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Baked French Toast

This baked french toast is prepped ahead to make your mornings easier and let the bread soak up the tangy cream cheese custard. A bit of powdered sugar, sweet strawberries, and chopped nuts make it the perfect bite.

Baked French toast with sliced strawberries and maple syrup.

Why You’ll Love This Oven Baked French Toast

This custard-soaked breakfast is a major time-saving recipe for weekends or special holidays. Here are more reasons to love it:

  • Convenient. It’s an easy, make-ahead breakfast you can assemble the night before.
  • Dessert for breakfast. It’s a sweet breakfast option that tastes even more like dessert thanks to the powdered sugar and your favorite toppings.
  • Great for leftovers. This recipe is great for when you have different kinds of leftover bread laying around.
  • Perfect for brunch. Place the baking dish on the table and let everyone help themselves to as much French toast as they want.

Recipe Ingredients

Maple syrup adds natural sweetness with a hint of smokiness to make this oven-baked French toast taste just like the pan-fried version. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities.

  • Cream cheese – Use full-fat or low-fat cream cheese.
  • Eggs – Liquid eggs work great for this.
  • Whole milk – You can use 2% milk if you prefer. Avoid plant-based milk.
  • Maple syrup – Raw honey and agave nectar can be used instead.
  • Vanilla extract – Almond extract is a good swap.
  • Ground cinnamon – Feel free to use ground nutmeg.
  • Orange zest – Freshly-grated zest is best, but dried works too.
  • Stale bread – Fresh bread doesn’t work for this because it’ll soften very quickly.
  • Powdered sugar – Cinnamon sugar is another great way to add sweetness.

What’s The Best Bread for French Toast?

Any plain, stale bread with an airy crumb is the best kind for this baked French toast casserole. I prefer sliced baguettes, brioche, or challah for an extra rich flavor. Make sure it’s thickly-sliced for best results.

Pouring the custard over the bread slices in the baking dish.

How to Make Baked French Toast

The cream cheese mixture bakes into a custard-like consistency that makes each bite extra indulgent. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for more detailed instructions.

  • Prep the baking dish. Lightly grease a 9×13″ baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Add the bread. Arrange the sliced bread in the baking dish. Set it aside.
  • Make the cream cheese mixture. Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until soft and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time. Pour in the milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest. Mix until smooth.
  • Pour it. Drizzle all of the prepared cream cheese mixture over the bread.
  • Chill it. Cover the baking dish with foil and refrigerate it overnight.
  • Prep the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Set the baking dish on the counter for 15 minutes.
  • Bake it. Uncover the baking dish. Pop it into the oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Serve it. Remove it from the oven. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar. Garnish it and enjoy!
Golden baked French toast.

Tips for Success

Save breakfast with some homemade powdered sugar for this baked French toast recipe.

  • Use leftovers. Add all your leftover bread slices into the baking dish. It doesn’t matter if they’re different kinds of bread as long as they’re not savory. Go for croissants, baguettes, challahs, brioche, etc.
  • Make it chocolatey. Sprinkle 1/4-1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips between and over the bread slices. This will add lots of chocolatey goodness. Use white, milk, semi-sweet, or bittersweet chocolate.
  • Make your own powdered sugar. Process 1/2 cup granulated sugar until very fine. Use it for the recipe and store the rest for later.
  • Add fall-vibes. Beat 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice or apple pie spice into the cream cheese mixture for some fall flair.
  • Same-day baking. In case you don’t want to wait overnight, assemble the casserole and let it sit for 20-30 minutes before baking.
  • Line the baking dish. Use foil or parchment paper to line the baking dish for easy clean-up. Don’t forget to grease the foil or parchment too.
Close-up of sliced strawberries in the breakfast casserole.

Topping Ideas & Serving Suggestions

This baked French toast is great on its own with a cup of tea, coffee, or a glass of milk. If you’re a coffee person, try my Coffee Frappe or Dalgona Coffee. A side of Crispy Bacon and scrambled eggs is great too. For topping ideas, these are some of my favorite:

  • Sliced strawberries
  • Berry compote
  • Chopped nuts
  • Maple syrup
  • Peanut butter
  • Whipped cream
Breakfast casserole with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries.

How to Store Leftovers

This baked French toast recipe isn’t freezer-friendly because the cream cheese mixture would split.

  • Fridge: Place it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also keep it in the baking dish if you cover it tightly with foil.
  • To reheat it: Microwave it in 30-second intervals until warm. For large portions, reheat it in the oven at 300F for 15-20 minutes.

More French Toast Recipes

Breakfast casserole with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries.

Baked French Toast

Katerina | Diethood
This baked French toast recipe with cream cheese custard is a make-ahead version of a classic breakfast with your favorite sweet toppings. 
5 from 6 votes
Servings : 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Refrigeration Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 loaf stale bread, like a large French baguette , sliced (about 14 slices)
  • powdered sugar
  • sliced strawberries, for garnish (optional)
  • chopped nuts, for garnish (optional)
  • maple syrup for serving, (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Butter or lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Arrange bread slices in prepared baking dish; set aside.
  • Cream the cream cheese in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer.
  • Add in the eggs and continue to mix until combined.
  • Add milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest; continue to mix until thoroughly incorporated.
  • Pour prepared cream cheese mixture evenly over bread.
  • Cover the baking dish and refrigerate overnight. If making the same day, let it stand 20 minutes before baking. 
  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Remove baking dish from refrigerator; let stand on kitchen counter for 15 minutes.
  • Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set and top is golden brown. 
  • Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
  • You can also garnish with strawberries, nuts, and serve with a side of maple syrup.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 slices | Calories: 279 kcal | Carbohydrates: 26 g | Protein: 9 g | Fat: 14 g | Saturated Fat: 7 g | Cholesterol: 141 mg | Sodium: 343 mg | Potassium: 195 mg | Fiber: 0 g | Sugar: 9 g | Vitamin A: 610 IU | Vitamin C: 0.3 mg | Calcium: 131 mg | Iron: 1.5 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Breakfast, Breakfast/Brunch, Breakfast/Dessert
Cuisine: American/Southern
Keyword: baked french toast, baked french toast recipe, oven baked french toast
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