Apple French Toast Casserole Recipe

This Cinnamon Apple French Toast Casserole recipe is perfect for getting your whole family going in the morning this time of year. Plus, it can be made ahead to save you time in the morning!

This post is sponsored by Minnesota Chicken and Egg. All opinions are 100% my own, of course!

Can we talk about how scrumptious this Apple French Toast Casserole is?

It’s got all the warm, comforting flavors that you’re looking for in a fall breakfast: tart-sweet apples, spicy cinnamon, and toasty pecans.

You do the majority of the work the night before, pop it into the refrigerator, and then bake it off the next morning!

Okay, let me show you how to make this overnight French toast casserole!

Here’s a video tutorial in case you learn better that way. The written tutorial and printable recipe are below!

For the Apples:

First, you’ll want to prep your apples.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Apple Ingredients:

• Fresh Apples: When selecting your apples, you want ones that hold up well while baking and are tart-sweet. I used Gala apples, but Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples should work as well! If you love tart apples, you could even use Granny Smith.
• Butter: This aids in cooking the apples. I use salted grass-fed butter. You can use either cold butter or room-temperature – it doesn’t matter!
• Cinnamon: While you’re cooking the apples down, why not add a little cinnamon to enhance the cozy flavors?!
• Brown Sugar: This is optional, but a little extra sweetness is nice. Brown sugar adds a nice caramel flavor.

Begin by peeling your apples. This isn’t strictly necessary – if you adore apple peels, leave them on!

Dice them into bite-sized pieces.

Add the chopped apples to a medium skillet along with the butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

Cook the apple mixture over medium heat, stirring often, until the apples soften, about 10-15 minutes. Watch out so they don’t burn!

Keep in mind that the apples won’t soften much in the oven, so you’ll want to cook them to *nearly* the doneness that you prefer.

Set aside to cool a bit while you prep the rest of the apple French toast bake.

NOTE: If you don’t mind crisp apples, you can skip the cooking step entirely. 

For the Custard Base:

Next, you want to make the French toast/custard base. Here’s what you’ll need:

Custard Base Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of bread: I have used brioche (here’s my sourdough brioche recipe), homemade sourdough sandwich bread, and a loaf of store-bought sourdough bread. My favorite was actually the store bought sourdough bread. But any medium-soft bread should work well, even a soft French bread. The homemade sourdough bread definitely had more flavor, but it made for a less homogenous casserole. A really crusty bread will result in a drier, firmer casserole. Look for a loaf that’s cut into fairly thick slices.
• 7 large eggs: I’ll discuss the eggs more in a minute, but this is what really brings the custard base together and lends a good amount of protein to this breakfast!
• Milk: I like to use whole milk, but low-fat milk should work in a pinch.
• Cream: I’m sure you could substitute more milk if you prefer, but I love the richness that the cream adds!
• Maple Syrup: French toast typically isn’t super sweet on its own – you have to add extra sweetener to taste! So the base of this casserole is just lightly sweetened to mimic that flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: Please use pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavoring!
• Cinnamon: You can keep it simple with just cinnamon, or you could experiment by using an apple pie spice blend or a pumpkin spice blend!
• Salt: Just a bit of salt helps to draw out all of the other flavors. I use unrefined sea salt, so you may wish to reduce the amount slightly if you use regular table salt.

Let’s chat eggs for a minute:

We eat a lot of eggs in this house! I love that they provide an easy way to get essential nutrients and protein into our meals.

And did you know that eggs contain nutrients that are important for brain and eye health?

• Choline is particularly critical during pregnancy and infancy for brain development, but it remains an important nutrient throughout your life.
• Lutein and Zeaxanthin are antioxidants found in egg yolks. They’re important for eye health in several ways, and can help protect children’s eyes from harmful blue light from monitors and screens.

Besides the awesome nutrients, eggs also provide a good amount of high-quality protein, which is so important for building and maintaining muscle mass. Protein also helps to keep you feeling full longer!

Minnesota’s egg farming families want to help you Kick-Start A NEW-tritious School Year with eggs! Enter to win a grocery gift card to use for the ingredients to build healthy meals. Follow this link to enter through October 1.

