With just five ingredients and a hands-off baking method, this French Toast Casserole with apples is special enough for holidays and easy enough for weekdays. I love to make this with apples (any type!) and use up leftover bread as needed, too. So yum!
French Toast Casserole with Apples
For a long while now, I’ve been making a French Toast Casserole with mixed berries that my family loves, and I recently discovered it’s similarly delicious with apples as the fruit. This is one of my favorite holiday breakfasts, but it’s also easy enough to make on a regular weekend—or even to make ahead and enjoy throughout the week.
You can really use any kind of bread you prefer here, even bread left over from making kids sandwiches. And once it’s baked, you can top it with plain yogurt and maple syrup, just yogurt, or even whipped cream.
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients you need to have on hand to make this easy breakfast recipe to share with your family.
- Bread (sandwich or artisanal, stale is better): You can use any type of bread you like here, whether whole grain, sour dough, white bread, or another type. Both sandwich bread and more artisanal bread types both work. If the bread is a little stale, that’s a bit better. You can use a cinnamon raisin bread if you want more flavor.
- Apple: I used Jazz apples in the recipe when I photographed it here, but you can use almost any type of apple including Granny Smith. Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, and Cosmic Crisp. I leave the skin of the apples on since they soften nicely as the casserole bakes.
- Eggs: Eggs are essential to adding richness to this recipe and for helping the casserole to adhere together.
- Milk or heavy cream: You can use regular whole milk or heavy cream. Or if needed, you can use canned full-fat coconut milk or another thicker dairy-free milk your family prefers.
- Vanilla extract: I like to add vanilla extract to add more flavor to this baked French Toast.
- Cinnamon: Apple and cinnamon is a classic flavor combination, so we add it here.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make this baked French Toast recipe so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the end of this post for the full recipe including the amounts and the timing.
- Preheat the oven and grease an 8×8-inch baking pan or casserole dish. Add the eggs, milk or cream, vanilla, and cinnamon to a bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Add the bread and apples to the pan.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and stir very well to coat the bread.
- Cover with foil and bake. Serve warm with maple syrup, yogurt, whipped cream, or other desired toppings.
How to Store
Store the leftover casserole (or you can make the whole thing ahead of time) wrapped in foil or transferred to an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Warm to serve.
Best Tips for Success
- Serve warm, topped with maple syrup, yogurt, or whipped cream.
- Use sandwich bread, artisanal bread, or French bread. It’s a little better texture-wise if the bread is somewhat stale.
- Save crusts cut off from the kids’ sandwiches in a freezer bag until you have enough to make this recipe.
- Use fresh or frozen apples as you like.
- Double the recipe to bake in a 9×13-inch pan. It may need 4-6 minutes longer to bake through in the center.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy milk or canned coconut milk instead of the milk or cream.
- Egg-free: Use 1 ¼ cups ripe bananas pureed in the blender instead of eggs.
- Gluten-free: Use a favorite gluten-free bread.
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I’d love to hear your feedback on this post, so please rate and comment below!
French Toast Casserole with Apples
Ingredients
- 6 cups diced bread (sandwich or artisanal, stale is better)
- 1 cup diced apple
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk or heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8×8-inch baking pan (metal works best here) with nonstick spray or butter.
- Add the eggs, milk or cream, vanilla, and cinnamon to a bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Add the bread and apples to the pan.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and stir very well to coat the bread. You want it to all look very moist.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Serve warm with maple syrup, yogurt, whipped cream, or other desired toppings.
Notes
- Store leftovers wrapped in foil or transferred to an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Warm to serve.
- Serve warm, topped with maple syrup, yogurt, or whipped cream.
- Use sandwich bread, artisanal bread, or French bread. It’s a little better texture-wise if the bread is somewhat stale.
- Save crusts cut off from the kids’ sandwiches in a freezer bag until you have enough to make this recipe.
- Use fresh or frozen fruit as you like.
- Double the recipe to bake in a 9×13-inch pan. It may need 4-6 minutes longer to bake through in the center.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy milk or canned coconut milk instead of the milk or cream.
- Egg-free: Use 1 ¼ cups ripe bananas pureed in the blender instead of eggs.
- Gluten-free: Use a favorite gluten-free bread.
Just a heads up I think the conversion to metric for the bread isn’t right, that a LOT of bread and I googled bread cubes grams per cup and it says 44g, so it would come out to 264 grams and not 1420 like the recipe says.
Thanks, I will check it!
If you use frozen bread crumbs (saved from ends per your suggestion!) do we thaw first in the fridge or just bake frozen?
Usually if you take them out of the freezer, then gather the rest of the ingredients and assemble, they’ll be partially frozen by the time it goes into the oven which is plenty
Would this freeze ok?
Will this freeze well?
Sure