Need to feed a crowd for breakfast or brunch? I got you. This overnight french toast bake will make you the absolute hero, and you’ll barely lift a finger to do it.
I’m one of those people who would eat breakfast for every meal if I could.
And my favorite breakfast food? French toast. I am to french toast as Leslie Knope is to waffles. Only trouble with french toast is that it can be a little fiddly to make if you’re trying to feed more than two or three people at a time. Dipping pieces of bread into batter… it just gets messy and time-consuming.
But no worries! That’s why french toast bakes were invented!
The beauty of an overnight french toast bake is that you can do all the work the night before, and when morning rolls around, all you have to do is throw a casserole dish in the oven.
It’s perfect for those mornings when you have company over. No need to spend your morning worrying about breakfast–just throw it in the oven and be done with it.
I made this at my family’s Christmas get-together this year and it was a hit. But no need to make it just on Christmas morning. It’s perfect for any time. I could see this being a pretty great addition for an Easter brunch, Mother’s Day, or any breakfast gathering where you need to feed a crowd.
This version has a caramel sauce on the bottom, which means it’s got a ton of built-in sticky sweetness. Seriously, you don’t even need to serve syrup with it.
I like to serve this french toast bake with a side of bacon. It’s the ultimate salty-sweet combo. And to keep things simple as possible, I highly recommend using my trick for making easy splatter-free crispy bacon for a crowd in the oven.
This overnight french toast bake makes an easy breakfast treat for a crowd. You assemble it the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and just throw it in the oven in the morning.
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- non-stick cooking spray
- 11 oz baguette (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tsp vanilla
- cinnamon
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Heat a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is mixed in.
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Spray the bottom of a 9"x13" casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the butter and brown sugar mixture into the dish and spread it evenly. Add the bread pieces to the dish on top of the butter/brown sugar mixture, spreading evenly.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla until fully combined. Then pour over the bread pieces in the pan. With a large spoon, press the pieces of bread down to ensure that all pieces are coated. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the top.
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Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the edges are brown and crispy.
This looks perfect for Mothers Day brunch.