This Easy French Toast Casserole is bursting with so much flavor! This breakfast casserole is loaded with almonds, fresh berries and a cream cheese drizzle – an amazing combination.
You will love the make-ahead option. Just like our overnight cinnamon rolls, this overnight breakfast casserole will become a favorite to serve the family.
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Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing an amazing Berry French Toast Casserole.
French Toast Casserole Recipe
This French Toast Casserole is everything you can ask for in a breakfast casserole. It’s not overly sweet, yet hits the sweet spot! Bread chunks in a cinnamon egg mixture, topped with sliced almonds that become crispy once baked, fresh berries that add to the flavor and finished off with a cream cheese drizzle that take the recipe over the top!
Serve the French Toast Casserole on the weekend, for a special occasion like Mother’s Day brunch, Valentine’s Day or the Holidays!
How to Make French Toast Casserole?
- Cut bread into 1” cubes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and sugar. Add bread and stir to coat.
- Transfer to a baking dish, arranging in an even thickens and pour remaining egg mixture over bread
- Sprinkle on sliced almonds, cover and bake breakfast casserole.
- Meanwhile, prepare cream cheese drizzle: Beat cream cheese then beat in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk
- Once French Toast Casserole is baked, dust with powdered sugar,
- Add berries and drizzle cream cheese over French Toast Casserole
TIP: If you don’t like almonds, use walnuts or pecans, add them to half of the casserole, or omit nuts.
Do I Have to Use the Cream Cheese Drizzle?
No! You may omit the cream cheese drizzle altogether and serve with traditional maple syrup
How to Make Overnight French Toast Casserole:
- Make recipe according to instructions, minus the baking
- Cover and refrigerate the casserole
- The following day, bake the breakfast casserole
TIP: Since the overnight breakfast casserole will be cold, add 5 minutes to the covered baking time then continue baking per the recipe.
What is the Best Bread for French Toast Casserole?
- Brioche Bread, Challah Bread French Bread or even Italian Bread that can be sliced into about 1” squares will all work great.
- Use bread that’s at least a day old. It will soak the egg mixture better and won’t taste soggy or mushy.
TIP: If your bread is a really large loaf, you may not need the whole loaf.
How to Re-Heat French Toast Casserole:
The casserole is best and most crisp right out of the oven, but it can be reheated. To reheat, bake at 350˚ F for 10 to 15 minutes or until warmed through and the top is re-crisped.
Try these other BREAKFAST recipes:
- Maple Pecan Breakfast Casserole– Tastes like a cinnamon roll casserole
- Sausage Potato Breakfast Casserole– Hearty, satisfying casserole
- Breakfast Potatoes – easy and perfect for company
- Breakfast Casserole with Hash Browns– one-skillet breakfast
- Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes – incredibly soft and quick to make
For more breakfast ideas, check out our full breakfast recipes index.
French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
For the French Toast Casserole:
- 1 bread loaf, cut into 1-inch squares
- 7 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup sliced almonds
- 16 oz fresh berries
- 2 tsp Powdered sugar, for dusting, optional
For the Cream Cheese Drizzle:
- 2 oz cream cheese, room temp
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ Tbsp whole milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, ground cinnamon and sugar.
- Cut the bread loaf into 1” cubes and add them to the egg mixture. Stir to generously soak the bread then transfer to 9x13 casserole baking dish.
- Pour any remaining egg mixture over bread and arrange bread evenly, patting down if needed.
- Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds, cover and bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes then uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes, until tops of bread are crispy.
- Meanwhile, prepare cream cheese drizzle: beat cream cheese until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and beat until thick and drizzling consistency
- To serve, top with fresh berries and use a teaspoon to drizzle cream cheese over the French Toast Casserole.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Thank you Natasha, I made 4 servings with brioche and it was perfect! Would I be able to make it healthier by using whole wheat?
I’m so happy you loved it, G. I haven’t tried it with whole wheat, but I imagine that will work.
Hi
Do you need to grease the casserole dish? Bcz it came out good but it sticked at the bottom
Hi Sahr! Yes, you can grease the casserole dish if it’s sticking too much.
This is a twist on bread pudding and French toast. French toast and bread pudding together in one dish sounds so good. I will give this a try. You know I just cannot make this without raisons.
I hope you love it as much as we do!
Looks good, but can someone tell me the BEST bread to use for this?
Hi Juliya, I address this in the recipe post. Please see the “What is the Best Bread for French Toast Casserole?” section of the post. I hope this helps. Merry Christmas!
Hello Can the drizzle be made the night before as well, love your recipes
Hi Elizabeth. I think that would work. If you refrigerate it (because it has cream cheese in it) you should bring it back to room temperature before using it.
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My family loved it! I added a drizzle of blueberries and strawberries with a little cream cheese to thicken…added a dimension. Love your recipes!
Great to hear that, Christine! Thank you for sharing that with us.
This looks & sounds so good! My kids & grandkids are are comimg up for my birthday & I was wondering if I Can make it a day ahead & bake next morning?
Thank you, Susan
Hi Susan, this is a make-ahead recipe, we have notes on that in the post 🙂 See the section: “How to Make Overnight French Toast Casserole:” I hope that helps!
I made the French toast casserole for Christmas brunch and it was the hit of the brunch. Every single bit of it was scarfed down. Your right, it really does not even need the syrup. The drizzle was perfect on it. Thank you for another great recipe.
Hi Mike, you’re so welcome! Glad to hear that the french toast casserole was a huge hit. Thanks for the review!