This Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole is one of the best holiday breakfast recipes I’ve ever made! It’s easy to make with basic ingredients and it’s perfect for any holiday breakfast or brunch at Thanksgiving or Christmas!
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*I originally shared this recipe with my readers in October 2015. I’ve updated the recipe, the photos and added a new tutorial video to make this recipe even easier for you to make in your own kitchen! I don’t know about you, but I just love breakfast foods. It’s not often I have time to just sit and enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a nice cup of tea anymore (and let’s be honest, who does?), but there’s something really peaceful about breakfast time when we’re not rushing off here or there first thing in the morning and we can all sit down and enjoy some eggs, pancakes or French toast.
Wanna know a secret? This Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake is perfect for lazy mornings because it can be made the night before and baked in the morning for a fresh and delicious breakfast. We often make it on a Friday or Saturday evening and enjoy it as a family on the weekend. The kids love it with yogurt and maple syrup, but you can also take it up a notch with whipped cream and maple syrup or even caramel sauce!
One of my favourite times to make this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole is during the holidays. It’s so great for when you’ve got a house full of guests and it’s time for a holiday brunch. It’s a crowd-pleasing recipe that’s SO easy to throw together the night before (or in the morning, if you have time!). It’s bursting with festive flavours which makes it perfect for a Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast!
Looking for even more holiday recipes? CLICK HERE for a list of all my favourite holiday recipes!
I’ve already shared several of my other favourite breakfast recipes with you, like this Savoury Overnight Breakfast Casserole, these Roasted Red Pepper Phyllo Quiche Bites, and this AMAZING Honey Lime Fruit Salad. One of my favourite things to do during the holidays is to prepare a brunch buffet with all my favourite delicious breakfast recipes for our holiday guests. This Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole is the PERFECT addition to any holiday brunch buffet, if you ask me!
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Feel free to use whatever kind of bread you wish in this recipe – I almost always use plain old french bread because it creates such a beautiful presentation, but you could definitely use day-old brioche bread or any kind of plain or sweet bread you like. And any kind of baking apples work well in this recipe. I often use whatever I have on hand, which are usually Spartan apples (because my kids like that variety best!).
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I hope you love this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole Recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite holiday breakfast recipe? Share it with me below!
Kitchen Products I recommend:
Looking for even more delicious casserole style recipes? Check out a few of my favourites!
- Croissant French Toast Bake
- Easy Vegan Green Bean Casserole (Non-Vegan Option)
- Savoury Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Easy Roasted Potato Casserole
- Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
EASY NO-FAIL HOLIDAY RECIPES AND COOKING & BAKING TIPS
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Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this great brunch recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
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Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole
Recipe: Ingredients
- 2 tsp butter for greasing the pan
- 20 thick slices of French bread (approximately 1 and a half loaves of French bread)
- 12 eggs
- 4 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 apples cut into chunks
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Whipped cream or whipped topping of your choice for serving
- Maple Syrup for serving
Recipe: Instructions
- Grease a large rectangular baking pan (I use a lasagna casserole dish that's slightly larger than 9-inch by 13-inch) with butter.
- Arrange the slices of French bread in the baking dish so the tops are facing up.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and pour the egg mixture carefully over the bread in the casserole dish, making sure to moisten each piece completely.
- Add the chopped apples to the top, along with the pecans, pushing them down slightly into the cracks between the pieces of bread.
- Combine the white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the casserole.
- Bake immediately at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes, or cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill overnight.
- If you choose the overnight method, simply remove the plastic wrap and add the dish to a cold oven. Preheat the oven as normal and when it reaches 350 degrees, set your timer for 40 minutes and bake as normal. The casserole dish will preheat slowly with the oven and this will prevent the dish from cracking. Never place a cold casserole dish in a hot oven!!
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with whipped cream and maple syrup when serving.
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I have to admit I was hesitant to try this recipe with people saying it wasn’t cooked through after the time on recipe. I’m glad I went ahead and tried it anyway! It was delicious! I followed the directions exactly how printed using a larger lasagna-type dish. The only thing I did do differently was to add more bread; it took more slices for my size lasagna pan. Maybe this helped soak up more egg mixture. I also made a half recipe in a regular 8×8 dish (needed a little extra for the number of people I needed to serve). I did make it the night before allowing the bread to soak up the egg mixture. BOTH sizes turned out wonderful and I had no liquid in the bottom of the pan. Before I put in the oven, I did lightly push down on top of the bread to get it into the egg mixture more; not sure this was necessary. My son picked this out for his birthday brunch and he and everyone else said how much they loved it! I will be keeping this recipe and making again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Basically love this recipe. I cut the bread into cubes. Just seems to work better. I use gluten free bread, perhaps that’s why. I also use canned coconut milk, as we are dairy free. I like coconut milk better than half and half in all my recipes! I add extra apples. Thank you.
You’re welcome Julia!! Thanks for your feedback!🙂
I’d love to make this recipe, but it’s just my husband and I. Do you think I could either half the recipe or make it and freeze it?
Hi Teresa, this recipe is for 12 servings, you could try to make it for only 6.🙂
Mine also was a soggy mess even after baking another 20 minutes. I didn’t let it sit it overnight. Smelled amazing but ended up throwing it out rather than serve to friends in that condition. Disappointing. The bread comes almost to the top.of the pan in the video. My pan was more shallow than what was shown so I’m not sure what happened.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you – perhaps your oven temperature is off?
I cannot wait to give this a try. It looks bursting with flavor.
Mine also turned out very wet and soggy, I also cooked it at 12 minutes longer, Disappointed. I did drain most of the moisture off then flipped it over into another pan and broiled it. Not sure how you could stand the bread up in a smaller pan as instructed. Flavour was great but very sweet.
I’m wondering if this casserole is just as good if I omit the apples and nuts. in it. Although I would find that delicious I’m not sure about the kids.
Yes, it can be made without the add-ins for sure 🙂
I just made this and I don’t know what I did wrong! The bottom half of the bread is so soggy and gooey it’s not very good. I baked it for 40 minutes at 350 and followed all your instructions. Could my pan not be deep enough? Is the liquid too much? I didn’t have time to make this last night and let it soak so is that perhaps the problem?
Hmmm, sounds to me like your pan wasn’t shallow enough. A large, shallow pan is best for this recipe as it allows the liquid to come up close to the top of the pan (making sure it soaks all the bread). Soaking overnight also helps a LOT as the liquid soaks up into the whole pieces of bread as it soaks.
I made this and I let it sit all night and followed the recipe as written. Mine also turned out like there was too much liquid. It was good but turned out like bread pudding rather than French toast
This looks so great! Do you peel the apples before putting them into the casserole?
I hate peeling apples, so I don’t. But feel free too if you want!
Wow Chrissie, this apple casserole looks scrumptious! I can’t wait to try this recipe for my roommate and me for breakfast and probably desert! I love how easy to follow your recipes are and how all these ingredients are usually found in my fridge and pantry. Can’t wait to follow more of your posts for inspiration.
Thanks so much for your comment! I hope you love this casserole as much as we do!
Could this be made with regular bread instead of french bread?
I'm a breakfast person too.. and definitely can see myself making this!
That's great! I hope you enjoy it!
This is so pretty! Awesome idea for brunch.
Thanks so much! It's the perfect brunch solution 🙂
Yum – I would love to wake up to this! And it looks like a great one to make for a brunch party – so festive.
Thanks! It is a really yummy recipe!