Brioche French Toast Casserole
Brioche french toast casserole is the perfect Christmas morning breakfast, make-ahead breakfast, freezer meal, or Sunday brunch idea! Buttery and sweet brioche bread soaked in a sweet custard, baked to perfection to make a delicious and easy breakfast.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
What is Brioche French Toast Casserole
Brioche bread is an enriched french bread meaning it has lots of butter and eggs making it nice and fluffy. Brioche is perfect for a french toast casserole since it has a soft texture perfect for soaking up the custard.
Brioche french toast casserole is a super easy make-ahead breakfast dish that can be made in 5 minutes of hands on time. This breakfast casserole is perfect for Easter, Christmas or Mother’s day brunch.
Equipment You’ll Need
This easy brioche breakfast casserole only requires a casserole dish and basic kitchen utensils. However, if you don’t have a casserole dish, you can use a pie dish, loaf pans, brownie tins, or any other baking vessel.
Recipe Highlights
Brioche french toast casserole will be one of your new family favroites since it’s such an easy dish, but tastes so special!
- Make-ahead option
- Freezer meal breakfast idea
- Delicious and sweet
- Can top with various toppings
- Can be whipped up in 10 minutes
- Can feed a crowd
- Perfect for busy holiday mornings
How to Make Brioche French Toast Casserole
This buttery and sweet brioche french toast casserole uses basic ingredients but tastes so decadent.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Brioche bread loaf – you can use homemade or storebought brioche bread for this recipe, just be sure it’s slightly stale so it doesn’t get soggy.
- Eggs – lots of eggs makes for a beautiful custard and makes this a filling dish.
- Milk – use any kind of milk for this recipe, but know that whole milk will produce the best custard-like texture. Milk alternatives may turn out thinner.
- Heavy cream – again, you can use an alternative, but the creamier the better!
- Brown sugar – white sugar also works, but you won’t get the delicious flavor from the molasses in the brown sugar. If you use white sugar, be sure to double the amount of vanilla extract to make up for the flavor.
- Vanilla extract – using vanilla bean paste is a great way to make for a richer french toast casserole with tons of flavor.
- Cinnamon – cinnamon french toast using brioche bread is so tasty! Feel free to use nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, or any other spices that sound delicious to you.
- Sea salt – sea salt will bring out the sweetness in the custard.
Crumble Topping Ingredients
The crumble topping for this cinnamon french toast casserole is optional, but highly recommended! The crumble topping creates a caramelized crust on top of the brioche bread that is to die for!
- Brown sugar – every good crumble starts with brown sugar. Use good quality, organic dark or light brown sugar.
- All-purpose flour – any type of flour works great.
- Cinnamon – cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice all taste delicious in a crumble topping.
- Cold salted butter – be sure your butter is nice and cold to make the crumble easier to mix up. Grass-fed butter is much more nutrient dense so go with that if you can.
Step by Step Instructions (with photos)
Place bread cubes in the prepared baking dish
Prepare the custard and pour it evenly over the bread cubes.
Prepare crumble topping and sprinkle the crumble topping over the custard-soaked brioche.
Either bake right away or refrigerate.
Bake at 350F covered for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 30 minutes until set.
How to Store Brioche French Toast Casserole
The best part about this brioche french toast casserole is that it stores and reheats well! So you can bake it now, or make it and bake it later and it’ll taste delicious either way.
Refrigerator
Store baked brioche french toast casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store the unbaked casserole in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then bake or freeze.
Freezer
Freeze your baked french toast casserole in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating
Reheat leftovers in a 325F oven until warmed through. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave. If frozen, defrost overnight in the refrigerator first.
Make-ahead Brioche French Toast Casserole
To make this brioche french toast casserole ahead of time for an easy breakfast in a pinch, simple prepare the casserole per the instructions, then wrap tightly, label and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, defrost in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.
In a Pinch Ideas
There are several ways to make this easy french toast casserole even easier!
- Make an extra casserole and freeze it for later.
- Skip soaking the bread overnight and just bake right away. It comes out delicious!
- Use whole bread slices instead of cutting the bread into cubes.
- Skip the crumble topping or just top with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Brioche French Toast Casserole Tips
Tips for making this fluffy brioche french toast casserole even better.
- Soak for at least 30 min – letting the casserole soak for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours in the fridge will bring out the flavors and create a great texture.
- Use stale bread – stale bread ensures the french toast doesn’t become soggy.
- Bake long enough – don’t pull the french toast casserole out too early or it’ll be to runny and mushy. Make sure it’s nice and set with a good crust on top.
How to Make Brioche French Toast Casserole Healthier
If you want to ensure that this brioche french toast casserole is as healthy as possible for your family, here are my tips.
