This brioche french toast casserole recipe is the perfect breakfast: cozy cinnamon vanilla custard, buttery brioche, maple syrup, brown sugar and pecans. Weekend mornings were made for this. And the best part? You can prepare everything the night before.
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Full disclosure: I usually leave French toast to my husband. It’s easy enough to do and honestly he does it really well. He uses thick slices of Texas toast. He is generous with cinnamon, vanilla and butter. And he always adds just a hint of nutmeg.
Me on the other hand, I love breakfast recipes I can start the night before. Mostly because I love using the quiet hours of the morning to sip my morning latte and dive into menu planning for the week or reading a chapter in a good book. And this explains my love of French toast casserole, in particular, this brioche french toast casserole. It’s the best!
The best brioche french toast casserole also happens to be a recipe you can easily turn into an overnight brioche french toast casserole. It has everything you love in your favorite french toast recipe, but it’s perfect for lazy weekend mornings (and never ending cups of coffee) and brunch with family and friends.
And this recipe is good year round, but I especially love this hearty breakfast for special occasions like Christmas morning, Easter morning or Mother’s Day because it means more time with your littles and loved ones.
Ingredients for the Perfect Brioche French Toast Casserole
- Brioche: Buttery brioche bread makes the perfect upgrade to regular bread: it’s rich and sweet and soaks up custard like a champ. Challah makes a great substitute.
- Brown sugar: for a richer, caramel flavor that adds great texture and crunch to the bottom and top of our casserole.
- Maple syrup
- Butter
- Pecans (optional)
- Eggs
- Whole Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
How to Make This Recipe
Cube your brioche and leave it out overnight on the counter to dry out. I usually leave it on a baking tray.
The next day, grease a 9×13 baking pan.
Mix the ingredients for the sticky caramel together until combined. Add half of it to the bottom of the baking pan with a spatula. Set the rest aside.
Add brioche cubes to the baking pan on top of the sticky caramel.
Make the custard mixture. Crack eggs and lightly whisk. Add milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and salt and whisk until combined.
Slowly pour the custard over the brioche in the baking pan. Once I’m done, I like to use my hands to gently toss the brioche and ensure more pieces get soaked in the custard. Proceed with caution, as your brioche might start to disintegrate on you if you overwork it.
Add chopped pecans to the rest of the sticky caramel mixture and give it a good stir. Spoon over the top of the casserole.
Now you have two options: you can refrigerate the casserole, covered, overnight and bake it the next morning or let it rest for 20-30 minutes .in the refrigerator and then bake right away.
When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the custard is set. If, during the baking, you notice the top starting to get too brown, cover with tin foil. Remove and serve with whipped cream, maple syrup or both (you daredevil, you)!
Tips for Making The Best French Toast Casserole
A few simple considerations and tweaks not only elevate this easy breakfast casserole, but can help you master French Toast no matter how you dish it up!
Go beyond basic: If you’re making this recipe, you’re already one step ahead, but one common mistake when making any french toast recipe is using regular bread. Since bread is the main ingredient in French toast, the type of bread you choose will impact the overall flavor and texture. You can use sourdough bread, challah bread, Texas toast, French bread or croissants. My parents have even been known to use banana bread on occasion (I can’t attest to using it in a casserole, but it does make for an original breakfast idea!).
But here we’re using brioche because it’s rich and buttery (so, delicious!) and easy to find at your local grocery store.
Age is beauty: Using stale bread is ideal for any french toast dish but especially this overnight brioche french toast casserole recipe. That’s because Brioche is a soft bread. Once we add the mixture of milk and eggs, it will be even softer. This is one way to give our breakfast bake a little extra texture. Let your bread cubes sit out for at least an hour but up to 12. If you find yourself making this recipe last minute, you can skip stale bread and toast your brioche bread cubes in the oven at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.
Think thick: Thin slices of French toast lack a certain umph. In this casserole recipe, we’re going to use thick one-inch cubes. More bread means better overall texture and ensures you get a flavorful, luxurious bit of custard-soaked bread in every bite.
Zhuzh it up: Your bread is a blank canvas. A sponge. So get creative in how you flavor your custard mixture. A splash of dark rum, cointreau, almond extract or a pinch of cardamom or ginger with a healthy dose of cinnamon are all fun ways to jazz up this morning breakfast treat.
Add-Ins for This Easy French Toast Bake
- Pecans, Almonds or Walnuts
- Chocolate chips
- Rum-soaked raisins
- Cinnamon apples
- Coconut flakes
Toppings
- Whipped cream
- Sweetened, homemade creme fraiche
- Maple syrup
- Powdered Sugar
- Cinnamon apples
- Berry topping
What to serve with this recipe
- Fresh berries
- Cantaloupe
- Yogurt
- Fresh orange juice
- Mimosas
- Sausage patties or bacon
- Scrambled Eggs
Can You Freeze Brioche French Toast Casserole?
Yes! Make the casserole in a freezer-safe baking dish and bake as instructed. Once it has cooled completely, wrap it in plastic wrap and tin foil and freeze for up to three months. Allow the casserole to defrost in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours before baking. Then, reheat at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Baked French Toast Casserole
You can either cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and store in the fridge or alternatively, put leftovers in an airtight container. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Alternatively, you can freeze individual slices, placing parchment paper in between slices to prevent them from sticking together. They will keep for 3 months stored this way. To reheat individual slices, microwave for 45 seconds to a minute or until heated to your liking.
📖 Recipe
Brioche French Toast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- STICKY CARAMEL SAUCE
- 6 tablespoon butter melted
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
- 1 loaf brioche 17.6 oz., cubed and stale (let sit on counter overnight)
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- STICKY PECAN TOPPING
- ¾ cup pecans
- Reserved Sticky Caramel mixture
Instructions
- Cube your brioche and leave it out overnight on the counter to dry out. I usually leave it on a baking tray.
- The next day, grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Mix the ingredients for the sticky caramel together until combined. Add half of it to the bottom of the baking pan with a spatula. Set the rest aside.
- Add brioche cubes to the baking pan on top of the sticky caramel.
- Make the custard mixture. Crack eggs and lightly whisk. Add milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and salt and whisk until combined.
- Slowly pour the custard over the brioche in the baking pan. Once I’m done, I like to use my hands to gently toss the brioche and ensure more pieces get soaked in the custard. Proceed with caution, as your brioche might start to disintegrate on you if you overwork it.
- Add chopped pecans to the rest of the sticky caramel mixture and give it a good stir. Spoon over the entire casserole.
- Now you have two options: you can refrigerate the casserole, covered, overnight and bake in the morning, or let it rest for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator and then bake right away.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the custard is set. If, during the baking, you notice the top starting to get too brown, cover with tin foil. Remove and serve with whipped cream, maple syrup or both!
