Easy Baked French Toast

Our 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 — even overnight! 

Watch The Video

Baked French Toast Recipe Video

How We Make Baked French Toast From Scratch

I’ve always loved French toast, and we’ve even shared a more traditional stovetop French Toast recipe on the blog, but this easy baked version has quickly become my favorite. It’s delicious and is perfect for making in advance or for crowds.

We use quality bread, eggs, a combination of milk and cream for richness, maple syrup and vanilla extract for sweetness, and warm baking spices to make it extra delicious.

The recipe is straightforward and perfect for making ahead of time, which, if you are making this to entertain, like, say for Thanksgiving morning or brunch, is perfect! Here’s the basic process:

  1. Dry out the bread. For the best baked French toast, it’s important that you use either day-old bread or that you quickly dry out the bread in the oven before mixing it with the other ingredients. This ensures that the bread absorbs all the liquid and flavors of the French toast but that it doesn’t turn mushy. (Really fresh bread will turn to mush on you.)
  2. Make the French toast custard. To make this extra flavorful, rich, and a little creamy in the middle, we use quite a few eggs, milk, and cream. Of course, milk will do, if you don’t have cream, but keep in mind that the mixture will lose a little of that lovely richness. To flavor the egg mixture, we add maple syrup (I like using pure maple syrup), vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
  3. Dip the bread into the custard. When we first made this recipe, we would pour the custard over bread slices lined up in a baking dish. That worked, but not all the bread was covered by the custard. That’s why before pouring all the custard over the bread, we quickly dip each slice into it first.
  4. Add dipped bread to a baking dish and pour over the custard. I like lining the bread up so that they look like roof shingles. Then we pour the rest of the custard on top.
  5. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or leave it overnight. For the best French toast, you want to give the bread a chance to absorb as much custard as possible. This should happen within half an hour, but if you are making the French toast ahead of time, you can cover and refrigerate the dish overnight!
  6. Bake. We bake covered for 30 minutes, uncover the dish, and bake another 10 minutes or until the bread looks puffed and golden brown on top. Before baking the final 10 minutes, we pour melted butter over the top of the bread and sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over, adding a buttery, crisp topping.
Easy Baked French Toast Casserole

More of our favorite breakfasts: Take a look at our recipe for making The Best Fluffy Pancakes or these Perfectly Crispy Waffles.

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.
Easy Baked French Toast Casserole

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

What kind of bread should I use?

For the best French toast, use high-quality bread, preferably from a local bakery. For French toast with a little more texture, we recommend a bakery-style hearty bread like French bread, sourdough, or a rustic loaf. For French toast that’s more soft and buttery in the middle, try enriched breads like Brioche or Challah. It’s also best to use day-old bread since it soaks up the custard flavors more easily without becoming mushy. If you don’t have the time to wait, don’t worry, we’ve built a step into our recipe that dries out the bread anyway.

More Crowd-Friendly Breakfast Recipes

Baked French Toast Casserole with Berries

Easy Baked French Toast

  • PREP
  • COOK
  • TOTAL

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 / Calories 285 / Total Fat 11.5g / Saturated Fat 5.6g / Cholesterol 158.7mg / Sodium 441.5mg / Carbohydrate 33.5g / Dietary Fiber 1.4g / Total Sugars 9g / Protein 11.3g
AUTHOR:  Adam and Joanne Gallagher
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21 comments… Leave a Review
  • Linda February 20, 2024, 6:30 pm

    Never thought of baking French Toast. Great idea! Awesome-ttasting!

    Reply
    • Adam February 20, 2024, 6:31 pm

      We loved testing this recipe because we never thought to bake french toast either. Loved it and so glad you did too 🙂

      Reply
  • Louis October 13, 2023, 4:09 pm

    Made half a recipe using a bread loaf pan. I added one sliced banana and a handful of currant raisins for the second part of the recipe. I wish I could add a picture because I was proud on how delicious it looked 😉 and it was !

    Reply
  • DJOLatteBeard April 16, 2023, 1:13 pm

    My 7 y.o. daughter ate the whole thing!!! She never eats breakfast. She…ate…it! Amazing and simple recipe using oven-dried wheat bread slices. No need for syrup. Becoming a brunch staple for the future. Thank you!

    Reply
  • Amber December 28, 2022, 6:43 pm

    I used Dutch Crunch that I bought about a week ago and forgot to use. It was incredibly delicious. I let it sit in the fridge for just the 30 mins and ended up broiling the top once I added the butter/ sugar combo. It turned out great. Thanks for this recipe!

    Reply
    • Joanne February 27, 2023, 4:58 pm

      Sounds delicious, Amber!

      Reply
  • Vanessa November 13, 2022, 2:19 pm

    My custard baked into egg 🙁 What did I do wrong ? Not sure how to avoid for next time (not giving up).

    Reply
    • Joanne February 27, 2023, 4:58 pm

      Hi Vanessa, Did you cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before baking? This allows the bread some time to absorb the custard before baking. The dish should be mostly dry before baking (which means most of the custard made its way into the bread).

      Reply
  • Donna E October 29, 2022, 4:24 pm

    Delicious. When family comes to town,I make the day ahead( add whatever guest likes as fruit). Always a winner and no messy kitchen in the am! Thanks

    Reply
    • Joanne November 7, 2022, 1:24 pm

      Hooray for a clean kitchen in the morning! We are thrilled you enjoy the recipe, Donna.

      Reply
  • cheryl March 7, 2022, 3:23 pm

    delicious. whole family gobbled it up.

    Reply
    • Joanne November 7, 2022, 1:23 pm

      That’s wonderful, Cheryl!

      Reply
  • Lisa Rogers January 11, 2022, 10:59 am

    Must be doubled! You won’t believe how fast it disappears!

    Reply
    • Joanne November 7, 2022, 1:25 pm

      Music to our ears, Lisa! We are so happy that you enjoy this recipe so much.

      Reply
  • Deh July 20, 2021, 1:56 pm

    This was bad. The tops burned and dried and the bottoms were eggy mush. The only thing I did different was use Texas toast.

    Reply
    • Joanne November 7, 2022, 1:23 pm

      Hi Deh, We are sorry that you didn’t enjoy the recipe! It sounds like the bread you used was too fresh. Using Texas toast should not have affected the recipe, but when the bread is too fresh, it can become mushy. We provide tips in the recipe for drying out fresher bread before adding the custard.

      Reply
  • Clunk5 June 23, 2020, 7:39 am

    Amazing! Loved the fabulous recipes!!!

    Reply
  • ELD June 20, 2020, 10:19 am

    I’ve always loved baked French toast when we have a houseful of overnight guests such as holidays, etc. I just made this with fresh peaches and strawberry topping baked on. It was wonderful and the whole family loved it! My daughter wants a copy of the recipe so I’m forwarding it to her. I love the creativity of the different variations. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Joanne November 7, 2022, 1:25 pm

      We love your addition of peaches and strawberries! I bet it tasted fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  • Madelyn G December 6, 2019, 1:26 am

    This recipe is fabulous!!! I found this gem the day before Thanksgiving. Hubby ran to the store for the bread but we had everything else (also a plus). My favorite part is that it can be made the night before. Just pop it in the oven the morning of, no work required before guests arrived and I got to focus on family! We added all sorts of fruits and even whipping cream, my son loved it too!!!

    Reply
    • Joanne November 7, 2022, 1:26 pm

      Wonderful! It sounds like you found us just in time! We are thrilled that the whole family fell in love with the recipe.

      Reply

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