French Toast Casserole

This French Toast Casserole is soft, golden, and perfectly custardy with the most delicious cinnamon flavor. It's like french toast in a bread pudding form, making it the perfect make ahead breakfast for a large group. It's even topped with powdered sugar before being served.

This casserole is so easy to make. The custard mixture is whisked together and poured over pieces of french bread in a 13 x 9 inch pan. It chills for at least 4 hours, if not overnight, before being topped with a crumb topping and baked.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Eggs: You want to make sure that the eggs are at room temperature to ensure that they are properly incorporated into your mixture. If you forget to leave them out before you start baking, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until they become room temperature.
• Measuring Your Ingredients: I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature: Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with baking spray. Tear up a loaf of French bread into small pieces and place in the pan until the pan is fully lined with an even layer of bread.

Gently pour the mixture over the bread. Carefully toss the bread until it is fully immersed in the mixture and gently press  it back out into an even layer. Fully cover the pan in plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours, if not overnight.

Once the casserole has chilled, preheat the oven to 350º F. Whisk together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Add in the cold, cubed butter and mix together with your hands, gently massaging the dry ingredients into the butter. Continue to mix until the butter is in pea sized pieces or slightly larger. Sprinkle the crumb on top of the casserole in an even layer until it is fully covered.

Bake casserole for 40-50 minutes until it is set. Let casserole cool for at least 15 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.

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