Overnight French Toast Bake

Overnight French Toast Bake is just the dish to serve when you have overnight guests. The French Toast emerges golden brown and puffy from the over. Serve with fresh berries, powdered sugar, and syrup. 

This Overnight French Toast Bake recipe serves eight and costs $5.49 to make, which is only $0.69 per serving. Perfect for breakfast when you have a house full of guests during the holidays, busy mornings throughout the school year, or you want a leisurely breakfast any day of the year!

Check out our Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes for another breakfast recipe that saves your feet from standing on them all morning!

We like to serve them with Buttermilk Syrup and Cinnamon Honey Butter during the holidays.  

Overnight French Toast Bake

Raise your hand if you love french toast but do not love standing on your feet at the stove, flipping pieces of bread one at a time! And to top it off, the pieces you cook first are cold by the time you finish cooking the rest because it takes so long to get them all ready.

Skip the hassle of standing over the stove, flipping bread slices, and prep this dish the night before for an easy way to feed a crowd.

You can now prep the French Toast in just a few minutes, let it sit overnight, then bake it in the morning. It literally could not be any easier friends! The smell in the morning of fresh bread and maple-cinnamon goodness is Heavenly. 

The best part is you can put your feet up while it bakes! Or, if you are like us, you can do one of the other million things you need to get done in the morning, all while checking breakfast off your list. 

The night before, simply layer the bread into a baking dish then pour the custard mixture over it. The bread will absorb the custard while it soaks in the fridge giving you the perfect French Toast you have grown to love throughout the years.

This is a simple classic made easy to feed those hungry people in your house, ensuring everyone gets a warm slice at the same time. 

What kind of bread should be used for French Toast?

We love using our French Bread to make French Toast. The recipe makes two loaves and makes the perfect slices for French Toast. However, you can also use challah, brioche, or Texas Toast.

What goes well on French toast?

You can use regular Maple Syrup, but we recommend our Buttermilk Syrup to push this recipe over the top! Some other options include honey, peanut butter, Nutella, fresh berries, bananas, coconut, powdered sugar, and pecans or walnuts. 

How much will this Overnight French Toast Bake recipe cost to make: 

RECIPE COST: $5.49

PRICE PER SERVING: $0.69

• 9 Tablespoons of butter – $0.90
• 1 loaf of French bread – $0.95
• 8 large eggs – $0.80
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk – $0.18
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream – $0.88
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar – $0.12
• 3/4 cup brown sugar – $0.36
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract – $0.62
• 2 teaspoons orange zest – $0.34
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon – $0.02
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg – $0.10
• 1/4 teaspoon salt – $0.12
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour – $0.10

To find out more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained. 

How to make Overnight French Toast Bake recipe: 

STEP ONE: Prep a 9×13-inch pan by greasing it with butter. Next, slice the bread and place the slices in the pan in two rows. Overlap the bread slices as necessary. 

STEP TWO: Whisk together the custard mixture. 

STEP THREE: Pour the custard mixture over the bread in an even layer. Make sure the slices are completely covered by the custard mixture.

STEP FOUR: Finally, cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours or overnight. While preheating the oven to 350 degrees, remove the pan from the fridge and then bake for 35-50 minutes. 

Cook’s Tools – Overnight French Toast Bake:

•  9×13-inch baking dish
• cutting board
• measuring cups
• bread knife
• liquid measuring cup
• measuring spoons
• mixing bowl
• mixing spoon

The Flavor and Recipe Variations

For the holidays we LOVE using egg nog instead of milk in the recipe below. 

You can omit the orange zest.

Also, you can use lemon or lime zest instead of orange zest. 

Right before baking, feel free to add a sprinkling of nuts like pecans or walnuts to the top. The nuts will get nice and toasted as the French toast bakes. 

How long is it good for:

Serve: As with most recipes with dairy products in them, you shouldn’t leave this out for longer than 2 hours. 

Store: The leftovers will keep, covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Freeze: You can freeze this recipe before baking or after baking! 

• Freezing Before Baking: Prepare up until baking. Wrap the dish in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, defrost the pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then unwrap the pan and bake according to the directions below. 
• Freezing After Baking: Cool the French toast completely. Then, wrap the pan in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. To serve, defrost the pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then unwrap the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. 

How to get the kids involved with this recipe:

Ages 2-3: Let your kiddo help place the bread in the bottom of the pan.

Ages 4-5: Have your child help stir the custard mixture. They can practice counting skills as they count out the number of eggs to crack. 

Ages 6-8: Teach your child to read the ingredients to prepare the custard mixture. Your child can assist in measuring out the ingredients for the custard mixture and pour it over the bread slices. 

Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe. 

Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe, unsupervised, while you do the happy dance in the corner!

More $5 Recipes:

• Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes
• Cake Mix Banana Bread
• Crock Pot Greek Yogurt
• Eggs Benedict Breakfast Braid
• French Toast with Blueberry Syrup
• Green Smoothie
• Mango Banana Smoothie
• Quick Monkey Bread from Scratch
• Red Velvet Buttermilk Waffles
• Watermelon Smoothie Recipe

Overnight French Toast

Recipe Cost 5.49

Serving Cost 0.69

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Overnight French Toast Bake is just the dish to serve when you have overnight guests. The French Toast emerges golden brown and puffy from the over.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Total Time 8 hrs 40 mins

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Equipment

• 9x13-inch baking dish
• cutting board
• measuring cups
• bread knife
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• mixing bowl
• mixing spoon

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 large loaf French bread cut into 1-inch thick slices

CUSTARD MIXTURE:

• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons orange zest from half of a navel orange
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

FOR SERVING:

• syrup
• berries
• powdered sugar for dusting

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

PREP PAN:

• Grease a 9x13-inch pan with butter.

PREP BREAD:

• Slice bread and arrange in prepared pan in two rows, overlapping as necessary.

MAKE CUSTARD:

• In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, whipping cream, sugars, vanilla, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
• Pour the mixture over the bread in an even layer. Press the bread slices down gently to ensure that they are covered in the custard mixture.
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Remove the pan from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.

PREP OVEN:

• Move oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F.

BAKE:

• Bake for 35-50 minutes. 35 minutes will yield softer French toast and 50 minutes will yield crisper French toast.

SERVE:

• Serve casserole with syrup, berries, and powdered sugar for dusting (all optional).

Notes

• Freezing Before Baking: Prepare up until baking. Wrap the dish in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, defrost the pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then unwrap the pan and bake according to the directions below. 
• Freezing After Baking: Cool the French toast completely. Then, wrap the pan in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. To serve, defrost the pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then unwrap the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1large slice | Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 234mg | Sodium: 246mg | Potassium: 165mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 800IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 1mg

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