My family loves this easy baked French toast casserole recipe. It is lightly spiced, slightly sweet, perfectly soft in the middle, and has a buttery crisp top. You can make this right now or prepare it in advance for a stress-free breakfast or brunch!
Watch the Video
I’ve always loved French toast! We’ve even shared a classic stovetop recipe on the blog, but this oven baked French toast recipe has quickly become my favorite.
It’s incredibly delicious and perfect for prepping ahead or serving a crowd. You can even make it the night before!
Key Ingredients
- Bread: Use high-quality, day-old bread from a local bakery for the best baked French toast. French bread, sourdough, or a rustic loaf are great. Try enriched bread like Brioche or Challah for French toast that’s soft and buttery in the middle. If you don’t have the time to wait for day-old bread, we added a step into our recipe that dries the bread anyway.
- Eggs: The base of our rich and delicious custard.
- Milk and cream: Are whisked with the eggs for the custard. I love the combination of milk and cream when making French toast. I use heavy cream, but whipping cream is fine.
- Maple syrup and vanilla extract: Add a touch of sweetness to the custard.
- Spices: The perfect blend of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg makes our baked French toast taste and smell incredible.
- Butter: I pour melted butter over the French toast for a golden brown and crisp top before baking.
- Cinnamon sugar topping: While optional, I love the sweet crunch of a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar before baking.
How to Make Baked French Toast
Whenever I make French toast, especially baked French toast, I check my bread. Really fresh bread will turn to mush, so you really want to use drier, day-old bread. But if you’re sitting there with a fresh loaf, no worries! You can dry it in the oven before making this recipe. Simply slice it and bake it in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Whisk eggs, milk, and cream together to make the rich and creamy custard. Then, add maple syrup (I like using pure maple syrup), vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt for some sweetness and flavor.
When I first tested this recipe, I poured the custard over bread slices lined up in a baking dish. That worked, but the custard didn’t cover all of the bread. So now, I dip each slice into the custard first, guaranteeing every bite tastes amazing.
Before baking the French toast, I recommend setting it aside for 30 minutes. This will give the bread a chance to absorb as much of that delicious custard as possible. You can leave it longer if you want. Just cover it and refrigerate it (it’s fine in the fridge overnight).
To bake the French toast, cover it and slide it into your oven for 30 minutes. Uncover it and then bake another 10 minutes until the bread looks puffed and golden brown on top. For a buttery, crisp topping (it’s so delicious!), pour melted butter over the top and sprinkle cinnamon sugar before baking the final 10 minutes.
Baked French Toast Variations
This French toast casserole is delicious, as written, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few changes you can make so that it is your own. Here are a few suggestions:
- Add dried fruit or nuts: For more texture and color, add 1/2 cup or so of nuts or dried fruit to the custard before pouring over the bread.
- Add pumpkin puree: For a pumpkin French toast, whisk 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree into the custard. Here’s our Baked Pumpkin French Toast for inspiration.
- Add sliced bananas: After baking for 30 minutes, uncover the casserole dish, add the melted butter and sliced bananas, then top with the cinnamon sugar topping. Bake another 10 minutes.
- Add fresh berries: Sprinkle fresh berries over the baked casserole or add them to the dish before baking.
- Make a cheesecake-inspired version: Beat 6 ounces of room temperature cream cheese with a bit of maple syrup until whipped and slightly sweet. Dollop the cream cheese between slices of bread in the casserole dish before baking.
Storing and Make Ahead
Can I make baked French Toast in advance?
Absolutely! You can dry out the bread and prepare the custard mixture a couple days in advance and then mix the two together and bake (just keep the custard covered in the refrigerator). Or you can follow our recipe up to adding the custard mixture to the bread in the casserole dish, cover, refrigerate overnight, and then bake the next day. Leftover French toast stores pretty well, too. Simply reheat in the microwave or oven.
Can I freeze baked French Toast?
Yes! After baking the French toast, let it cool, and then transfer it to freezer-safe, airtight containers. Freeze for a month (maybe more). When you are ready to eat it, reheat in the oven or the microwave until warm.
More Crowd-Friendly Breakfast Recipes
Easy Baked French Toast
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This easy baked French toast casserole is lightly spiced, slightly sweet, perfectly soft in the middle, and has a buttery crisp top. You can make this straight away or make it in advance. For overnight French toast, keep it covered and stored in the refrigerator overnight, and then take out 20 minutes or so before baking in the morning to give it a chance to come closer to room temperature before baking.
Makes 8 servings
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 large day old bread loaf like brioche, challah, crusty sourdough or French bread, see notes
6 whole eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons butter plus more for greasing pan
Optional toppings: Maple syrup, honey, powdered sugar and fresh berries
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
- Prepare French Toast
1Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
2Slice the bread into thick slices (1/2-inch to 1-inch thick). Cut each bread slice in half, making two triangles.
3In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt until combined.
4Quickly dip each slice of bread into the milk mixture and place it into the baking dish, arranging each slice so that they are angled and overlap slightly (like roof shingles).
5When all the bread slices are arranged in the baking dish, pour the remaining milk mixture over the top of the bread. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- Bake French Toast
1Heat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (175C). Bake the French toast, still covered, for 30 minutes.
2After 30 minutes, make the cinnamon sugar topping by stirring 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, uncover the French toast and then slowly pour the melted butter over the top, trying to cover most of the bread slices.
3Scatter the cinnamon sugar over the bread, and then bake, uncovered, until the tips of the bread are golden brown and the bread looks puffed, about 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, cut into 8 squares, and serve with your favorite toppings.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Day old or dried out bread is best for this. If your bread still seems fresh, slice it, and then place into a 350° F oven for 10 to 15 minutes so that it dries out. You are not looking to brown the bread, only dry it out.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 of 8 servings
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Calories
285
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Total Fat
11.5g
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Saturated Fat
5.6g
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Cholesterol
158.7mg
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Sodium
441.5mg
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Carbohydrate
33.5g
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Dietary Fiber
1.4g
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Total Sugars
9g
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Protein
11.3g
