Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole with Crumb Topping

Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole with Crumb Topping is the best way to use all of that leftover bread lying around the kitchen. Cinnamon and maple syrup will make this a new family favorite. French toast in casserole form allows you to feed a large family on a budget. This is the best way to have breakfast prepped ahead of time.

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I believe that this is mainly referring to breakfast pastries. Baked breakfast goods have to be an essential part of your diet, right? That’s what I tell myself anyhow. Things like Pumpkin Muffins with Eggnog Glaze or Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Bread are not things that I would want to go without. What really separates “desserts” and “breakfast pastries” is a mystery. But, if it is socially acceptable to eat something resembling cake at 8AM with my morning coffee, then who am I to disagree?

Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole with Crumb Topping is not only delicious but it’s very practical. I hate wasting food and refuse to throw things away. No matter what, I will find a way to use every scrap of food that we’ve bought. One thing that we seem to have in excess very often is bread. Every household can relate to having so much bread that you aren’t able to use it all. Bread is best fresh so you buy more the following week and it just piles up until it inevitably becomes moldy. It’s a vicious cycle that wastes so much bread.

French toast is a family favorite. Who doesn’t love a hearty and moist piece of French toast smothered in butter and syrup? It seemed like the best possible way to use up a stockpile of old bread. And so my French Toast Breakfast Casserole was born. This is a versatile recipe with so many different options to make this dish your own.

This recipe came to fruition during the summer months one year. We host a lot of summertime BBQs. I’m sure that I’m not alone in having about 4 bags worth of leftover hotdog rolls and hamburger buns by the end of the party. I really love the texture of the leftover rolls and buns in this recipe and it’s such a great way to make a brand new dish out of something you have lying around the kitchen. Actually, buns and rolls are some of my favorite bread to use when making Quick and Easy 5-Minute Garlic Bread as well.

This breakfast casserole is a huge time saver. It’s very quick and easy to throw together and just toss into the oven. The crumb topping is fast and simple and comes together in just a few minutes. It comes out perfect every time. I moisten my crumb topping mixture with vegetable oil. It gets the job done quickly for this time saving dish.

Not only does this recipe save time for breakfast but also money. Using leftover bread instead of just tossing it is very economical and the other ingredients in this recipe are probably things that you always have on hand. This casserole makes a large amount of food ideal to feed a crowd. Or to prepare breakfast that your family can enjoy on the go for a few days.

What kind of bread should I use?

Leftover bread is perfect for this Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole with Crumb Topping. The sky is really the limit when it comes to what kind of bread you can use. Obviously something with garlic or onion wouldn’t be ideal for this sweet and savory dish but there are so many excellent options. I’ve even made this several times with leftover panettone around the holidays and that’s one of my favorite things to add into this dish.

-Italian bread (with or without sesame seeds)
-Hotdog rolls
-Hamburger buns
-White bread
-Ciabatta
-French bread
-Cinnamon raisin bread
-Cinnamon raisin or plain bagels
-Plain donuts
-Panettone
-Croissants

And as a bonus, please enjoy this adorable picture of handsome helper Dylan tearing leftover bread into 2-inch pieces for this French toast casserole.

How should I store the casserole? How long is it good for?

You will want to store your breakfast casserole in an airtight Tupperware container or cover tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Store at room temperature for up to five days.

How should I serve Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole?

This casserole is excellent served right at room temperature straight out of its Tupperware container. After baking and allowing to cool, cut this into 12-15 squares. You may also love this dish if you microwave your piece for 30 seconds and serve it with a little butter and your favorite maple or blueberry syrup on the side.

If you’re making a massive breakfast or brunch spread and serving other food options, Seasoned Simple Skillet Breakfast Potatoes are always popular in my house. It’s one of those easy recipes where the measurements for every seasoning are the exact same so the potatoes come out fool-proof and perfect every time. One of my family’s all-time favorite breakfast options is a Hazelnut Nutella Fruit Dip that I make. Serve with strawberries and bananas and you will have everyone begging for that super easy, 4-ingredient recipe.