For more information on Minnesota egg farming, egg nutrition and cooking, and to get delicious recipe ideas, follow the Minnesota Chicken and Egg on Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you so much to Minnesota Chicken and Egg for sponsoring this post!

 

Okay, let’s get back to making the French toast casserole!

Butter a 13×9-inch casserole dish. 

I’ve used both a regular 13×9, and a deep dish one. I personally prefer the deep dish pan, but the regular one works as well!

 

Slice the bread into cubes that are about 3/4-inch wide.

By the way, it’s totally fine to use stale bread here. In fact, it’s a great way to use it up!

Place half of the bread cubes into the prepared baking dish. 

Sprinkle half of the cooked apples on top.

Repeat with the remaining bread and apples.

Making the Custard:

Now it’s time to make the custard!

Crack the eggs into a large bowl or measuring cup and give them a good whisk.

Pour the remaining ingredients on top, and whisk until the custard mixture is well combined.

Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread and apples in the pan.

Cover the custard/bread mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

One of the reasons I love using a deep dish baking pan is you can fit the lid on top! If you use a regular 13×9-inch dish, you’ll probably need to use plastic wrap instead since the ingredients will be mounded in the pan.

For the Streusel Topping:

The next morning, pull the casserole out the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 Celsius). Place the oven rack in the lower third of your oven.

While you’re waiting for the oven to preheat, make the streusel topping. Here’s what you’ll need:

Streusel Ingredients:

• Flour: I like to use organic, unbleached all-purpose flour, but you can use whatever you have on hand!
• Brown Sugar: I’m sure you could also use granulated sugar, but the brown sugar lends such a lovely flavor to the topping.
• Cinnamon: Again, you could substitute apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice if you prefer.
• Butter: You want the butter to be at room temperature to easily mix with the other ingredients. Please use salted butter!
• Pecans: You’ll want to chop the pecans coarsely. There’s no need to toast them since they’ll get toasty as they bake.

Making the streusel topping is a simple process:

1. Place the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small to medium bowl.
2. Whisk with a fork to combine well.
3. Add the butter and begin to incorporate with the fork.
4. Using the fork or your fingers, mix until the butter is well incorporated and the mixture comes together.

Add the pecans and give it a good stir.

Note: You could also make this up the night before, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Pull it out of the fridge about half an hour before baking to take the chill off.

Evenly sprinkle the streusel on top of the casserole ingredients in the pan.

This is the best part according to my daughter!

Baking Time:

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the casserole is deep golden brown and set to your liking.

If you like a softer French toast casserole, bake just until set. And if you prefer it more firm, bake for a few minutes longer.

To check for doneness, insert a knife near the center of the casserole and pull it back a bit to see how it’s baking up.

I didn’t find it necessary, but you can always tent with aluminum foil if the top is getting too brown before the casserole is set.

Place the baked French toast casserole on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

Serving:

You can serve the casserole straight from the pan, and it will be a lovely breakfast treat!

Or, if you prefer a little extra sweetness, you can drizzle some maple syrup on top.

I personally love to pour some heavy cream on top when serving. It makes this hearty breakfast casserole extra decadent!

Or you can serve with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

This would be the perfect way to serve it for Christmas brunch!

 

To make this into a caramel apple French toast casserole, simply serve with a caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade) instead of maple syrup.

You could even serve with warm apple cider to add even more apple flavor to this amazing breakfast!

This would be the perfect holiday breakfast. Imagine waking up to this baked French toast casserole on Thanksgiving, Halloween, or Christmas morning!

Storing:

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

To reheat, pour some milk or cream over the casserole and bake at 350 until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Psssst: My kids and I also enjoy it cold, so it would be a great option for busy school mornings if you bake it up on the weekend.

 

So that’s how to make this delicious baked apple French toast casserole! Make sure to check out the recipes below for more inspiration:

More Egg Breakfast Recipes:

• Sourdough Dutch Baby
• Egg Muffin Cups
• How to Make Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

More Apple Recipes:

• Baked Cinnamon Apples
• Spice Apple Tea Latte
• Maple Apple Pecan Bread

Thank you again to Minnesota Chicken and Egg for sponsoring this post! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway here!

Recipe Card: