Home Recipes Breakfast French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese

French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese

Name: French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 lb. French or sourdough bread diced into 1″ cubes; 4 oz. cream cheese I use reduced fat; 8 eggs; 1/4 c. sugar; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1/4 c. maple syrup plus more for serving; 1 tsp. vanilla; 2 1/2 c. milk; 4 tbsp. melted butter

(3 votes)
38 Comments3 minutes
May 14, 2024
Andi GleesonJump to Recipe

Breakfast

This Overnight French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese is a perfect make-ahead dish for breakfast!

a serve of French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese on a table

Are you a fan of bread pudding? I never thought I was, even though I had actually never tried it. It usually seems to have raisins, which is kind of a deal breaker for me. When I found out that french toast casserole (which I love) and bread pudding are practically the same thing, it completely changed my opinion. Leave out the raisins, and I will gladly accept a big bowlful of bread pudding!

I found a recipe for overnight french toast casserole in a magazine a few years ago, made it for Christmas morning, and a new tradition was born. The whole family loves this one, and it’s easy to put together before bed and bake when you wake up. Drizzle with a little more maple syrup before serving, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy! Breakfast doesn’t get much better than that!

a French Toast Casserole with grapes on a plate

Final Thoughts on French Toast Casserole

Sadly, I’ve had to give up wheat since I started making this french toast casserole with cream cheese, and I was afraid it meant the end of our Christmas morning tradition. Last year I made it with a combination of gluten-free and spelt (which I can eat) sandwich bread, and it still turned out great!! I was so happy to still indulge in a big hunk of bready goodness even though I can’t eat regular bread anymore.

While I don’t have a cookbook (yet), this recipe DID appear in print in my oldest’s preschool cookbook a few years ago. That might be as close as I get to hitting it big and getting my work in print. The recipe did feature a photo of my kid in his Christmas jammies eating this breakfast casserole, so it might be even better than a “real” cookbook. I hope you will keep coming back to this version again and again!

Here are some other breakfast casseroles you might enjoy:

Breakfast for Dinner Casserole: This easy hashbrown casserole is just right for any time of day! — Easy Hashbrown Casserole with Ham

Sausage Fajita Breakfast Casserole - With the festive red and green peppers, this easy recipe is just right for your holiday breakfast or brunch! — Easy Hashbrown Casserole with Ham

Andi Gleeson

Andi Gleeson is a passionate blogger and mom based in San Francisco who focuses on easy and delicious dinner recipes.

38 comments

I am trying this recipe today to make for Mothers day brunch for our extended family. I just put it in the fridge. Can someone please tell me how long to cook 2 pans of this?

If cooking two pans you shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking time, but if they are on racks above one another I would switch them halfway through cooking.

Oh my, I have looked for this misplaced recipe for several years. Bet we had the same holiday magazine. I am so happy to have found your recipe because my family just loved it and it was so delicious to serve for Christmas brunch. I served mine with Apple syrup recipe in same magazine. Thank you, now once again we will have a yummy Christmas brunch with sausage and bacon fresh fruit, juice and coffee.

I made this with gluten free bread and lactose free milk – could not even taste the difference. Wonderful breakfast and everyone was able to enjoy.

Instead of milk can I use heavy cream.

Did you know that adding milk to eggs makes French toast possible? French toast requires both a liquid to “bind” the ingredients together and something to soften the bread. The milk is a component of the batter or custard used to soak the bread slices; the main ingredients in a rich custard are full-fat milk and eggs. And yes, you may replace milk with heavy cream by diluting it and adding a little water. For every cup of whole milk, use half a cup of heavy cream and half a cup of water. Combine 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1/2 cup water to make 1 cup whole milk. Have fun cooking and enjoy!

If we are baking 2 of these, how long would you suggest baking it for? Thanks! Looking forward to it!

[…] Overnight French Toast: Andi of The Weary Chef considers this a Christmas morning tradition. One surprising ingredient is […]

i’ve been making a version of this for many years. My recipe calls for 8oz of cream cheese cut into small cubes. I have no problem evenly arranging the cheese cubes over the bread cubes. Also, I use regular bread that is a few days old & also cinnamon swirl bread (about equal amounts of each) total 8 to 10 cups. Since I make mine in a 4qt oblong casserole, I use 8-10 eggs, 2 1/2 cups milk or half & half, 2tsp. vanilla, & 1/2 cup maple syrup all blended together. Pour over the bread & cream cheese, pat down with rubber spatula, then sprinkle with a little cinnamon & drizzle a little extra maple syrup on top. Cover with foil & chill for a couple of hours or overnight. Remove foil & bake at 325deg. for about an hour or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean & casserole is lightly browned & puffy. I eliminate additional sugar since the cinnamon swirl bread is a little sweet. My family devours this. It is definitely a favorite. Nothing is left over.?

