The house fills up on a holiday morning, guests stay the weekend, or you want to pour coffee instead of standing at a stove. I put this baked French toast together the night before, so by the time anyone comes down the only thing left is to turn the oven on.
Seven ingredients and 1 pound of French bread fill a 9×13 dish. It sits in the refrigerator overnight, 8 hours at minimum. Then it bakes 45 to 50 minutes and serves 6 to 8, with powdered sugar over the top on the way to the table.
Serve It In Slices
The bread goes into the pan in whole slices, dipped one at a time and stacked in rows, and that is how it comes out. You cut down between the rows and lift a slice onto the plate with the cinnamon sugar crust still on it.
If you have made a French toast casserole before, you probably cubed the bread and spooned it out like a bread pudding. This one is closer to a stack of French toast that happened to bake together.
Pick A Wide Loaf
Two loaves can both weigh 1 pound and give you completely different pans. I’ve tested several types of bread.
A long skinny baguette will work but the rows end up looking thin.
I prefer a loaf that is wide and short, about 12 to 13 inches long and 4 inches across, so the slices come out broad enough to fill the dish.
I buy mine at the bakery counter rather than off the bread shelf, because those loaves are denser.
Don’t use sliced sandwich bread in this recipe. My recipe testing found that it is too soft to sit in custard overnight and still come out in one piece.
Dry The Bread First
Soft bread falls apart in the custard. If it has dried out a little first, it soaks up just as much and still holds its shape, so the slices come out of the pan whole instead of breaking on the spatula.
Most make-ahead French toast handles this by asking for day-old bread, which means thinking about Sunday breakfast on Friday. You do not have to.
Fresh bread out of the bag is fine, as long as you lay the slices out flat and leave them uncovered while you get everything else ready. That is all the first step of the recipe is doing, and it is the step I would not skip.
Use Whole Milk
Whole milk is the only dairy in it. A lot of recipes for this add cream or half-and-half as well, and mine does not, so there is nothing to make up for if you have 2% in the fridge. Any milk works here, almond included, if you need it dairy-free.
How Far Ahead You Can Make It
Put the pan together after dinner and bake it mid-morning and you are at about 11 hours rather than 8. It bakes the same and it cuts the same, so there is room to start at a reasonable hour the night before instead of watching the clock.
I would not stretch it to two nights. I have never left it that long, so I cannot tell you how it comes out.
How To Know It’s Done
The top browns well before the middle is set, so going by color alone will have you pulling it out early. Use a toothpick in the center of the pan, away from the edges, since those firm up first. It should come out without wet custard on it. A few damp crumbs are fine.
If it is still wet, lay the foil back over the top and give it another 5 minutes before you check again. The top is already where you want it by then, and the foil keeps it from going further while the center finishes.
Cut in and the middle is soft all the way through, set enough to hold together on the plate.
More Make Ahead Holiday Breakfasts
Originally published on October 8, 2023. Updated in September 2026 with new photographs and a new version of the recipe, which now soaks overnight and uses whole milk in place of the cream.
Baked French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 pound French bread loaf, cut into ½ to ¾-inch slices
- 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, to grease the baking dish
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 6 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar, packed and divided (¾ cup mixed with the eggs and ½ cup for the cinnamon sugar topping)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Optional garnish
- Powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Place the bread slices out onto a clean counter, or cutting board, in a single layer allowing them to dry out for about 30-60 minutes. The drier bread will hold up better when dipped in the egg mixture.
- Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with the unsalted butter and set aside.
- To a standard blender add the milk, eggs, ¾ cup brown sugar, and vanilla. Blend on high for 10-15 seconds or just until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish or bowl.
- Dip the sliced bread into the egg mixture allowing all sides to become fully coated and the center of the bread to absorb the mixture. Remove, allowing any excess egg mixture to drip back into the dish, and place into the prepared baking dish in a stacked layer. Repeat until all the slices have been dipped and stacked in the baking dish. You should end up with 3 rows of approximately 6 slices per row in your baking dish.
- Pour the remaining egg mixture (after all the slices have been dipped) evenly over the rows of bread in the baking dish.
- Stir together in a small bowl the remaining ½ cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the entire top surface of the french toast.
- Tightly cover the dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours or up to overnight. This will allow the bread to soak up the excess egg mixture.
- Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and allow the french toast to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to remove the chill so it bakes evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. If your dish was covered with plastic wrap, remove it and replace with aluminum foil tightly sealing the edges.
- Bake for 20 minutes, tightly covered with foil, remove the foil and continue baking for the remaining 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For a soft crust (not crisp and golden) you can keep the foil on the french toast for the entire bake time.
- Allow the baked french toast to cool in the dish for 5-8 minutes before lightly dusting with powdered sugar and serving.
Notes
- If you do not have a blender, you can simply whisk the egg mixture in a shallow dish or bowl. You want to make sure you whisk the eggs vigorously so that they are very well broken up and all the ingredients are smooth and well incorporated.
- If all the egg mixture has not been absorbed by the bread after refrigeration, carefully spoon the mixture over the top of the bread slices before covering with foil and baking.
- The longer you are able to allow the french toast to refrigerate, the more the bread will have time to absorb the egg mixture ensuring a more even texture when baked.
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