- Homemade bread – making your own bread eliminates all the preservatives and added sugar in storebought bread. Even better if you use sourdough bread or a healthy wheat like einkorn flour. Here is a recipe for einkorn sourdough bread that is very similar to brioche bread.
- Quality ingredients – using pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed butter, organic sugars, etc. provide you with the most nutrients. Make each ingredient count by using quality ingredients.
- Natural sugars – using natural, instead of refined, sugars such as maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or unrefined cane sugar will make this french toast casserole even healthier.
Brioche French Toast Casserole Serving Suggestions
There are so many occasions where this brioche french toast casserole comes in handy! Here are just a few ideas:
- Busy weekday breakfast
- Breakfast for dinner
- Christmas morning breakfast
- Easter morning breakfast
- Mother’s day brunch
Brioche French Toast Casserole Variations
Customize this easy and simple french toast casserole with any combination of the below ingredients.
- Mascarpone cheese
- Berries, peaches, apples, or any other fruit
- Pumpkin puree and/or pumpkin pie spice
- Dust the top with powdered sugar
- Drizzle the top with maple syrup
- Top with homemade whipped cream
- Add chopped nuts to the top or inside the casserole
- Raisins
- Chocolate chips
- Top with a berry compote
Shop This Post
(These affiliate links help to support this blog at no extra cost to you. Your support means the world to me!)
- Berkey water filter (we use the Royal because we drink an insane amount of water!)
- Thrive Market – 25% off & free gift! (where I get a ton of my ingredients)
- Azure Standard: $25 off your order. Code kyrieluke1
- Dutch oven
- Stand mixer
- Boos Block Butcher Block
- 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet
More Breakfast Recipes
Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
Brioche French Toast Casserole FAQ
Brioche french toast uses brioche bread rather than regular bread; whereas, regular french toast uses a regular loaf of bread. Brioche bread is an enriched bread that is softer, and more butter than regular bread.
Enriched bread like brioche and challah are great options for fluffy and flavorful french toast. You can also use crusty bread like french bread, texas toast, and sourdough. Either way, be sure your bread is slightly stale so your french toast doesn’t come out soggy.
To fix a soggy french toast casserole, simply bake it longer so the custard is fully set. The issue may be, too, that you’re using fresh bread – be sure to use slightly stale bread to prevent a soggy french toast casserole.
Brioche bread is great for french toast, french toast casserole, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and tons more.
Pin it For Later – Brioche French Toast Casserole
Print the Brioche French Toast Casserole Recipe
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
Method
- Grease 9×13 baking dish (or divide into two smaller dishes).
- Cut your bread into 1-inch cubes and place them in your baking dish.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Pour the custard evenly over the bread cubes. Toss the bread cubes if needed to evenly incorporate the custard.
- Stir together the crumble topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the brioche and custard.
- You can bake right away or refrigerate up to 24 hours.
- To bake, preheat your oven to 350°F, cover the casserole with foil, set it on the center rack, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for 30-35 minutes or until set. There should be a prominent crust on top, the bread will be nice and puffy and there may be a slight jiggle in the middle.
- Let the brioche french toast rest after baking for about 5 minutes to set.
Video
Notes
How to Store Brioche French Toast Casserole
The best part about this brioche french toast casserole is that it stores and reheats well! So you can bake it now, or make it and bake it later and it’ll taste delicious either way.Refrigerator
Store baked brioche french toast casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store the unbaked casserole in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then bake or freeze.Freezer
Freeze your baked french toast casserole in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.Reheating
Reheat leftovers in a 325F oven until warmed through. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave. If frozen, defrost overnight in the refrigerator first.Make-ahead Brioche French Toast Casserole
To make this brioche french toast casserole ahead of time for an easy breakfast in a pinch, simple prepare the casserole per the instructions, then wrap tightly, label and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, defrost in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.In a Pinch Ideas
There are several ways to make this easy french toast casserole even easier!- Make an extra casserole and freeze it for later.
- Skip soaking the bread overnight and just bake right away. It comes out delicious!
- Use whole bread slices instead of cutting the bread into cubes.
- Skip the crumble topping or just top with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Brioche French Toast Casserole Tips
Tips for making this fluffy brioche french toast casserole even better.- Soak for at least 30 min – letting the casserole soak for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours in the fridge will bring out the flavors and create a great texture.
- Use stale bread – stale bread ensures the french toast doesn’t become soggy.
- Bake long enough – don’t pull the french toast casserole out too early or it’ll be to runny and mushy. Make sure it’s nice and set with a good crust on top.
About Me
Thanks for trying out this brioche french toast casserole! Let me know what you think below.