I’m confused as to why the recipe says to start with a baking sheet? Do you mean casserole dish or is there a step missing?

Thank you SO much for pointing that out so I could correct it! That was a typo and should have been baking dish not baking sheet (like a Pyrex dish). Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!

Just made this the other day and everyone loved it! Mine didn’t brown up very much on top so I ended up broiling it for a few minutes. The only thing I may do differently next time is to add more cream cheese. It’s the best part!

I’m so happy you liked it, Meghan! The original recipe did have more cream cheese, but I reduced it just to lighten it up a bit. I’ll make a note that you can add more to taste :) Thanks for your note!

Maybe I’m just slow! :) It did take me about 25 minutes to prepare. The baking time was accurate. It was a big hit with everyone, from young 20’s to 65. My testers said it’s a keeper! I was thinking of trying it with buttermilk next time. I also used vanilla bean paste, which leaves little specks of vanilla bean which were super flavorful. Thank you for the recipe!

I will split the difference and bump up the prep time to 20 minutes. I might be faster since I’ve made it a lot! The cream cheese process definitely isn’t a quick one. I’m so happy to hear that you all enjoyed this casserole! Buttermilk is an interesting idea. Let me know how it tastes if you try that next time. I hope to hear from you again soon, Mary :)

It definitely takes longer than 15 minutes to put together. Mine is in the refer, to be baked in the morning. As far as the cream cheese ‘sprinkle’, i found that a baby spoonful of the cream cheese can be wiped onto the cubes of bread, here and there. Seemed to be the most expedient way for me. :)

Thanks for that feedback, Mary. I have made this many times, but maybe I underestimated how long it actually takes. I will extend that if you think it is not a good estimate. That’s a great tip about the baby spoon for the cream cheese. I’ll try that next time. Thank you for your nice comment, and I hope you enjoyed the casserole!

I used a similar recipe, which stated to heat the cream cheese in the microwave. I think 1/2 cup of brown sugar was mixed in, and then the mixture could be spooned over the first layer of bread cubes. Hope this helps!

That’s a great idea, Cindi. Thanks!

This looks so yummy and I think the kids will actually eat it too, bonus!! Thanks for sharing!

My kids are champion picky eaters, and they both like this! I hope yours will too. Thanks so much for stopping by :)

I love bread pudding so I know I’ll love French Toast Casserole. I’m going to pin this, thanks!

Have you made this with regular loaf of whole wheat bread before? I have a few loafs I need to get rid of!

Hi, Kelly. I’ve only made it with sourdough or French bread, but I think it would still taste great with wheat bread. The texture will probably just be a bit different. I say go for it! :)

ok thanks!

I have a question, should I leave foil on during baking? Looks great and I can’t wait to make!

Hi, Brandi. You should bake it uncovered, and I updated the recipe to clarify. Thanks so much for your question, and I hope you like this casserole as much as we do!

It looks fantastic. I’m not a breakfast girl but….. with this casserole I’m changing my habit :)

Thank you, Winnie! During the week my breakfast usually consists of coffee and maybe whatever my kids don’t finish off their plates. On the weekends I like to a good breakfast though :)

Yum, I love make ahead meals and this overnight french toast casserole looks delicious! Perfect for a hot weekend breakfast and can’t wait to try it :) Pinning and thanks for sharing Andi!

I need to start doing make ahead meals more often. It’s so nice to have the work done ahead of time for breakfast OR dinner! Thanks for pinning :)

I love overnight french toasts and like that this one has cream cheese. Great recipe – pinning!

Everything is better with cream cheese ;) Thank you for the pin, Deb!

I love make ahead dishes and french toast! I can’t wait to give this a try, it looks fantastic Andi!

Thank you, Chelsea! It’s so nice to be able to just pop it in the oven in the morning and not have to cook!

I’ve done overnight French toast but never a wonderful casserole like this before. I must make this!

Happy New Year!

Hi, Maureen! How nice of you to drop by! Please let me know how you like it if you get a chance to try the recipe. Have a nice weekend!

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