This Overnight French Toast Bake is so easy to make; you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate overnight to enjoy a healthy breakfast in the morning with a cup of milk tea.
This french toast casserole is made by soaking slices of bread in a mixture of eggs, milk and vanilla and topped with a layer of cinnamon sugar, then baked to perfection.
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Best Overnight French Toast Bake Recipe
Overnight French Toast Bake is the perfect combination of soft and crunchy that is sure to tickle your taste buds. It is a dish that stands as proof that great food need not be made from many ingredients and does not need to take up much time.
With this recipe, you can take your left-over bread from the holidays or the night before and elevate it into a yummy breakfast dish that beats cereals and milk any day of the year with its soft on the inside and crusty on the outside texture that explodes with just the right amount of sweetness that helps you jumpstart your day.
Is French Toast Actually French?
The French Toast also has an interesting history behind it. Did you know that contrary to popular belief the French Toast did not originate from France? Instead, it got its name from its inventor, Joseph French. But it is also believed that Joseph French was a phony.
You see legend has it that Joseph French named this dish the “French Toast” instead of “French’s Toast” because he forgot to add the apostrophe due to his certain lack of grammar skills. Joseph French might not know it and have inadvertently “plagiarised” a roman dish. You see, according to some records, Romans had a dish that sounds like the modern French Toast.
Whatever the History it is undeniable Overnight French Toast Bake is one of the dishes that we cannot imagine to not have existed.
Why Does This Recipe Work?
There are also other reasons why the Overnight French Toast is one of the best recipes:
- The Overnight French Toast recipe is easy. You don’t need to be a pro chef or an amateur cook to make this meal successful. Perfect for beginners and busybodies.
- The Overnight French Toast can be made from any kind of bread. I recommend sourdough but if you have other pieces of bread on hand, it should be fine if your bread can absorb liquid well.
- The Overnight French Toast recipe is healthy. You can get all the nutrients you need without having to look or have tons of other ingredients on hand. As we all know, milk and eggs are good sources of protein, and sourdough bread is a good source of fiber.
What’s in the Recipe?
Some of the ingredients that are used in the recipe are the following:
Granulated sugar. It adds to the sweetness of the bread. If you’re trying to cut off sugar, then you can opt for other healthier sweeteners like stevia or brown sugar.
Ground cinnamon: Adds flavor and extra oomph to your French toast
Bread: You can use any bread that you like. Opt for whole wheat pieces of bread and other pieces of bread that are gluten-free for a healthier dish.
Evaporated milk: Makes the base of the custard and adds additional sweetness to the milk
Milk: Is essential for the custard of the French toast, you can use low-fat milk, but full cream milk makes creamier custards.
Eggs: A custard will not be complete without eggs. Eggs allow for your custard to thicken and bring out the different flavors in your dish.
Maple syrup: Is another sweetening ingredient to your dish. It also adds moisture to your dish.
Vanilla extract: Complements the maple syrup and gives your dish its fragrant scent that is hard to resist.
Lemon zest: Brings out all the flavors in your dish.
How to Make Overnight French Toast Bake - Step by Step
One: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter.
Two: Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 9-10 minutes or until lightly brown.
Three: In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Four: In another mixing bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon zest, salt, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon cinnamon.
Five: Arrange the bread slices into the baking pan.
Six: Now, pour the custard mixture evenly over the top of the bread and then sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Seven: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. This will allow ample time for your bread to soak in all the flavors in your mixture.
Eight: When ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden.
Nine: Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cut and serve hot.
Top Tips!
- If you still feel daunted by Overnight French Toast, worry not. I got you covered with the top tips that will help you ace this recipe.
- Make sure to prepare and refrigerate your ingredients the night before.
- If you do not have time in the night to refrigerate, then make sure to set your mixture aside for 30 minutes before baking.
- It is important to choose the right kind of bread for this recipe. Most loaves of bread will do with this recipe, but the best loaves of bread of choice are Sourdough, Baguette, Challah, and Brioche.
- Another note about Bread, make sure that the bread is dry. This recipe works bread on dried bread which is usually a day old. Stale bread absorbs more of the liquid mixture than new bread.
