Brioche french toast casserole is made with soft buttery brioche bread, soaked in a vanilla bean custard, and baked in the oven. This easy morning casserole is a delicious crowd-pleaser perfect for breakfast or brunch!
Brioche french toast casserole is my favorite twist on classic french toast!
Instead of spending time cooking each slice of bread individually, this french toast recipe is assembled and baked in a casserole dish.
It features layers of sweet brioche bread that are soaked in a warm spiced vanilla bean custard and drizzled with maple syrup after serving.
This baked french toast is perfect for serving a crowd for breakfast, brunch, or even Christmas morning.
It's a great option for a make-ahead breakfast that you can prepare the night before that everyone will love!
For more breakfast ideas, try Cinnamon Roll Muffins, Coconut Lemon Raspberry Muffins, Snickerdoodle Coffee Cake, and Breakfast Biscuits.
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why you'll love this recipe
- Warm spices: This french toast has flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla bean. It has the creamiest custard center and crispy top!
- Easy french toast bake: You can prep this dish in less than 20 minutes and can even be left in the fridge overnight.
- Perfect breakfast recipe: This brioche french toast was made for weekend mornings, brunch, and special occasions like Christmas morning or any holiday breakfast!
- Versatile: The best part of this recipe is you can flavor it with any of your favorite seasonal spices and the toppings are endless!
ingredient notes
Find the total ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card below!
- Brioche bread: You can use a whole loaf and slice it yourself or buy a presliced brioche loaf (make sure to cut thick slices!). You can substitute challah bread for the brioche if needed.
- Vanilla bean paste: This is similar to vanilla extract but is thicker and has actual vanilla bean specks in it. This french toast recipe is much more flavorful with it, but you can use regular vanilla extract in equal parts.
- Cinnamon: Feel free to substitute the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or any other seasonal spice combo.
- Milk: 2% or whole milk is best, this recipe has not been tested with alternative milk!
step-by-step instructions
Here's how to make this easy brioche french toast bake! You will need a 9x13 or 8x11 casserole dish for baking the french toast. You will also need a large bowl to make the custard. Before you start, preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
STEP ONE: Toast the brioche bread. You can toast the bread in the oven or toaster oven, but the oven is easiest!
Lay the bread slices out in a single layer on an unlined baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Flip the slices halfway through baking. They should feel toasted but have little to no color when they're done.
STEP TWO: Make the cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cardamom. Set aside.
STEP THREE: Make the vanilla bean custard. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste.
STEP FOUR: Butter the baking dish. Pour the melted butter into the baking dish and set it aside.
STEP FIVE: Layer the toast in the dish. Once the toast is cool, layer them domino style into your prepared baking dish. Then sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the bread.
If using a smaller 8x11 dish, you may have to squish the slices a bit so they all fit.
STEP SIX: Pour over the custard. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, then sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.
Chill the french toast in the fridge for at least one hour, or overnight. When it's ready to bake, cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Then uncover the dish and bake for 6-10 minutes longer, or until the tops of the toast look golden brown and the custard is puffed but still jiggly. Keep an eye on it when you take the foil off because the toast will burn easily!
expert baking tips
- Toast the bread. I know it's tempting to just skip this step but the dry bread soaks up more of the custard!
- Don't let it burn! Once the foil comes off the baking pan, keep a close eye on it after 5 minutes. A few minutes too long can cause the toast to burn and get way too crispy.
- Baking times may vary: All ovens are different, and your casserole may bake quicker or take longer than the indicated baking time. I recommend checking on it occasionally!
- Add toppings. While this french toast is amazing as is, adding fresh fruit or berry compote takes it to a whole new level!
storage & reheating
- Fridge: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days. You can reheat it in the oven at 350 F until warmed through!
faqs
You can get a similar result using challah bread. If you can't find challah, any other type of thick bread like french bread should do well.
A dusting of powdered sugar, maple syrup, fresh blueberries, strawberries, sauteed apples, berry compote, etc. The possibilities are endless!
I do not recommend using all milk and no cream. The cream is what makes the filling custardy and creamy!
Yes! Use six slices of brioche bread and bake it in an 8x8 baking dish. Keep an eye on it while it bakes, it should bake in 20-25 minutes.
more breakfast recipes to try
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Recipe 📖
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
For the French Toast Casserole
- 12 slices brioche bread
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup 2% or whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
For the Strawberry Sauce
- 2 cups whole frozen strawberries
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
- Lay the bread slices out on an unlined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes flipping halfway through. The bread should feel “stale” but not have any color to it. Set them aside to cool.12 slices brioche bread
- Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom.⅓ cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, and vanilla bean paste.6 large eggs, 1 cup 2% or whole milk, ½ cup heavy cream, 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 8x11 or 9x13 baking dish.4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Lay the pieces of brioche in the pan like dominos, leaning up against each other. You may need to squish them a little bit if using the smaller pan. *see visual photos in the post above!*
- Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over the bread.
- Then evenly pour the egg and milk mixture over the bread.
- Sprinkle the rest of the sugar over the top.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Then uncover the pan and continue baking for another 6-10 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it so the bread doesn’t get too brown!
- To make the strawberry sauce, cook the strawberries and sugar in a small pot over medium high heat until they are juicy and boiling. Mash the berries with the back of a spoon to break them up.2 cups whole frozen strawberries, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- Then whisk together the corn starch and water. Pour it into the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, or until it no longer looks cloudy.1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon corn starch
- Dust the french toast casserole with powdered sugar, drizzle with maple syrup, and serve with strawberry sauce!
Notes
- Toast the bread. I know it's tempting to just skip this step but the bread soaks up more of the custard which allows the french toast to maintain layers. You can also use day-old stale bread.
- Don't let it burn! Once the foil comes off the baking pan, keep a close eye on it after 5 minutes. A few minutes too long can cause the toast to burn and get way too crispy.
- Baking times may vary: All ovens are different, and your french toast may bake quicker or take longer than the indicated baking time. I recommend checking on it occasionally!
- Add toppings. While this french toast bake is amazing as is, adding fresh fruit or berry compote takes it to a whole new level!
- Fridge: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days. You can reheat it in the oven at 350 F until warmed through!
The calorie information provided for the recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Tina says
Yum!! Never made a french toast casserole before and it turned out amazing! We ate ours Thanksgiving morning and served it with the strawberry sauce and cinnamon apples and overall was a hit!