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Cinnamon Vanilla Baked French Toast

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Overnight Baked French Toast Casserole spiced with cinnamon, flavored with vanilla, and topped with a brown sugar crumb topping. Prep it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning! Everyone loves this dish! VIDEO BELOW.

Baked French Toast Casserole in a blue baking dish.

Hi, friends! I am popping in today to share a recipe that is one of my most popular. This Baked French Toast is a staple in my family, and since I originally published this recipe a couple years ago, I have received tons of great reviews from my readers (thank you, thank you, thank you)!

With Easter and Mother’s Day approaching, I wanted to make sure this recipe was on your radar. It is absolutely perfect for brunch, and I love the fact that it can be prepped the night before.

Syrup poured over a serving of baked french toast.

In addition to Easter and Mother’s Day, Baked French Toast is always our Christmas morning breakfast. Any morning of the year that I want a special meal with little-to-no effort this is the dish I turn to. It’s super simple and the payoff is huge – I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love this dish! Tell me you don’t want to dive right into that?! ↓

Baked French Toast on a plate with berries in the background.

Baked French Toast

  • Place cubed bread in a casserole dish. I like French bread best. You want your bread to be a day or two old. Not too moist, but not rock hard either. I prefer a bread with a tender crust.
  • Make a cinnamon vanilla custard mixture from: eggs, milk, and – you guessed it– cinnamon and vanilla.
  • Pour the custard over the bread, cover it tightly and refrigerate for a few hours, up to overnight.
  • Right before baking, top the french toast with a simple brown sugar crumble.
  • Bake it! The French toast puffs up, the inside is fluffy and tender, and the outside is slightly crisp. It’s like a French toast-bread pudding hybrid! It’s absolutely perfect!

Baked French Toast Casserole with a bowl of fresh berries.

One of the best things about this French toast is that all the work is done the night before. Psssst….that means you get to sleep in and still serve an amazing breakfast!

This Baked French Toast Casserole is perfect for mornings that you don’t want to stand over the stove flipping individual slices of French toast. Anytime you want to serve something extra special without working too hard you will reach for this recipe.

French Toast on a white plate with syrup in the background.

Once you try this dish you won’t want to go back to standard French toast. Baked French Toast Casserole is the way to go! You’ll love diving into this sweet, delicious, hearty breakfast. Grab some warm maple syrup and dig in!

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Cinnamon Vanilla Baked French Toast - An easy make-ahead french toast casserole flavored with vanilla and cinnamon and topped with a brown sugar crumble.
4.93 from 14 votes
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Cinnamon Vanilla Baked French Toast

Make-ahead Baked French Toast spiced with cinnamon, flavored with vanilla and topped with a brown sugar crumb topping. Prep it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning!

Course Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword French Toast
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6 -10
Calories 289 kcal
Author Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

French Toast:

  • One 15 oz loaf French bread cut into large cubes (preferably a day or two old)
  • 8 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • Maple syrup for serving

Instructions

Preparation (allow time to soak overnight):

  1. Place the bread cubes in a greased casserole dish (I used a 2 1/2 quart dish).

  2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, half and half, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread cubes. Lightly press down on the top of the bread to allow the top layer of bread to absorb some of the custard mixture, or gently stir it to distribute the custard throughout the bread. Cover, and refrigerate overnight (if you want to bake the same day, allow it to soak for at least 3 hours).

  3. For the topping: combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add butter, and using your fingers or a spoon, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture resembles wet, clumpy sand. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake the French toast.

Baking:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the French toast from the refrigerator (the bread will have absorbed most of the custard). Crumble the topping over the top of the French toast. Bake uncovered for 40-55 minutes, until puffed, golden brown, and set (check that the center is not too wet). .

  2. Note: Baking time will depend on how deep your casserole dish is and whether you prefer your french toast more well done. Serve immediately with maple syrup. Leftovers can be refrigerated.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Want to make this dairy free? Swap the milk and half half for 2 cups Silk Original Unsweetened Almond Milk, and swap the butter in the topping for butter substitute. 

