Put an extra-special touch on your weekend mornings with Overnight French Toast Bake! Featuring heavenly cinnamon flavors and deliciously crunchy french bread, it’s the perfect breakfast to feed a crowd – just pop it in the oven while you all get ready for a fun day ahead. We guarantee everyone will be delighted by this fan-favorite dish!
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Are you searching for an easy, delicious breakfast recipe that will please the entire family?
Look no further!
Our Overnight French Toast Bake is just what you need to kickstart your day with a yummy and nutritious meal.
Not only is it hassle-free to make, but its combination of warm spices and sweet syrup will have everyone coming back for seconds!
So grab your ingredients, tie on that apron, and get ready to whip up this fan favorite – it’s sure to become part of your regular breakfast rotation in no time.
Key to Success #1 – Start with Crusty Bread
A great French Toast starts out with some great, crusty French Bread.
You can either get a loaf of French Bread or a long, crusty baguette would be great as well.
You can even use Challah bread if your store has it.
Unfortunately, white bread just won’t cut it for your DIY breakfast masterpiece.
White bread is too soft and mushy to stand up to the soaking and baking required for a great stack of French toast.
For the best breakfast possible, reach for a heartier, denser bread like sourdough or whole wheat.
These types of bread will hold up better without becoming too soggy, so you’ll be able to enjoy a breakfast that tastes as good as it looks.
You really need to use a crusty French Bread or sourdough so that it’ll hold up to the milk and eggs all night.
Key to Success #2 – Overnight is Best
It’s important to let the French Bread soak in the milk and egg mixture for several hours.
Optimally, you should let the bread soak overnight so that it’ll soak up all those delicious flavors.
When you’re combining the bread with the egg and milk mixture, make sure every bit of the bread is coated with the liquids.
First, mix some eggs and milk in a large bowl like this one.
Delicately blend the bread into this mixture for full coverage.
Don’t push too hard or you’ll lose all that luscious texture when it bakes into your Overnight French Toast Bake.
This helps ensure that every single inch of the bread is fully covered.
You just have to be gentle so that the bread doesn’t get smashed.
You still want the bread to have texture when it’s baked into the Overnight French Toast Bake.
Key to Success #3 – Topping Made Easy
You can certainly use a pastry cutter or a fork to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients for the cinnamon topping. But I’ve got an easier way!
You can use your food processor to combine the topping ingredients into a perfect crumb.
Just add in all the dry ingredients then cut the cold butter into chunk and add it on top.
Then all you have to do is pulse the food processor a couple of times until it all comes together.
I have a Kitchen Ninja that is a blender and food processor in one.
It even has individually-sized cups for making smoothies.
I’ve had it for years and it works great for many things, including whipping up this cinnamon topping. It just takes a minute or two.
I should mention that this Overnight French Toast Bake puffs up quite a bit while cooking so you’ll want to use a large/tall baking dish.
I’ve never had it overflow in my oven, but it has puffed up higher than the sides of the pan while baking.
After you take it out of the oven, it’ll settle back into the pan and be perfect.
If you have any concerns about your pan size, just put a sheet pan underneath your baking dish while it is in the oven.
Overnight French Toast Bake can be topped with pretty much anything.
I like a little butter and syrup on mine.
You could also serve it with fresh fruit and whipped cream if that’s what your family enjoys.
Go ahead and make it your own!
Save this French Toast Casserole recipe to your favorite breakfast casserole board or your french toast board.
Overnight French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 16 oz French Bread or Challah Bread
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter cold
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
For the French Toast:
- Cut bread into cubes and evenly spread into 9X13 baking dish.
- In large bowl, whisk eggs then add heavy cream, milk, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir well. Pour over bread cubes.
- Cover with plastic wrap or foil and place into refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
For the Topping:
- In food processor, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and cold butter that has been cut into slices. Pulse a few times until coarse crumbs are formed.
- Place topping mix into plastic zip-top bag and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Evenly spread topping mix over the French Toast. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and puffy.
Notes
Nutrition
Check out these other fantastic recipes on the blog:
If you love cream cheese, try this Stuffed French Toast Ring. Or we have a Biscuit & Gravy Ring for those biscuit fans out there.
If you love bacon, try our Sous Vide Bacon which is finished in the oven, or our Air Fryer Bacon recipe.
Both of these are great recipes that you are sure to love.
We also have several different types of breakfast recipes for you to try:
Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
Crescent Roll Candy Cane Danish