large
- 1 ½cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Step-by-Step 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 to 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 an 8X8 or 6X9 casserole dish.
- 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. If the center puffs, let that calm down a little before stopping.
- Storage before cooking is limited to 24 hours for safety due to the eggs.
- After cooking, it can be stored, covered, and refrigerated for 2-3 days or frozen for one month.
- 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 can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published December 22, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
G Padilla says
All I can say is awesome! I halved the recipe and cooked it for shorter amount of time until 165 in center. So easy. didn't even wait for it to sit in fridge, and it came out perfect. thank you. 😁
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi,
Thanks for the comment and welcome to the blog. I'm a big fan of breakfast with syrup.
Dan
SLP Mom says
I’ve made this twice. First time I followed directions and it was slightly dry. Today I added one more egg as bd that did the trick. I wasn’t picky about the bread either time. I had rock solids hamburger and hot dog buns, some wheat bread and a few slices of Italian bread. Broke them into a Pyrex bowl and let sit out to stale over night. I did not combine everything and put it in the fridge overnight. Very tasty.
Brittany says
I'm so glad I found your site, now that our kids are grown up, it's just me and the hubby here. So it's been alot of trial and error trying to make smaller versions of our 5+ serving meals lol.. Until I found your site.. Shoot to today's delimma lol.. Was craving French toast bake but with just use here I was like to much work for just us. Then remembered you had this.. So here I am putting into oven now.. So thank you so much.
John says
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.
Joanne says
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!
Michelle G. says
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!
Linda Gimnich says
My small casserole is 11X8 vs 9X13. Will the smaller on work for this recipe?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
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
Sue Shortley says
Hello! Dr. Dan, what do you think about adding some breakfast sausage to this and how would you do it? Thanks, Sue
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
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
Kathy says
I like that this is in a small dish. By 9 x 5 do you mean a large loaf pan? Thanks.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
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
Kelly says
Does the bread need to be dried out beforeahand?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
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
Katy Flaherty says
Just...Yummy. My picky husband loved it - even had a 2nd helping. Definitely a keeper. Thank You!
Anne says
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!
Jessica Waters says
I made this for AirBnB guests, added bacon and cheese to make it hearty!
Sprinkled lemon cardamom sugar on top. Oh yeah.
Janet says
Can this be frozen after baking? If yes, for how long?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Janet,
Welcome to the blog.
It should freeze well for 3-4 months.
Dan
Jen says
Baked for longer. Top was crunchy and bottom was soupy :(
Want to try again, maybe original recipe in a 9 x 13 pan.
Andrea says
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
DrDan says
Sorry about that... Fixed
Dan
Amanda says
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 says
Hi Amanda,
A few hours should be fine.
Dan