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Holiday brunches are even better when this overnight brioche French toast casserole is on the table! Dressed to impress with brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and orange juice, it’s baked to pillowy, custard-y perfection.
If we’re ranking breads on a fancy scale, brioche lands right at the top. The fancy name, the buttery flavor, that fluffy texture—ooh, it’s fancy. And it’s also the most perfect bread for making this overnight French toast bake.
All the flavor in this French toast casserole is in the casserole, not added as a topping, which means you can set out a variety of toppings on the table and let everyone pick their faves!
Reader Review
“Delicious. Made up a double batch to feed the masses and let it rest overnight before baking. Will absolutely make again.”
Laurel
Pair this sweet casserole with savory baked bacon or air fryer bacon and go live your best breakfast life.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Let the milk mixture cool before you move on to the next step of the recipe. If you add it hot to the eggs, you’ll end up cooking them!
- Whisk the eggs well so they’re completely beaten and evenly distributed throughout the custard mixture. Sometimes when you don’t beat the eggs well, you end up with unmixed streaks of egg white when it’s done baking.
- You can use another type of bread for this recipe if you’d like. Challah is great, or try day-old croissants like in our croissant bread pudding.
- Add a handful of chopped toasted pecans with the bread to give your French toast casserole some nutty flavor and crunch.
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 10 cups brioche bread, day old {cubed or torn}
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3 tbsp butter {plus more for pan}
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 eggs {room temperature}
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Tear or cut the brioche into 1-inch cubes.10 cups brioche bread, day old
- Leave bread pieces on a baking sheet overnight, or bake at 300˚F for 20 minutes, rotating the tray position in the oven at 10 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan combine milk, heavy cream, orange juice, butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon, over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.2 cups whole milk, 1 cup heavy cream, 3 tbsp butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup orange juice
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk room-temperature eggs, and vanilla, and then whisk in the cooled milk mixture.6 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla
- Butter a deep 9×13 baking dish and add brioche pieces.
- Slowly pour the egg mixture over the brioche pieces, gently pressing and turning the cubes with a fork into the extra liquid in the dish.
- Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight or at least for 1 hour.
- Bake covered at 350˚F for 15 minutes on the middle rack. Remove foil and bake for another 25-35 minutes, or until the top of the French toast casserole is lightly browned and all liquid has been absorbed.
- Cool slightly and serve with a dusting of fruit, powdered sugar or maple syrup.
Notes
- Make sure the bread is stale or toast the cubes in the oven first. This will ensure that they absorb the liquid without getting too mushy.
- If you are pressed for time, heat only 1 cup of milk with the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Once butter and brown sugar have dissolved, stir in the additional cold milk and heavy cream.
- 10 cups of cubed bread was 8-9 standard-sized slices of brioche for me.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious. Made up a double batch to feed the masses and let it rest overnight before baking. Will absolutely make again.
Aww, you’re always so great about leaving reviews, Laurel. Thank you and I’m glad this was a winner for you.
This sounds amazing… have you tried it as an overnight dish (where you prep the night before, and just cook it for breakfast)? I’d love to do this but honestly try to take Christmas morning off… if I could prep it the night before and just pop it in the oven it would make it SO much easier.
Hi Monica, yes! I’m all about make ahead breakfasts.
The instructions say “Cover the pan with foil and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour, or up to overnight”. So you’ll be good to go.
OOPS – I missed that. Should have known you would have planned ahead!
Thanks again for everything you do and share!
Merry Christmas to you and your whole crew!
Merry Christmas, Monica!