Baked French Toast Casserole
This Baked French Toast Casserole is a classic, crowd-pleasing breakfast that’s perfect for holidays, brunch, or slow weekend mornings. Adapted from Paula Deen’s beloved recipe, it features soft, custardy bread baked in a rich, cinnamon-vanilla egg mixture with a golden, buttery top. The best part? It can be prepped ahead of time, making mornings effortless while still feeling extra special. Serve it warm with powdered sugar, maple syrup, or fresh fruit for a cozy, comforting dish everyone loves.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour + overnight sit
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Ingredients for Casserole:
- 1 loaf french bread (13 to 16 oz) – we love sour dough!
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 dash of salt
Ingredients for Praline Topping:
- 1/2 lb butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Slice & cube French bread into 1-inch pieces. Arrange in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a mixer or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between so it is all covered.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients for the praline topping in a medium bowl and mix well. Spread topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.
- Serve with maple syrup.
Notes
We enjoy it with puffy buttermilk syrup (recipe below):
Ingredients:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp corn syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Whisk the sugar, buttermilk, and corn syrup in the bottom of a medium sauce pan.
- Bring to a boil, mixing minimally.
- Cook for 7 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the vanilla extract.
Keywords: Breakfast, French Toast, Bread, Maple, Praline, Main Dish
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