Ultimate French Toast Bake – exactly what I will be waking up to on Christmas morning! This overnight french toast casserole recipe is super easy and so decadent! Dairy-free friendly and gluten-free friendly!
Best Ever French Toast Bake
It’s almost Christmas, you guys!!! So close! I know we are all thinking about and planning what we will be eating come Christmas morning (because it is all about the food – duh) – this is a must-make! A tried and true overnight french toast casserole that won’t disappoint!
Why This Recipe Works
- French Bread: that delicious French bread soaks up all the egg and bakes up perfectly.
- Berries: the berries add that burst of flavor!
- Cream Cheese: this is really what makes it “ultimate” – yes this calls for cream cheese and yes you will love it!!
What You Will Need
- French bread: get the huge, 2 foot long French bread loaf – you can use a gluten-free brand if need to!
- eggs: we use about 8-10 large eggs here!
- unsweetened almond milk: this mixes with the almond milk and maple syrup and are poured over the bread.
- real maple syrup + vanilla extract: these add that bit of sweetness.
- butter, melted (or ghee or vegan butter): feel free to use those substitutions if you need to!
- cream cheese (or dairy free cream cheese): this might sounds weird (maybe?) but don’t skip it! so good!
- blackberries (or raspberries): use either or both!
How to Make it Dairy-Free
Yes! Just use vegan butter instead of regular butter and use dairy-free cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese – or you can omit the cream cheese altogether.
What is the Best Kind of Bread to Use
I used a large loaf of French Bread and really, the higher quality the better! If you have a little bakery around the corner, go snag some French bread from them! This recipe will just taste that much better!
What to Serve With it
Maybe serve with some Extra Creamy Dairy Free Hot Chocolate?
Here’s the before:
And the after…..
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Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Ultimate French Toast Bake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Refrigeration Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 8-10 servings
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ultimate French Toast Bake – The perfect thing to wake up to on Christmas morning!
Ingredients
- 1 extra large loaf of French bread (should be about 2ft long – approximately)
- 8–10 eggs (the larger the loaf, the more eggs needed)
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup butter, melted (or ghee or vegan butter)
- 8 oz cream cheese (or dairy free cream cheese), cubed
- 1 pint blackberries (or raspberries)
Instructions
- Spray 9×13 pan with olive oil or ghee.
- Tear up bread into large chunks, placing them in the pan and spreading them out evenly, they should fill up the entire casserole dish.
- In medium bowl, whisk together eggs and then add almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Pour mixture evenly over bread chunks.
- Cover and place in the refrigerator; let sit overnight.*
- Before serving, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Evenly distribute blackberries and cream cheese on top.
- Pour melted butter evenly over the top.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 minutes (middle rack and uncovered), or until golden brown.
- Serve warm with real maple syrup.
Notes
- *Overnight: You can still make this without letting it sit overnight, but the longer you let it sit (up to 12 hours) the better it will turn out. That being said, I have made this multiple times with only letting it sit 5 minutes and it will still turn out.
- Dairy-Free: use a plant butter and either use dairy-free cream cheese or just omit.
- Gluten-Free: use a gluten-free french bread loaf.
Keywords: french toast bake, overnight french toast casserole
Mary says
This was so EASY to make…I didn’t have to spend time away from my family prepping it- I made it for Christmas morning- it was a hit ALL around!
★★★★★
Erin says
That makes me SO happy to hear!! Merry Christmas!
Kristen says
We made this for Christmas brunch this morning and it was the perfect choice! Love how easy it is to throw together and that it sits overnight so it’s ready to go in the morning! I added some cinnamon and used ‘Brown Sugar and Cinnamon’ flavored cream cheese. So good!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Kristen!! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback – I really appreciate it!