Brioche French Toast Casserole is the best option when you want something a little extra. It’s simple enough for a slow weekend morning but special enough to serve during the holidays, when you want something comforting, beautiful, and just a little indulgent.
When feeding a crowd or I want to get ahead for the day, I love to create casseroles. Two of my favorites are my Easy Mexican Casserole and my Breakfast Casseroles with Biscuits. They are filling, beautiful and delicious.
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Why this Brioche French Toast Casserole Recipe is a Keeper
My breakfast casserole is the perfect, sweet way to start the day. It is perfect for brunch on Christmas morning, Easter brunch or a Mother’s Day surprise.
- Perfectly Custardy: Brioche soaks up the vanilla cinnamon custard without turning soggy.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Easy to prep the night before and bake the french toast in the morning.
- Simple Ingredients: Nothing fancy, just pantry staples and bakery bread. A little maple syrup to top off the pieces of french toast.
- Holiday Worthy: Feels special enough for Christmas morning or mother’s day brunch gatherings.This fluffy brioche recipe is always a hit.
Why is My French Toast Casserole Soggy?
If your casserole is soggy, the slices of brioche bread soaked up too much of the custard. Next time, swap fresh bread slices for day old bread to help avoid sogginess.
Pro Tip – Loaf of Brioche
If your brioche is very fresh, cube it and let it sit out for a few hours before assembling. Slightly dried pieces of bread absorbs custard better and prevents a soggy bottom.
French Toast Casserole Ingredient Notes
This easy brioche French toast casserole uses only a few simple ingredients you probably already have, or can grab in one quick trip to the store.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Brioche for French Toast: Use buttery brioche bread to make this classic French toast bake.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar brings richer, deeper flavor than granulated sugar.
- Cinnamon: Freshly grated is always best, but whatever you have will work just as well. Feel free to try it with Pumpkin Spice in the fall.
Variations for Overnight Brioche French Toast Casserole
The flavors in this easy French toast bake are so easy to switch up by including different ingredients. This makes the french toast casserole is one of my favorites.
- Berries: Fold in fresh blueberries or raspberries before baking.
- Swap the Bread: Here are some different breads to use: favorite French bread, texas toast or challah bread if brioche isn’t available.
- Add a Streusel Topping: Sprinkle a brown sugar crumble on top before baking.
- Add Nuts: Add chopped pecans for crunch.
- Milk: Feel free to use almond milk or oat milk instead of whole milk. You could also try it with half-and-half or heavy cream.
- Topping: Other toppings can include a dusting of powdered sugar, chopped fresh fruit, whipped cream or melted butter with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Special Equipment Needed for Breakfast and Brunch Recipe
Although this easy French toast recipe uses everyday kitchen tools, a few items make it perfect.
- 9×13 Baking Dish: Ensures even baking and proper custard depth.
- Whisk: Helps fully combine eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, milk and heavy cream.
How to Make Brioche French Toast Casserole
This French toast casserole with brioche comes together in just 2 easy to follow steps. This is the best French toast bake, so it’s a great recipe to try for a special occasion.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Prepare the Bread Mixture: Place bread cubes in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pour custard over the bread, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
- Bake the Casserole: When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven and grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Spread the buttery brioche bread soaked in egg mixture into the dish and bake for about 45 minutes.
Prep Ahead Suggestions
This easy French toast casserole is already really easy, but there are a few things you can do to prepare it ahead of time.
- Freeze Before Baking: Assemble, wrap tightly, and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight before baking.
- Pre-Mix Custard: Whisk custard mixture and refrigerate in the fridge overnight to 24 hours before using.
- Slice Bread: If you bought a whole brioche loaf, chop the bread into 1-inch cubes and place in a baking dish. Plus the longer the bread sits out “getting stale”, the less soggy your casserole will be.
Alternate Cooking Methods for Baked French Toast Casserole
Make this easy breakfast recipe another way by turning it into mini casseroles.
- Individual Portions: Bake the soaked bread in greased muffin tins for single-serving portions. Make sure you reduce the baking time.
How to Store this Easy Recipe, Reheat and Use Leftovers
- Storing: Let the casserole sit at room temperature to cool. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Warm individual slices in the microwave or oven at 325°F until heated through.
- Using Leftovers: Cube and layer into a breakfast parfait with yogurt, maple syrup and topped with fresh berries.
Questions About Overnight French Toast Casserole
Yep! Freeze the homemade brioche casserole in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 4 months. Bake from frozen for 65 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
The cinnamon brioche bake is done when the egg cooks all the way. If you’re really not sure, you can insert a meat thermometer in the middle of the casserole to find the exact temperature.
Expert Tips for Making the Casserole
- Use Stale Bread: Fresh brioche can turn too soft.
- Don’t Overbake: Overbaking dries out the custard.
- Let It Rest After Baking: Resting 10 minutes helps it set cleanly for slicing.
- Cover If Browning Too Fast: Loosely tent with foil during final bake time.
- Serve With: Serve with Air Fryer Hash Browns, Egg and Sausage Tacos or a Mixed Berry Smoothie (2 Ingredients).
More Recipes You Might Like
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Brioche French Toast Casserole
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Ingredients
- 1 Loaf brioche , cubed
- 4 Eggs
- 1½ cups Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 4 Tablespoons Brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place bread cubes in baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Pour mixture over top of the bread cubes.
- Cover and refrigerate over night.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until casserole reaches desired doneness.
- Serve warm.
Christina’s Notes
- Add Different Spices: This recipe is great with Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix in this great recipe.
- Toppings: Top of the casserole with things such as Maple syrup, fruit syrups, fruit compote,fresh fruit such as fresh blueberries or powdered sugar.
- Variation tip: Almond milk and almond extract add a wonderful flavor to the baked french toast in oven.
- Alternate Addition: Orange zest in the custard make a great burst of citrus in this breakfast casserole.
- Meat: Try adding cooked bacon, cooked sausage or both for this overnight brioche french toast.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.