Baked Overnight French Toast with Crumble

Overnight French Toast is a recipe you need to keep in your arsenal. You never know when you will need to make an impressive yet easy breakfast for a crowd.

If you are like me, then this Overnight French Toast is for you! It is so, so easy to put together the night or afternoon before serving, 10 minutes and you are done.

The one downside to french toast is making it, hear me out. It’s the morning, right away I’m agitated. You have to make this egg custard, soak bread in it, fry up each piece one at a time, etc.

I’m not having it. I’m a half zombie in the morning, I need my coffee, and quiet time for at least an hour. Don’t talk to me. Look at me. Don’t think about looking at me.

So when it comes to this easy overnight French toast casserole, everything is ready for me in the morning to pop in the oven and bake right up; saves so much time!

This is one of our families favorite recipes, it’s pretty simple, feeds a crowd and is super super flavorful!

I made sure this breakfast packs a punch of flavor too by using cinnamon swirl bread! I really think the specialty bread addition really makes this french toast bake pop!

But it is not necessary for you to use cinnamon swirl bread, it is a personal preference in this Overnight French Toast and any normal bread will work with this recipe.

1. It takes minimal effort and time to whip this together.
2. You are able to pop it in the refrigerator overnight and it will be ready for you in the morning after making the crumble topping.
3. It serves a crowd, and you can make multiple pans if you are feeding a lot of people!

• Cinnamon swirl bread
• Eggs
• Milk
• Heavy cream
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar, packed
• Vanilla extract

Cinnamon Crumble:

• All-purpose flour
• Light brown sugar, packed
• Ground cinnamon
• Salt
• Unsalted butter, cold, small dice
• Chopped pecans or nuts of your choice

1. Lay cinnamon swirl bread slices into the bottom of a well-greased 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Mix together the egg custard, which consists of eggs, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
3. Pour this mixture all over the bread slices.
4. Press down slightly with a spoon to help the bread start to absorb the custard.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for overnight.

1. Make the crumble, this can be done the night before also. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Add cold butter. Roll the butter and flour mixture through your fingertips until it resembles wet sand with a few larger butter lumps.
3. Stir in the pecans.
4. Place the mixture into a baggie and refrigerate overnight, or you can do this first thing in the morning before baking the French toast—your choice.
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°.
6. Sprinkle all of the crumble on top. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, let cool slightly, and serve.

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More great breakfast options include Breakfast Enchiladas, Sour Cream Coffee Cake, and Chocolate Chip Muffins!

WHAT KIND OF BREAD IS THE BEST TO USE?

The best bread to use is definitely cinnamon swirl bread. It adds an extra layer of flavor that makes this dish taste like classic French toast without any extra effort on your part.

However, if cinnamon swirl isn’t your thing (or if your local store is out because everyone read this recipe), French bread, brioche bread, Italian bread, or even sourdough bread are excellent choices.

In fact, using stale bread or day-old bread is the best thing you can do—it soaks up the egg mixture better than fresh bread.

That gets you a custardy texture that’s golden brown on top after baking.

So next time you have leftover bread, don’t toss it out; turn it into this delicious overnight French toast casserole.

Your future self enjoying breakfast the next morning will thank you!

ANY ADDITIONS?

If regular French toast is a crowd pleaser, then this one is a knock out. A great addition to your recipe box!

• Fresh Berries or Fresh Fruit: Top your easy french toast casserole recipe with fresh berries or slices of fruit for a burst of flavor and color. It’s like adding a fruity hat to your breakfast!
• Cream Cheese: Spread cream cheese between the slices of bread cubes for a creamy surprise that’ll have everyone asking for your secret ingredient.
• Breakfast Sausage: Add cooked breakfast sausage into the egg mixture for a savory twist. It’s the best of both worlds—sweet and savory!
• Powdered Sugar Dusting: A light dusting of powdered sugar after baking adds a touch of sweetness and makes it look bakery-fancy.
• Maple Syrup Drizzle: Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup to enhance the classic French toast flavors.
• Chopped Nuts: Add chopped pecans or your nuts of choice into the crumble for extra crunch and nuttiness.
• Cinnamon Apples: Top with cooked cinnamon apples to bring in more fall flavors—it’s like autumn on a plate!
• Creamy Caramel Sauce: Drizzle caramel sauce over the top for an indulgent treat that might just make this your go-to recipe for special occasions.

ANY SUBSTITUTIONS?

I love just tossing this into the oven the next day.

Baked French toast casserole is just the best!

• Bread Types: Swap out the cinnamon swirl bread for French bread, brioche bread, Italian bread, or even sourdough bread.
• Milk Alternatives: Use whole milk, almond milk, or soy milk instead of regular milk in the egg mixture.
• Cream Options: Substitute half-and-half or extra milk for the heavy cream if you’re looking to lighten things up.
• Sugar Alternatives: Replace granulated sugar with coconut sugar or white sugar for a different flavor profile.
• Nut-Free: Omit the nuts in the crumble if you have allergies or prefer a nut-free version—no one will judge!

This can be stored in an airtight container like a Tupperware container or ziptop bag for up to one day, you won’t want to leave it much longer than that.

You can also freeze this delicious breakfast, the best method is to wrap the whole casserole dish in plastic wrap two times, then once in foil. The french toast bake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

The night before you are going to serve, take the casserole dish out of the freezer and place in the fridge overnight to thaw. In the morning, bake as directed in the recipe below.

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As you can tell, by laying the bread slices into the casserole dish, and overlapping slightly, this is the lazy version!

If you would like the casserole to be more of a bread pudding style, just cube the bread into bite-sized pieces, and do everything else the same.

Overnight French Toast is great served with just powdered sugar, maple syrup, or even cinnamon buttermilk caramel sauce – the sky is the limit!

If you’ve tried this OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!