Baked Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole Recipe

Today’s cream cheese French toast casserole is one of my favorite all-in-one, always crowd-pleasing, homerun breakfast recipes. You don’t need an excuse to make it—the dish tastes just as lovely on an ordinary Saturday morning as it does for Christmas brunch. If you’re not into cream cheese, simply leave it out. You could skip the crumb topping, too. Some readers even layer in 1 cup of fresh blueberries for a blueberries & cream version. You can also add mixed berries like we do in our berries & cream French toast.

Success Tips for French Toast Casserole

These success tips also apply to pumpkin French toast casserole and apple cider French toast, both delicious seasonal twists on today’s recipe.

  1. Quality Bread. Bread is the main ingredient in any baked french toast casserole, so don’t skimp here. Flimsy sliced bread won’t do you any favors and the casserole usually ends up tasting flat and soggy. Rather, go for a fancy beauty like challah or croissant bread. French toast made with challah or croissant bread tastes 4873% better than french toast made with any other bread. (I did the math.)
  2. Stale Bread. When you have the quality bread you need, let it sit out for a few hours to get a little stale. Like sausage & herb stuffing and bagel breakfast casserole, french toast casserole is best when the bread is somewhat stale.
  3. Overnight is Best. Assemble the bread/cream cheese/custard layers and then before baking it, let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. This time gives the crusty bread a chance to soak up the cinnamon-spiced egg custard. You can leave the prepared french toast casserole in the refrigerator anywhere from 3-4 hours to 24 hours. I find the longer the bread soaks, the tastier the casserole. So, go to sleep. It will be amazing.

  4. What to Serve with Baked Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

    The following suggestions can complete your brunch or breakfast meal, especially if you’re making this dish for Thanksgiving, Easter (along with these other favorite Easter brunch recipes!), mother’s day, father’s day, New Years Day, or any special morning.

    • Something savory such as quiche, frittata, this simple egg breakfast casserole, a hash brown breakfast skillet, a batch of breakfast egg muffins, or eggs benedict
    • Scrambled eggs or omelets
    • Fresh fruit salad or even this fresh berry quinoa salad
    • Bacon, breakfast sausage, or ham
    • Smoked salmon
    • Ham and potato casserole which can also be prepared ahead of time
    • A lunch/brunch dish such as strawberry bacon salad\

  5. Description

    This baked cream cheese french toast casserole is stuffed with sweet cream cheese and topped with a brown sugar crumble topping. It’s a wonderful recipe for a brunch or breakfast gathering because you can prep the casserole the night before.

    Ingredients


    • 1 (12-14 ounce) loaf french bread, sourdough bread, or challah*
    • 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
    • 2 Tablespoons (15g) confectioners’ sugar (do not leave out)
    • 3 teaspoons (15ml) pure vanilla extract, divided
    • 8 large eggs
    • 2 and 1/4 cups (540ml) whole milk
    • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 2/3 cup (133g) packed light brown sugar

    Crumb Topping


    • 1/3 cup (69g) packed light brown sugar
    • 1/3 cup (41g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
    • optional: maple syrup and/or confectioners’ sugar for topping

Instructions


  1. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or any 3-4 quart oven-safe dish (pictured) with nonstick spray. Slice then cut the bread into cubes, about 1 inch in size. Spread half of the cubes into the prepared baking pan.
  2. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the room temperature cream cheese on medium-high speed until completely smooth. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract until combined. Drop random spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture on top of the bread. Layer the remaining bread cubes on top of cream cheese. (I like to make sure some cream cheese is still exposed on top just for looks.) Set aside.
  3. Whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, brown sugar, and remaining vanilla together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours and up to 24 hours. Overnight is best.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Remove pan from the refrigerator.
  5. Prepare the crumb topping: Whisk the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold cubed butter with a pastry blender or two forks. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the soaked bread.

  1. Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown on top. I usually bake it for 45 minutes because I like it softer. Drizzle with optional maple syrup or dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.
  2. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.