Brioche French Toast Casserole
Published Apr 07, 2025
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French toast but without all the work? Yes, please! Classic French toast is great for a small family, but if you’re serving any more than 4 people, you’re going to love the ease of a casserole. And if you’ve never had Brioche French Toast Casserole, you’re in for a treat. Brioche bread, left in slices in the dish, makes a flavorful, rich option for a casserole. A light dusting of cinnamon-sugar gives it a crunchy, flavorful finish.
What you’ll find below is an incredibly simple version of Brioche French Toast Casserole that takes only about 15 minutes to assemble. Not only is it made with brioche bread (see below for more on that), it’s made without slicing the bread into cubes. Keeping the bread in full slices makes this casserole dish more beautiful to serve and saves you time in the prep steps. This dish can be served right away, OR make it a day ahead and leave it in the fridge for an overnight French toast casserole option. Letting it sit overnight helps the custard to fully soak into every piece of brioche bread, but brioche is so porous that the dish works well even if you don’t want to wait.
By the way, if you’re new here, you should know that I have a particular love of both French toast and breakfast casseroles. If you’re looking for easy breakfast ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Among my most popular breakfast recipes are Croissant French toast, baked French toast sticks, Banana French Toast Casserole, Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole, and Banana Bread French Toast. Did I think I needed to add another option to this list? Ohhh yes. This is a good one.
How to Make a Brioche French Toast Casserole
This recipe is incredibly simple to put together and can even be prepped the night before to bake in the morning.
- Prepare Baking Dish and Arrange Bread – Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish and then arrange the brioche slices in the pan. Take your time making them look even, and insuring that they overlap slightly in a uniform way. See my pictures for tips.
- Make the Custard – This couldn’t be more simple. It’s not sweetened, but adds richness to the filling. Just whisk eggs, half and half, salt, and vanilla extract. Don’t skip the salt here – it helps bring out more flavor in the filling.
- Soak the Bread – Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread and firmly press down to soak the bread. See below for tips on how to do this.
- Refrigerate (Optional) – For the best results, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, pressing down once or twice to help the bread absorb the custard evenly.
- Prep for Baking – When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Drizzle or brush melted butter over the bread and then dust the top with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crisp.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Why Use Brioche Bread in French Toast
Two words: flavor and texture. Brioche is an enriched dough, meaning that it includes eggs and butter. Those two ingredients mean that the bread already has a ton of flavor even before you add the other french toast ingredients.
Brioche bread is also incredibly light and porous, so it has plenty of nooks and holes to soak up custard and result in a more evenly textured casserole.
Tips & Tricks
- Use Quality Brioche – The richness of brioche is what really makes this dish shine. Most grocery stores now carry a quality brioche bread in the bread section. If you can’t find it look for Croissant Bread or any other high quality sandwich bread.
- Don’t Skip the Pressing Step – This helps guarantee even custard absorption, preventing dry spots and giving the full casserole consistent texture.
- Make it Ahead – Save yourself time and make this ahead. Giving it time in the fridge also helps with absorption of the custard.
- Don’t Forget Toppings – Some fresh berries, softened butter, and maple syrup really make slices of this dish feel elevated and complete.
- Storage & Reheating – Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or warm the whole casserole in a 300ºF oven.
Brioche French Toast Casserole is the perfect way to make a classic breakfast dish with minimal effort. It’s great for gatherings or spring brunches, but also easy enough to make ahead and reheat to serve on a weekday morning.
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Brioche French Toast Casserole Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13 Baking Pan
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 loaf sliced brioche bread (about 16 ounces total)
- 10 large eggs
- 1 pint half and half (1 pint = 2 cups / 16 ounces)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Maple syrup, butter, and / or fresh berries for serving
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Lay the brioche bread slices in the baking dish, overlapping them slightly so they are distributed evenly and evenly fill the entire pan.
- Whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt, and vanilla. Pour this mixture evenly over the bread.
- Using a large serving spoon, the flat side of a measuring cup, or a large piece of parchment paper, firmly press down on the bread to fully soak it in the egg mixture. (Note: This step is important to make sure that the custard soaks into every slice of bread; don’t rush it.)
- If you’re not ready to bake the casserole, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. If you think of it, press down on the plastic wrap once or twice while it’s in the fridge to just encourage the custard to keep soaking evenly into all of the bread slices.
- When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Brush or drizzle melted butter over the top of the casserole.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon and evenly dust the top of the casserole with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake, uncovered, until the top is golden brown and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Slice and serve while the casserole is still warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
