Easy Homemade French Toast Casserole

A stress-free breakfast or brunch that is hearty and delicious. This version does not require overnight chilling, so you can get this crowd-pleaser on the table in a breeze. Serve with fresh fruit, powdered sugar and warm maple syrup for the ultimate flavor combo.

We moved to North Carolina from California about 5 years ago. Therefore, during the months of summer we often have out-of-state guests flowing in and out of our home. We absolutely love entertaining, so coming up with recipes that can feed a crowd are high on my priority list.

With so much to love about Homemade French Toast, this entree is guaranteed to be a surefire hit.

While the casserole bakes, go ahead and pour some mimosas for you and your guests. Clink!

Noteworthy Additions & Swaps:

If you’re not a morning person, you can make this the night before and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. (check out my other overnight casseroles)
Fold dollops of cream cheese into the soaked bread mixture before baking for a creamy cinnamon-roll twist! Go ahead and use a half cup that’s cut into squares.
Make this dairy-free by using Almond Milk instead of regular (psst: have you checked out my dairy-free Cauliflower soup?).
Use blueberry or raisin bread instead of Texas Toast! The fruit will give this dish an extra oomph of flavor and texture without making it soggy.
Make sure to use a casserole dish that’s large enough to let the bread expand while baking. If you’re nervous about it overflowing or spilling, place the casserole dish on top of a baking sheet prior to cooking (that’s what I did, see photo below).

Homemade French Toast Casserole

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 loaf Texas Toast or bread of choice (about 8 cups)
Cooking Spray, as needed

For the egg mixture:

8 Eggs
2 cups Milk
½ cup Heavy Cream
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
½ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Sugar
1 tbsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Nutmeg

For the sugar-crust topping:

½ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Salt
½ cup cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small squares

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large size casserole dish with cooking spray (9X13 should work perfectly).
While the oven preheats, rip the bread into smaller pieces (about 1 inch each). I like ripping it instead of cutting to create more of a homemade texture and look.
In a small mixing bowl, combine all sugar-crust topping ingredients and set aside. Cut butter into cubes and set back in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the egg mixture above.
Add bread to the egg mixture and toss to combine.
Pour soaked bread into a casserole dish greased with cooking spray. Top evenly with sugar-crust topping and sprinkle with butter cubes.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is crusty and a knife comes out clean when checking the center.

So what makes this French Toast Casserole surpass all the rest? Hello crispy brown-sugar crust. I almost called this casserole French Toast Crunch because it forms this amazing shell of crust that surrounds the moist center.