Overnight Monkey Bread French Toast Casserole

Easy French Toast Casserole

The reason I love a baked overnight french toast casserole is because I can assemble it the day before. Home girl here doesn’t have the patience for morning baking or frying or anything more than pouring coffee, so with this recipe I can make it all the night before and then just pop it into the oven the morning of.

As you may or may not know, we love monkey bread in this house. Really, the topping is what we love most (I mean hello, melted butter and brown sugar!) and that’s what gets poured onto this casserole before you bake it. When you bake it it gets gooey and rich, almost like a caramel roll.

It’s a great fancy breakfast or brunch, or serve it with whipped cream for dessert! It’s the best breakfast casserole, kind of like bread pudding but also like baked french toast with a monkey bread twist!

Ingredients Needed

• Bread or Dinner Rolls – When you’re making french toast bake, you want to use semi-stale bread. I like using a crustier bread to help soak up the egg mixture. I used dinner rolls but you can use any crusty bread (or challah or brioche).
• Eggs – This is crucial when making any french toast. They create the soak along with the milk to make the gooey center.
• Milk – You can use any kind of milk or nondairy milk.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar for the casserole and brown sugar for the topping
• Cinnamon – It wouldn’t have that monkey bread taste without the cinnamon!
• Butter – I used unsalted butter, this is for the topping.

How To Make French Toast Casserole

• Spray a 9×13” or 8×11” baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut rolls or bread into bite size pieces (about 6 per roll) and spread in pan.
• Whisk eggs, milk, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a large measuring cup or medium sized bowl. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes in pan. Press down with your hands to soak all of the bread pieces in the egg mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the french toast from the refrigerator and allow to sit while oven is preheating. Stir brown sugar and pinch of salt into the melted butter, stirring until they mix well. Pour evenly over the top of the french toast, spreading with the back of a spoon to coat the entire pan.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges seem golden brown. The center will be bubbly and the brown sugar mixture will be somewhat liquidy. It will set as it cools. Serve warm, no syrup needed!