If you're searching for the best Brioche French toast recipe for a weekend brunch, this one will be your go-to for years to come.
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Photo by Matbakh
Brioche French toast casserole is the ultimate way to elevate your breakfast or brunch game. Picture thick slices of brioche soaking up a rich, custardy egg mixture, then baked or pan-fried to golden perfection and topped with all your favorite French toast toppings. This recipe isn’t just foolproof—it’s incredibly versatile. No brioche? No problem! Hawaiian bread or even a classic French loaf will work beautifully.
❤️ Why You'll Love Brioche French Toast Casserole
Best part of the overnight French toast casserole...you can make it ahead! Just assemble everything the night before, let the bread soak up all the flavors, and bake it in the morning for an effortless, crowd-pleasing dish.
Whether you're hosting brunch or treating yourself to a slow weekend breakfast, this French toast will have everyone coming back for more. And trust me—it’s so easy to make!
🍲 Ingredients
Brioche - So what makes brioche the star of the show? Brioche is a soft, slightly sweet bread that's richer than regular bread because it's made with eggs and butter. When you dip those thick slices into an eggy custard and fry them up, they become golden on the outside while remaining pillowy on the inside. The richness of brioche makes it perfect for absorbing all the delicious flavors from your French toast batter without falling apart.
Eggs - Any eggs will do. If a recipe calls for large eggs but you only have a different size, you can adjust using these general conversions. One large egg is about 50 grams (without shell). If using medium eggs, use one extra for every four large eggs. If using extra-large or jumbo, use one less for every four large eggs. For precise baking, weigh your eggs to match the total weight needed.
Whole milk - You can actually use any milk you have on hand, but whole milk adds to the richness of this french toast.
Pure Vanilla extract - Pure vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol and water, resulting in a rich, natural flavor with no artificial additives. It must contain at least 35% alcohol and real vanilla bean extractives. Regular (or imitation) vanilla extract is made with synthetic vanillin, often derived from wood pulp or other sources, and usually contains additional sweeteners or additives.
👩🍳 How to Make Brioche French Toast Casserole
- Cut your Brioche bread into 1-inch cubes and spread them out in the bottom of your pan.
- In a big bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour that over the bread cubes, making sure everything gets coated.
- Cover the pan tightly with foil and pop it in the fridge for at least 2 hours—or even better, overnight. (or use baking dish with lid)
- Meanwhile, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter (or your fingers) until it looks like coarse crumbs.
- When you're ready to bake, sprinkle blueberries over the soaked bread, then evenly scatter the crumb topping on top.
- Bake, covered, at 350°F for 30 minutes. Then, take off the foil and bake another 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle with maple syrup and dig in!
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Stale bread works really well for this overnight brioche French toast casserole. If you don't already have stale bread, you can spread the brioche slices on a baking sheet and dry the bread in a low oven (300°) for 20-30 minutes. If you don't want to hassle with that, it will still be delish!
- If you want a less sweet French toast, you can cut back on or skip the brown sugar in the base. But for the streusel topping, the sugar is a must!
- Toppings: I love all the toppings so I often serve this french toast with a toppings bar.
🗒 Variations
- Stove-Top Version: Brioche French Toast and Toppings Bar
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free bread (brioche if you can find it) and gluten-free flour for the cinnamon streusel.
- Add nuts or dried fruit as an option.
- Dairy-free: Use non dairy milk like almond milk, and use coconut oil for the topping.
- Individual servings: You can divide the recipe into ramekins and place them on a baking sheet to bake for individual servings. Baking time may be reduced.
- Cinnamon Raisin: I love to use Cinnamon Raisin bread as a variation.
🗒 Substitutions
- Substitute dairy free milk for the whole mik.
- Substitute brown sugar for the regular sugar.
- Substitute challah bread or french bread for brioche bread.
🗒 Best served with:
These are also fabulous group brunch ideas
- These are also fabulous group brunch ideas.
- Bacon: see my twisted bacon in the oven
- Sausage patties
- Fruit Salad
- Fresh Berries and whipped cream
- Egg Strata
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Keep any leftover brioche French toast casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. For a quick reheat, microwave individual portions for 20-30 seconds.
🤔 Common Questions
Absolutely! Let it sit in the fridge overnight so the bread soaks up all that custardy goodness. Just bake it fresh in the morning!
Nope, but brioche gives it that rich, buttery flavor. Challah or a thick-cut white bread works too!2
Unbaked, you can freeze the casserole in the baking dish, tightly wrapped in foil and then plastic wrap. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then bake as instructed. I don't recommend freezing this recipe after baking because the texture will change once it's thawed and reheated.
You can swap in white sugar, add maple syrup or molasses for a little extra flavor. Pro tip: Brown sugar is white sugar and molasses.
You might’ve added too much liquid or not baked it long enough. Make sure it’s set in the middle before pulling it out of the oven!
Brioche French Toast Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 loaf brioche bread gluten free if desired
- 6 large eggs beaten
- 2 ½ cups milk whole
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dar brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries optional
Topping
- ½ cup flour gluten free if needed
- ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon less if desired
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup cold butter cut into pieces
Instructions
- Use butter or cooking spray to grease a 9" x 13" baking dish.
- Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Put the topping mixture in an airtight container or zip lock bag in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 350°
- If using add blueberries over the top of the bread.
- Sprinkle topping evenly over the top of the casserole. Replace the foil cover.
- Bake tightly covered for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake anot