- If you only have new bread on hand, you can dry them out by popping them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Make sure to dip the bread in the custard first. This makes sure that all your bread is covered with custard. After dipping your bread in the custard, you can pour the extra custard mixture on top before refrigeration.
Recipe Variations
If you’re feeling a tiny bit adventurous and would like to push this recipe to its utmost yummy limits, then you can try the following recipe variations:
- If you’re worried about your overnight French toast being too sweet, you can always switch the sugar with healthier sweeteners like stevia or brown sugar.
- If you’re also one to cut out dairy or are opting for a lactose-free recipe, then you can switch the milk for oat or almond milk
- Consider adding more toppings into your Overnight French Toast, such as cocoa or even fruit slices like apples, kiwi, bananas, or peaches.
- Nuts are also great and healthy toppings that you can use for your French Toast. Pumpkin seeds, Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds, and Sunflower seeds are filled with proteins and healthy fats that will boost the nutrient content of this recipe.
- You can also whip some cream cheese and maple syrup together and put this mixture in between bread slices. This will give your Overnight French Toast a Cheesecake twist.
Serving Suggestions
Depending on the amount of bread you have, this dish is also perfect for family sharing. The Overnight French Toast is the perfect sumptuous, fluffy, and soft bread that can be paired with your favorite mug of caffeine, milk, tea, juice, hot chocolate, or smoothies in the morning.
Storage
You can store your Overnight French Toast in the freezer for three months. Let it thaw in your fridge before you serve it. To reheat follow the instructions in the FAQs below.
Recipe FAQs
The perfect Overnight French Toast must be soft at the center and crispy on the outside. There are a few reasons why your French toast can be soggy. The first is using too much dairy. If you use too much dairy, this might cause the egg to not cook so you’ll have soggy and wet bread. You also need to make sure that your bread will be able to soak up the milk in your mixture. Stale bread is best for this recipe.
You can easily reheat your Overnight French Toast in the oven. Just heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lay out your bread in the pan. Stick your Overnight French Toast in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes and then you’re ready to go!
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Recipe Card
Overnight French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon , divided
- 18 slices white bread
- 340 g evaporated milk , one can
- 1 cup whole milk
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For Serving
- maple syrup
- powdered sugar
- raspberry
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter.
- Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 9-10 minutes or until lightly brown.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon zest, salt, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon cinnamon.
- Arrange the bread slices into the baking pan.
- Now, pour the custard mixture evenly over the top of the bread and then sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cut and serve hot.
Notes
- Make sure to prepare and refrigerate your ingredients the night before.
- If you do not have time in the night to refrigerate, then make sure to set your mixture aside for 30 minutes before baking.
- It is important to choose the right kind of bread for this recipe. Most loaves of bread will do with this recipe, but the best loaves of bread of choice are Sourdough, Baguette, Challah, and Brioche.
- Another note about Bread, make sure that the bread is dry. This recipe works bread on dried bread which is usually a day old. Stale bread absorbs more of the liquid mixture than new bread.
- If you only have new bread on hand, you can dry them out by popping them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Make sure to dip the bread in the custard first. This makes sure that all your bread is covered with custard. After dipping your bread in the custard, you can pour the extra custard mixture on top before refrigeration.
Variations
- If you’re worried about your overnight French toast being too sweet, you can always switch the sugar with healthier sweeteners like stevia or brown sugar.
- If you’re also one to cut out dairy or are opting for a lactose-free recipe, then you can switch the milk for oat or almond milk
- Consider adding more toppings into your Overnight French Toast, such as cocoa or even fruit slices like apples, kiwi, bananas, or peaches.
- Nuts are also great and healthy toppings that you can use for your French Toast. Pumpkin seeds, Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds, and Sunflower seeds are filled with proteins and healthy fats that will boost the nutrient content of this recipe.
- You can also whip some cream cheese and maple syrup together and put this mixture in between bread slices. This will give your Overnight French Toast a Cheesecake twist.
Maria
Easy to follow instructions! Thanks.
Barbra
This is better than cooking one slice of bread at a time. It is much easier!