Nutrition Facts
Cinnamon Vanilla Baked French Toast
Amount Per Serving
Calories 289 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 160mg 53%
Sodium 136mg 6%
Potassium 155mg 4%
Total Carbohydrates 34g 11%
Sugars 26g
Protein 6g 12%
Vitamin A 10.5%
Vitamin C 0.3%
Calcium 10.2%
Iron 6.7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Cinnamon Vanilla Baked French Toast - An easy make-ahead french toast casserole flavored with vanilla and cinnamon and topped with a brown sugar crumble.

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Comments

  2. I *might* have a tiny addiction to french toast – this recipe looks like heaven AND I love that it’s made in the oven! Can’t wait to try it this weekend with my fam ??

    Reply

  8. Oh man, this looks awesome! I actually just bought Silk the other day because it was on sale. I haven’t tried the chocolate yet, although it looks delicious. I use almond milk in my breakfast smoothies; I like how it has less calories than dairy milk. =)

    Reply

    • I love almond milk for the same reason! It’s perfect for smoothies, way less calories than juice too.

      Reply

  9. This looks amazing! French toast is my favorite and you took it to a different level with the cinnamon! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Reply

    • Hi, Irene! Yes, Silk sponsored this post. As always, all opinions are my own. They’re one of my favorite brands. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi Jenny. The longest that I’ve ever let this sit is 15 hours. My guess is that the bread might get too mushy if it sat for more than one night. If you give it a try, please let me know how it goes. Good luck! Enjoy!

      Reply

    • Hi Leah. If using sandwich bread make sure that it is thick cut and preferably a few days old (you can even leave it out overnight to dry out a bit). The french toast might be a little softer than if you used french bread. Enjoy!

      Reply

  18. We made this for Christmas breakfast. It was delicious! Even my pickiest eaters loved it and had seconds. We will definitely be making this again and adding it to our Christmas breakfast tradition!

    Reply

  19. I made this for my son’s birthday brunch and people went crazy for it! Do you think I could make it ahead of time and freeze it?

    Reply

    • Hi, Laura. I’m glad to hear that you liked it! I really can’t say whether it would freeze well, I’ve never tried it. I like it best freshly baked, but you can also refrigerate it (after baking) and reheat leftovers as needed. If you do freeze it let me know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  20. Made this today for my boyfriend’s birthday, with the addition of cinnamon apples and brown butter icing. Perfection.

    Reply

  21. Made this for New year’s day breakfast. It got rave reviews! I used regular sandwich bread that I bought a few days ago and let sit out for about 10 hours before preparing the dish. I cut it into large cubes and it worked out great.

    Reply

  22. What exactly do you mean by french bread? Is this the same as a french baguette? Im not very familiar with fancy breads, but this recipe looks/sounds delicious. Thank you!

    Reply

    • I find French Bread in the bakery section of many grocery stores (including Target and Walmart). It is labeled as “French Bread”. It is softer than a baguette, with a more tender crust. If you can only find baguettes, you can use them, just make sure they are fresh and not too dry.

      Reply

  23. I was unsuccessful with the topping. If you use softened butter, you will get a cream topping. You have to cut in cold butter just as you would with a pie crust, otherwise there is no crumble to sprinkle over the pudding.

    Reply

  27. This recipe looks yummy! I am always looking for new recipes to try, and this seems like it’s going to go on my list. I love french toast but I hardly ever make it at home. I like that this recipe is easy to bake!

    Reply

  37. I am wanting to make this in the morning, I want to use a butter substitute. What and how much can I use?

    Reply

    • I have successfully used Earth Balance in the topping. I would say use 5-6 tablespoons, softened. Enjoy!

      Reply

  38. I made this recipe exactly as written and it worked perfectly. It was a delicious and special breakfast. Thank you!

    Reply

  39. What do you think is the shortest amount of time you could let the bread soak? Put it in the fridge about three hours ago but kind of want to bake it tonight so my husband can have it for breakfast before work tomorrow!

    Reply

    • Hi, Amanda, As long as it’s had a few hours it should be fine. You can give it a little stir before putting it in the oven. Enjoy!

      Reply

  41. I tried making a French Toast casserole a few months ago and fell in love. I definitely love anything vanilla and/or cinnamon, so I’m giving this a try for sure! Pinned!

    Reply

  43. Its like a cinnamon roll and french toast all rolled into one! Both breakfast favorites of mine! MUST TRY

    Reply

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