This is a perfect holiday breakfast dish. It makes the top of my favorites list, right along with my one hour cinnamon rolls and buttermilk pancakes. Be sure to check out all of my tips and my how-to video at the bottom of the post!
Would you have guessed that a recipe as simple as this one caused me anxiety for weeks as I hopped from recipe fail to recipe fail? I knew I wanted a simple, versatile French toast casserole recipe. Something that could be made in advance or whipped up the morning of (for those of us who aren’t so good at planning ahead 🙋🏼). My sister, the reigning queen of classic French toast and crepes queen, endured bland French Toast Casserole after bland casserole taste-testing. “More brown sugar”. “More cinnamon”. “What even is this?” I actually gave up twice, only to come back both times because I really, really wanted to have a breakfast casserole to share with you for your holiday breakfast. I just wanted it to be really, really good. Well, we have arrived. I hope you love this winning, perfected French toast casserole recipe every bit as much as I do. Let’s get to that recipe, shall we?
Streusel Topping
Crisp and buttery, this brown sugar streusel topping is the cherry on top of your French Toast Casserole. It’s similar to the streusel I use on my favorite coffee cake and crumb cake, though the preparation is slightly different. It’s flavorful and perfectly sweet and so easy to prep. I like to prepare my crumb topping in a food processor because it takes only a second to do so, but it can also be made with a pastry cutter or just a fork. If you do use a food processor, take care that you don’t over-process your crumb topping. You want it to resemble dry coarse crumbs with just a few small clumps (see above). Process everything for too long and you’ll end up with a big clump of butter and brown sugar that won’t lend itself to sprinkling.
What Kind of Bread Should I use?
I hands-down recommend Challah bread for making your French Toast Casserole. Yes, you can get away with using a loaf of Italian bread or French bread… but neither will impart the same taste as Challah bread. Yes, it is the most expensive of the options, but for good reason — its taste is magical. It’s also just a beautiful bread, which doesn’t matter much at all since we’re cutting it up into pieces, but still, we can all appreciate a beautiful bread anyway, right?
How Do You Make Overnight French Toast Casserole
My favorite thing about this recipe is it is so versatile in terms of prep. You can make it in advance so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven or you can throw everything together the morning of and bake it right away. If you want to make your French toast casserole in advance, I recommend making the following adjustments:
Notes on Maple Syrup
I really think the maple syrup that goes into the egg mixture is what helps set this French Toast Casserole apart from so many others. Combined with the cinnamon sugar, it adds a great subtle flavor without making the casserole too rich. I’ve tried this recipe with both imitation and pure maple syrup and either will work just fine. Enjoy!
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
Blueberry Coffee Cake <– another great make-ahead breakfast option! Chocolate Chip Muffins <– these are big, bakery-style muffins everyone raves about Sour Cream Donuts No-Churn Ice Cream <– sometimes we serve this with our French toast casserole, we like our dessert and breakfast a little extra around here.
