This French Toast Casserole is basically magical. It comes together with minimal ingredients, it can be made overnight, and it tastes like heaven on a plate. It is the perfect recipe for a holiday brunch, but if you wanted to make it every single weekend, I would not judge you.
Variations
There are so many great spins on this simple recipe. You can dry out the bread by cutting it up and setting it out overnight. Or you can pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. If you put it in the oven, make sure to flip it once during baking so that it is dried out all around. I like buying a 16 ounce loaf from the grocery store. Once it is cut up and dried out, it will give you 10 cups of dry bread cubes, which is perfect for this recipe. Here are a few tips and tricks:
Make sure the butter is cold. This can make it harder to combine, but it will help it hold up to baking. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can use two forks. (See my recommendation below.) If you would prefer flour over oats, you can replace the 1/2 cup oats with 2/3 cup all purpose flour. If you only have rolled oats, you can give them a quick chop in your blender to get the consistency of instant oats.
Wrap the casserole dish at least two times with aluminum foil and place in the freezer for up to three months. Proceed with caution when using glass or ceramic baking dishes. I have had baking dishes shatter when putting them directly from the freezer into the oven. You are better off using an aluminum baking dish if you want to freeze it. When ready to serve, bake the casserole for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then add the streusel topping and bake for an additional 45 minutes.
Berry French Toast Casserole: We add frozen berries (my pick is strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries) to this recipe for a really fun and delicious spin. Apple French Toast Casserole: Adding apple pie filling is really the way to go if you want to make a fall spin on this amazing breakfast casserole. Cranberry French Toast Casserole: This one is my pick for Christmas morning. A little homemade cranberry sauce makes this so festive.
Substitiutions
If you have someone with dietary restrictions there are a few tweaks you can make.
Make this gluten-free. Swapping out the bread for gluten-free bread is such an easy fix. You will want to double check your oats to ensure that they were processed in a gluten-free plant. Make this dairy-free. You can swap out the whole milk for almond milk or coconut milk. You will want to either skip the streusel topping or swap the butter for a dairy-free butter.
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If you make this easy baked French Toast Casserole or any of my other recipes, please let me know! I love hearing from you.
