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Crockpot French Toast Casserole Recipe

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Crockpot French Toast Casserole is an easy overnight French toast that’s great for Christmas morning! Serve it with your favorite toppings to make a quick and easy family favorite brunch.

French Toast Casserole

I love that you can leave this Crockpot French Toast to cook overnight and you’ll have an incredible breakfast ready for you in the morning.

The bread is warm and moist, and the sides are caramelized and a little crispy from the brown sugar.

There’s lots of cinnamon flavor, with just a hint of nutmeg.

If you have any leftovers, try warming it up in the microwave after dinner and serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. That combination makes the most heavenly dessert!

When you make this for brunch, try serving it with Raspberry Sauce, maple syrup, Nutella, candied pecans, strawberries, blueberries, or cream cheese frosting.

If you’re making it in the fall, you could even try serving it with some Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting.

What Kind Of Bread Should Be Used For Crockpot French Toast?

Brioche is the absolute best bread for French toast. Close seconds are French baguette and challah bread.

If you can’t find any of those, try using bagels or sourdough (though I’d only try that if you really love the flavor of sourdough).

If you’re really in a pinch, you can use regular bread or even hamburger buns!

A serving of French toast casserole on a plate.

Is It Better To Use Stale Bread For French Toast?

Yes, it’s better to use day old or stale bread when you make French toast. That’s because the stale bread has lost some moisture, which allows it to soak up more of the flavorful cinnamon egg mixture.

A fork pulling away a bite of a serving of French toast casserole.

How Do I Quickly Dry Bread For French Toast?

You can quickly dry bread cubes out in the oven. Spread the bread cubes out over a baking sheet, and place the baking sheet uncovered in a preheated oven at 170 F (77 C) for about 15 – 20 minutes. Stir them occasionally so that they dry out evenly.

Easy French Toast Casserole Ingredients

You only need 8 ingredients to make this delicious breakfast casserole recipe! You’ll need:

Brioche Bread: This is the base of the French toast casserole. Brioche bread has the best texture and flavor for this dish, but there are breads listed above that you can substitute if you can’t find any.

Eggs: These act as a binder and source of moisture for the casserole.

Whole Milk: This is where the majority of the moisture to rehydrate the bread comes from. By seasoning the liquid with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, it gives the bread a chance to soak those flavors up and be seasoned from the inside. I prefer working with whole milk when it’s heated, because it has a lower chance of breaking while it heats.

Cinnamon and Nutmeg: This is where a lot of the flavor comes from. I relied more on cinnamon than nutmeg for the flavor in this dish, but if you really love nutmeg, you could add a tiny bit more.

Pure Vanilla Extract: The flavor is better in pure vanilla extract than it is in artificial vanilla extract, but it will still work with artificial vanilla. The difference is more important in recipes where the vanilla isn’t heated.

Butter and Brown Sugar: These combine to make the streusel topping, which then melts and creates the caramelized edges. Those crispy bits truly might be my most favorite part – so definitely don’t skimp on it! Feel free to use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar – whichever is your favorite.

The labeled ingredients for French toast casserole.

How To Make Overnight French Toast

Start by dehydrating the cubed brioche bread. Once the bread is dehydrated, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)

A process collage showing whisking together the wet ingredients for French toast casserole.

Pour the egg and milk mixture over the brioche bread cubes, and gently mix to evenly coat.

Pouring egg and milk mixture over brioche bread cubes.

Cover the bowl, then let the coated bread rest in the fridge for about 4 hours (so that the bread has a chance to soak up all of the egg and milk mixture).

Showing what the soaked brioche bread cubes look like before and after they rest in the fridge for 4 hours.

Transfer the soaked bread to a greased Crockpot, and cook on LOW until it’s cooked through. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.

French toast casserole in a Crockpot just after it finished cooking.

Why Is My Slow Cooker French Toast Casserole Soggy?

There are three reasons that a French toast casserole can turn out soggy in the center.

  • There was too much liquid – that would only be the case with this recipe if you didn’t dry out the bread first.
  • You cooked it on too low of a temperature – it’s important to cook this on the LOW setting, and not on the WARM setting.
  • You didn’t cook it for long enough – just leave it in for a bit longer and it will continue to cook in the center.
Pouring syrup on a serving of Crockpot French toast casserole.

