French Toast Bake
My French toast bake is easy. Decadent layers of cinnamon and French toast with a crusty crumb top, baked in the oven, deliver that ultimate breakfast or brunch comfort food. You can make it the night before or bake it right away. Either way, it tastes amazing!
Good old white bread is your best option for this recipe. I usually go with Texas Toast style bread since it is cut nice and thick. It also soaks up the egg well and makes for a taller bake. Of course, regular white bread will work fine too. However, I went with French bread this time.
Coquito is an optional ingredient in this recipe (heavy cream also works), but I highly recommend going the extra mile. That rich and creamy coconut rum drink makes the most amazing French toast. Best of all, you can assemble everything the night before. Then you pop it in the oven the next morning; delicious and convenient!
The Perfect Breakfast for Big Families
I love French toast, but I’ve always avoided making it for big family get-togethers. It’s just so time-consuming for a crowd. Fortunately, this baked French toast recipe is the perfect solution. You get all the delicious warm cinnamon flavors, the irresistible sweetness, and a crunchy, crumbly top in a fraction of the time. I now make this on the regular when expecting a crowd for breakfast or brunch.
How to Make French Toast Bake
Follow along with my easy tutorial to learn how to make French toast bake, to serve with your family.
- Cut your bread into cubes, line the bottom of the baking pan, mix the wet ingredients, and pour them over the bread.
- Mix the streusel topping, sprinkle it evenly over the bread mixture, and bake it. While it’s baking, make the syrup.
Recipe Twists and Tips
- Add about ½ cup of pumpkin puree to your milk mixture before pouring it over the toast to soak. It goes wonderfully with the cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Go crazy with the toppings. Fresh fruit, homemade whipped cream, dried fruits, and chopped nuts all taste great sprinkled over this baked French toast recipe. Have fun with it, and use any topping you like.
- Skip cutting up the bread if you need time. Go ahead and dip the bread slices in the egg mixture and then lay them in the dish, one overlapping the other. Then pour the rest of the mixture over the top and let it soak.
Make-Ahead and Leftover Instructions
This recipe tastes best when assembled a day or two in advance. Then bake it whenever you’re ready to serve it.
You can freeze the baked French toast casserole for up to three months. Then thaw it in the fridge the night before serving it for breakfast and reheat it in the oven or microwave. If you use the oven, set it to 350℉ (180℃) and bake for about 20 minutes or until it’s heated through.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container, and they’ll keep for 3-5 days. Individual portions reheat well in the microwave, but you could use the oven to reheat the entire dish if you prefer. Keep the temperature relatively low at 300-350℉ (150-180℃) and bake just until heated through.
Menu Ideas
All the usual breakfast and brunch players go great with French toast bake. Try serving it alongside egg muffins or a sausage egg casserole. Sometimes I like to balance out the rich flavors with a tropical fruit salad on the side, too.
Don’t forget to serve your guests plenty of coffee, or a chai tea latte, maybe? Honestly, any hot drink goes beautifully with this bake. ☕️
More Effortless Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
- Vitumbua (Coconut Rice Pancakes)
- Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Easy Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
- Western Omelette
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in December 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce loaf bread, cut into chunks (7-8 cups)
- 7-8 eggs
- 1 cup (236ml) coconut milk
- 1 cup (236ml) milk
- ½ cup (120ml) coquito (or sub with heavy cream)
- ⅓ cup (65g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (65g) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
- 1-1½ teaspoons (3-4g) cinnamon
- ¼-½ teaspoon (1g) nutmeg
Topping
- ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (110g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (3g) cinnamon
- ¼-½ teaspoon (1g) nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) salt
- ½ cup (113g) butter, very cold and cut into pieces
Syrup
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter
- ½ cup (120g) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) bourbon or rum
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) salt (optional)
Instructions
- Spray or generously grease a 9"×13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the bread cubes evenly into the prepared baking dish, and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, coconut milk, coquito, milk, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Pour the mixture evenly over the bread, pressing down if needed so that everything is soaked with the egg mixture.
- Let it sit for 4 hours or preferably overnight. You could bake it right away if you're short on time, but the egg mixture might not thoroughly soak into the bread.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
- Next, combine the topping ingredients, flour, the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and butter, until crumbly, then sprinkle it evenly over the bread mixture.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown. It should be crispy on the outside and soft inside.
- While the casserole is baking, melt the butter for the syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Once melted, add the maple syrup and stir for 3-4 minutes, or until the syrup is heated.
- Remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, and bourbon. Set aside and serve with casserole.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to cool slightly. Drizzle the entire casserole with the syrup or allow guests to drizzle it over their portions.
Tips & Notes:
- Want French toast for two? Cut the recipe in half and make it in a loaf pan instead of a casserole dish.
- If at any time the French toast bake starts looking like it’s browning too much on top, cover it with aluminum foil for the remainder of the bake time.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
How much salt for the sauce? If it says, I’m not seeing it.
Hi Jennifer! I use salt only in the topping. Please check out the ingredient list again. Looking forward to you making this 🙂 !
But step three of the baking instructions says to add salt to the syrup.
Add 1/4 teaspoon . It is optional.
Wow that looks delicious, thanks for the recipe.
Awesome! Thanks for stopping by!
What can I use in place of the Coquito? I do not drink and neither do my guests.
Just replace with cream.
I want to make this for a brunch event. Can I replace the cream with Soy Milk for those of us that are Lactose intolerant ? Sorry for all the questions, this dish just looks and sounds so good, I want to make it soon!
I can’t say for sure . Haven’t tested it out yet with Soy Milk. If you do, add about 1-2 Tablespoon butter to add more flavor to it . Do let me know how it works out for you . Thanks