Can this be made or prepared ahead of time?

Absolutely! You can make and bake this casserole the night before serving so it’s ready to go the next morning. It is perfect at room temperature so this is usually what I end up doing. I bake it the night prior and then my family can just grab pieces for the next few mornings.

If you want to prepare this the night before and wait until the morning until baking, that’s perfectly fine too. You can prep everything for this dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Store in the refrigerator overnight. This allows extra time for the egg mixture to soak into all of the bread so it will only enhance the flavor of your casserole. Pull it out of the refrigerator the next morning and bake uncovered, per usual.

What else could I add to my French Toast Casserole?

The beauty of this recipe is that there are so many ways to make it uniquely your own. There are so many options for add-ins to only make this casserole more delicious. For the different fruits, you could go with fresh or frozen.

-Blueberries
-Raspberries
-Bananas
-Raisins
-Craisins
-Blackberries
-Apple
-Walnuts (You could add walnuts in with your bread or you could add walnuts to the crumb topping.)
-Blueberry or other flavored syrups
-Dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the day old bread by tearing it apart into roughly 2-inch pieces. In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, whole milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Beat the egg mixture with a whisk or fork until fully combined and all of the eggs are broken apart.

Add the torn pieces of the day old bread into the egg mixture. Continue to stir everything gently with a large mixing spoon until the egg mixture completely coats the bread. Take care to not overmix. Add the bread and egg mixture into a pan sprayed 13×9 baking pan.

Prepare the crumb topping in a medium mixing bowl. Add old fashioned oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until combined. Slowly add in the vegetable oil and stir to completely coat the crumb topping mixture. Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over the top of the French Toast Breakfast Casserole.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you feel that your crumb topping is beginning to burn, you may cover the top of the baking pan loosely with aluminum foil. Allow to cool completely and slice into 12-15 squares. You may serve the casserole at room temperature. You may also microwave a slice for 30 seconds and serve with a side of butter and syrup.

Comment below and let me know how your French Toast Casserole turned out. What is your favorite thing to have with your French toast? As always, thank you tremendously for supporting Spice and Sugar Mama 🙂

Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole with Crumb Topping

Dominique Collins-Bloomfield

Easy French Toast Breakfast Casserole with Crumb Topping is the best way to use all of that leftover bread lying around the kitchen. Cinnamon and maple syrup will make this a new family favorite. French toast in casserole form allows you to feed a large family on a budget. This is the best way to have breakfast prepped ahead of time.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, French

Ingredients

  

• 32 Ounces day old bread
• 8 Large eggs
• 1½ Cup whole milk
• ⅓ Cup maple syrup
• 1½ Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ Teaspoon salt

Crumb Topping

• 1½ Cups old fashioned oats
• ¼ Cup flour
• ¼ Cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• ¼ Teaspoon salt
• ¾ Cup vegetable oil

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the day old bread by tearing it apart into roughly 2-inch pieces. In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, whole milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Beat the egg mixture with a whisk or fork until fully combined and all of the eggs are broken apart.
• Add the torn pieces of the day old bread into the egg mixture. Continue to stir everything gently with a large mixing spoon until the egg mixture completely coats the bread. Take care to not overmix. Add the bread and egg mixture into a pan sprayed 13×9 baking pan.
• Prepare the crumb topping in a medium mixing bowl. Add old fashioned oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until combined. Slowly add in the vegetable oil and stir to completely coat the crumb topping mixture. Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over the top of the French Toast Breakfast Casserole.
• Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you feel that your crumb topping is beginning to burn, you may cover the top of the baking pan loosely with aluminum foil. Allow to cool completely and slice into 12-15 squares. You may serve the casserole at room temperature. You may also microwave a slice for 30 seconds and serve with a side of butter and syrup.

Notes

For the day old bread, you can use whatever you have on hand that is leftover. There is a wide variety of breads that would be excellent for this casserole including: bagels, croissants, hotdog rolls, hamburger buns, Italian bread, panettone and more.