Keep In Touch

I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime

Click here to pin this recipe for later!

A Pinterest pin image with pictures of French toast casserole with title text at the top.

Holiday Recipes

Since this is such an incredible Christmas morning breakfast – I’m guessing that might be what you’re making it for. If that’s the case, be sure to check out these other holiday recipes to get in the holiday spirit!

Breakfast Recipes

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire breakfast recipes section! Some reader favorites are:

Yield: 10 servings

BEST Crockpot French Toast Casserole Recipe

The best Crockpot French toast casserole recipe.

Crockpot French Toast Casserole is an easy overnight French toast that’s great for Christmas morning! You'll love this easy family favorite!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Additional Time 4 hours
Total Time 11 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 loaves brioche bread (cut into 1-2 inch cubes, about 675 grams or 23 ounces)
  • 8 large eggs
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (room temperature, cubed)

Instructions

  1. Cut up the fresh loaves of bread and evenly spread them onto a baking sheet to dry out for the day. (To speed this process up, you can dry the bread cubes out in the oven instead. Place the baking sheet of bread cubes in the oven at 170 F for about 15 minutes, stirring them occasionally so that they dry out evenly.)
  2. To a medium sized mixing bowl, add the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined. 
  3. To a large mixing bowl, add half the dried out bread cubes and pour in half the egg mixture. Gently mix until the bread is evenly coated. Add in the rest of the bread cubes and egg mixture, and gently mix until the bread cubes are coated.
  4. Cover the bowl, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours* (so the bread can absorb the liquid and all the flavors).
  5. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar and butter cubes together to make a crumble. Cover and store in the fridge until you’re ready to cook the casserole. If the butter and sugar begin to create a smooth texture, break it up with a fork after it's cooled in the fridge.
  6. Right before bed, or when you're ready to cook the casserole, generously grease the inside of a 6 quart Crockpot. Dump the soaked bread mixture in and spread it out evenly. Crumble the butter and brown sugar mixture overtop. Set the crockpot to LOW, and cook for 7 hours. (If you’re in a hurry, you can cook it on HIGH for 3 - 4 hours.)
  7. When you wake up in the morning, serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, fresh strawberries or blueberries and enjoy!

Notes

*You can let it soak for longer if that’s what works for your schedule. For the batch in the photos, I let it soak for 8 hours.

I put the batch in the pictures in the crock pot at 11:30 at night, and it was ready when I got up at 6:30. I left it on the warm setting for another half an hour until everyone got up.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1/10

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 480Total Fat: 25.5gCarbohydrates: 48.7gFiber: 1.5gSugar: 20.4gProtein: 13.6g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Tag @KeyToMyLime on Instagram so we can see your delicious meal!

You’ll love this make ahead Crockpot French Toast! It’s perfect for a crowd and great for Christmas morning! It would be delicious with apple slices added in if you want to try it with some fruit.

The best Crockpot French toast casserole recipe.

16 thoughts on “Crockpot French Toast Casserole Recipe”

  1. Mmm, this looks scrumptious! Would soaking the bread overnight be too long if I wanted to throw it in 1st thing in the morning? OR would it become too mushy if it cooked more than 7 hours (on the rare chance we sleep in on the weekend)? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Carrie, You can let this soak overnight (the batch in the photos soaked for 8 hours). I haven’t tried cooking it longer than 7 hours on “low” with an additional 30 minutes on the “warm” setting, so I don’t know how cooking it longer would turn out. Hope that helps! -Alexa

      Reply
    • Hi Rose, I haven’t tested it with almond milk, so I can’t say for sure. If you try it, please let me know how it goes! -Alexa

      Reply
  2. Omgosh! I changed out 2% milk for whole and didn’t add nutmeg and it turned out amazing! I used a local bakery loaf of white bread instead of brioche. I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe!

    Reply
    • I double it and cook for 8 hours (and about an hour on warm) and it is amazing! I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing it!!

      Reply
  3. Has anyone tried tossing cooked bacon or sausage in before letting this cook? My husband is looking to use this recipe for a work breakfast potluck next week, and I’m curious how that might work out.

    Reply
    • We made it with cooked and drained sausage stirred in and my family went crazy for it! I think this recipe would be delicious any way one fixes it! And, it smells delicious!

      Reply

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