Overnight Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole is the perfect recipe for holidays or any time you want a fun breakfast without a ton of work. This easy breakfast casserole loaded with fresh apples and a delicious streusel topping!
Overnight French Toast Makes Breakfast Easy
The past few days, I’ve been spending time with some awesome bloggers in San Francisco. I’m home now, but I had a blast with everyone. It was a super relaxed trip. There was a general agenda of some fun things to do to explore the city but no pressure or strict schedule. I finally got to see the Golden Gate Bridge too! The last time I was in San Fran with the hubs, there was so much fog you’d have thought the bridge wasn’t real. This time we had amazing weather every day. And since Dorothy (from Crazy for Crust) grew up there, she was the perfect guide!
To give you an idea of the relaxed nature of the trip, one morning when I walked into the suite at the hotel that acted as our gathering space and “home base”, I asked if there was coffee creamer when I made coffee. The response I got was, “There’s Baileys!” Oh, how I love Lisa (from Wine and Glue)! 🙂 And I did have Baileys. I mean, that’s what vacation – and friends – are for, right? The weekend was full of just the right mix of blogging talk and relaxing with friends.
One of the great things about this french toast casserole is that because it’s so easy to prepare, you can totally enjoy time with your family rather than spend a bunch of time making breakfast. Particularly at the holidays, with so much going on and so much food being prepared, it allows you to get some prep work done ahead so you can spend the morning with your family. That’s how I like it. Not to mention that it’s cinnamon apple, which I love.
How to Make Overnight French Toast Casserole
Preparing this breakfast casserole is quite easy and uses pretty standard ingredients, which I’m into. You’ll want a nice sized loaf of bread, about 1 pound. I personally am a big fan of sourdough bread in all things, so it’s what I use in this casserole. Feel free to use another kind of bread, but I wouldn’t suggest regular sandwich bread. That would be a little soft and wouldn’t bake quick as nicely. Add some chopped apples to the bread and add it to a casserole dish.
The egg and milk mixture that’s poured over the bread is all mixed together in a big bowl. Easy, right? You’ll combine eggs, milk, cream, sugars and some flavorings. I like to use a mix of 2% milk and heavy cream to get some good fat in there and keep this casserole soft and moist. I also love using a mix of regular and brown sugars. The brown sugar adds some nice flavor to compliment the cinnamon and apples. For additional flavor, we’ve got some vanilla and cinnamon.
I like to try to be sure when I pour the mixture over the bread that I get all the bread on top a little wet. It’ll moisten and soak up the liquid overnight, but that’ll help make sure that nothing gets too dry when it bakes later. On top of the casserole is some cinnamon streusel – which is basically like magic when sprinkled over anything.
How Long Does French Toast Casserole Need To Cook?
The casserole should be baked for about 35-40 minutes. It’ll depend a bit on your preference – some people like a little moister center and some like it a little more cooked. One way to test the doneness is to stick a knife in the middle and see how much moisture comes out on it.
I like to serve the french toast casserole with some maple syrup, but powdered sugar and even caramel sauce could make fun additions. You know me – always finding a way to satisfy that sweet tooth. 😉
Your Whole Family Will Love This Easy Breakfast Casserole
This breakfast casserole was a big hit! The cinnamon and apples are such a great flavor for breakfast. The apples soften while baking, but they aren’t soggy. The inside is soft and moist, the top is just crunchy enough. I can’t wait to make it again when the holidays roll around. 🙂
More French Toast Recipes You Might Like:
Pumpkin Bread French Toast
Overnight Baked Banana French Toast Casserole
Overnight Funfetti Cake Batter French Toast Casserole
Overnight Pumpkin Spice Baked French Toast Casserole
Berry French Toast Casserole
Bailey’s Spiked French Toast
Overnight Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Overnight Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole is the perfect easy recipe for holidays or any time you want a fun breakfast without a ton of work. It’s loaded with fresh apples and a delicious streusel topping!
Ingredients
CASSEROLE
- 1 lb loaf Sourdough Or French Bread, cut into chunks
- 3 cups (326g) chopped apples (2 large apples)
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups (480ml) milk (whole or 2%)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (36g) light brown sugar, unpacked
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
STREUSEL TOPPING
- 3/4 cup (98g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (169g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
- 1/2 cup (112g) salted butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
- Combine the bread chunks and chopped apples and lay in an even layer in the bottom of the dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, minus the streusel, and pour evenly over bread. Cover the casserole and store in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Bake the casserole uncovered for about 35-40 minutes.
- While casserole bakes, in another bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the streusel. Add the butter and mash into the dry mixture until it forms a crumbly mixture.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and crumble the streusel over the top of the casserole.
- Continue baking casserole for about 5 minutes, or until the streusel is melted over the top.
- Serve the casserole warm with syrup.
Keywords: apple french toast casserole, french toast casserole, overnight french toast, baked french toast recipe, overnight french toast casserole, french toast casserole recipe, breakfast casserole recipe
Enjoy!
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Can this recipe be halved ? How long would it need to cook ?
Have you ever used cinnamon raisin bread ?
Yes, just not totally sure of bake time. I haven’t tried cinnamon raisin bread in this but in something similar and personally didn’t love it. It was more dense. You could try it though.
This is fantastic! I made several dishes for brunch and actually forgot the apples, haha but it was delicious. I did use sourdough bread and it was perfect, not soggy at all. I plan to make it again for Easter with the apples but will probably use half the topping to cut some sweetness. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe, it’s sure to be a Christmas tradition 🤗
★★★★★
I made this recipe for Christmas brunch. Prep time was 15m tops with a 1/2 loaf of French bread. The recipe was easy to follow and AMAZING!! I made the streusel while it was baking to save time Xmas Eve. I added extra cinnamon just because my family can’t get enough. It made the house smell awesome and it’s a definite keeper. Thank you for the recipe. Delish!!
★★★★★
Everyone enjoyed this for our Christmas morning breakfast. I used 2 1/2 cups of half and half because that was all I had on hand. I also cooked it for 45 minutes before putting the topping on it. It was delicious! I plan to make this a tradition for every Christmas morning.
★★★★★
Wanting to make this for Christmas brunch in two days. I’m loving the apples in it but others in the fam aren’t. Can I add apples to only half of it and leave the other half without or would it bake unevenly?
I would think it’d be fine.
The recipe is good in theory but needs a lot of changes. The recipe calls for too much liquid. I had to cook it significantly longer than indicated and it was still not cooked through. There’s too much cinnamon and flour in the streusel. And it could use a pinch of salt to cut the sweetness.
★★★★
OK. I commented on another recipe today with different comments. Yet, I LOVE this recipe. I can’t say how much I love this recipe!! When you add the maple syrup it becomes a great dessert! Thank you for this recipe because it puts all the other overnight french toast recipes I’ve had in the past to shame.
★★★★★
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this one.
I’m about to make this for a gathering, but reading the recipe it sounds like WAY too much sugar. I hope it will turn out by halving the sugar. Between the sweetness of the apples and streusel topping, should be sweet enough.
This was delicious, thank you! I’m making it for the 2nd time. My kids and husband eat the whole pan (8 kids hah). Pairs perfectly with bacon for a special occasion breakfast!!
★★★★★
So glad to hear that!
Made this today and it was a real hit! Thanks for sharing a great recipe. Some modifications I made due to what was available and general personal preference:
– I’m always not sure what weights breads are – not sure if it’s an American thing? Anyways, I used half a large load of sliced French bread
– decreased the amount of vanilla to 1 tsp and cinnamon in the bake to 1/2 tsp
– baked for 40min, topped with the streusel and baked for another 8min and then broiled for about 4 min.
It was really good! I think next time, I would decrease the amount of streusel (I know, sacriligious! But we don’t have too much of a sweet tooth) to maybe 1/2c flour+1/4c packed brown sugar+1/4c butter and like a reader above mentioned, chopped pecans.
Hope you don’t mind the slight modifications, but it’s going in our recipe book for excellent overnight breakfast casseroles.
Thanks!
★★★★
I’m glad you enjoyed it and were able to make it work for your preferences!
Amazing recipe the kids gobbled it up!
Delicious! I’ve made this several times and it’s always a hit!
★★★★★
Wonderful! So glad to hear that!
We had this for Christmas brunch yesterday. It was delicious. Thank you for the recipe. We’ll be making it again.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I cannot say enough how easy this was to make! I started it on Christmas Eve and then baked it Christmas morning, oh my goodness was it amazing! It looked like it would be too sweet but it definitely was not, it was perfect! Our family asked that we make this a tradition! It will be, hands down! Thank you for this!
★★★★★
That’s so awesome to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed the casserole!
For those of you wondering about “soaking” over two nights instead of one. When I want to take some for an out-of-town trip I made the milk mixture on Thursday night and put it in a container. I then cut up all the French bread and put it in a baggie. When we arrived at our destination on Friday night I put it all together and put it in the refrigerator overnight and bake it up on Saturday morning. Never had an issue. I’ve done it with several overnight French toast recipes. Works like a charm!
Thanks for sharing your tips!
I made this over fall break as the recipe started. It was a huge hit! I made it again this morning, let it sit all day and baked it for dinner. But this time I used bananas and wanted. It was so good, but if I make it this way again I’ll leave it or halve the amount of sugar in the eggs. Definitely a winner!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed! 🙂
I am making this for Thanksgiving morning. Can’t wait as it sounds delicious. I had to make my own apple pie spice though. Hopefully it will still taste the same. Thank you for the recipe.
Your style of cooking is right up my alley and speaks to my heart! Thank you
for all the lovely recipes !
★★★★★
I made the recipe exactly as it was written, with two exceptions: instead of french bread, I used challah, and I used a combination of skim, 2% milk, and whipping cream. By doing so, I did have to bake the casserole longer, but it was definitely worth the effort. The streusel topping was sweet enough where the additional syrup was not needed at all.
Thanks for sharing this recipe as well as the others you recommend.
Sounds great – glad you enjoyed it!
Can I substitute half and half for the heavy whipping cream? Too much fat and calories in heavy whipping cream. I would use 2% milk instead of whole milk listed above. i am trying to find kid friendly breakfast recipes for the family.
Certainly!