If you love French toast, you’ve got to try this apple French toast casserole recipe. It packs in all the deliciousness of your classic French toast in a comforting casserole format and teams it up with subtle fall flavors from the apples and spices.
It’s warm, cozy, and perfect for potlucks, pajama parties, and just when you want to whip up a delicious breakfast treat for the family.
We’re big French toast lovers, and while we’re all obsessed with my overnight pecan French toast and banana chocolate caramel French toast, this casserole version is getting closer to the top spots on the favorites list.
Casserole dishes are my go-to on days when I’m too lazy to spend a lot of time cooking, and this apple French toast bake is quickly becoming my family’s favorite. All I need is a few minutes to quickly prep the casserole, refrigerate it overnight, and then pop it in the oven the next day! Easy peasy!
Why You’ll Love This Apple French Toast Casserole Recipe
- Perfect for fall: Loaded with apples and delicious spices, this breakfast casserole is perfect for fall.
- Easy to make: Making it is super easy. You can also prep it in advance and get it ready the next morning for a quick breakfast.
- Satisfying: Eggs, bread, apples, and lots of deliciousness, this French toast breakfast casserole truly is a wholesome and filling breakfast option.
- Customizable: You’ll have lots of flexibility when it comes to the bread, fillings, and mix-ins too, which is great!
Ingredients
- Bread: I love using Challah or French bread here. You’ll need to slice them about 1 inch thick.
- Apple pie filling: To cut down the prep time, I used canned apple pie filling instead of fresh apples.
- Eggs: Eggs lend the apple French toast casserole lots of moisture, and also help the ingredients stick to each other.
- Milk: I would recommend using whole milk to make the casserole creamy and rich.
- Vanilla: For its rich, delicious sweetness.
- Spices: To add some extra fall flavor and deliciousness, I used a teeny bit of cinnamon and nutmeg powder too. It's also used in the topping!
- Butter: For the rich, delicious glaze. Use salted butter for best results.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar has that beautiful caramel-like flavor which works perfectly for the topping. Use white sugar if you don’t have brown sugar.
- Corn syrup: For that nice bit of shine to the topping.
- Mix-ins: I also added some pecans and raisins to the topping for added texture.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Bread swap: Don’t have French or Challah bread? Feel free to use your classic white bread, whole wheat bread, Rye bread, sourdough, or even multigrain bread for this recipe.
- Fruit swap: Try different variations to this sweet breakfast casserole by using a different fruit filling. Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, cherries, peaches, lemons, and pears are all great choices.
- Gluten-free: Swap the classic bread for gluten-free bread, and the casserole should turn out just as delicious.
How to Make Apple French Toast Casserole
Ready with all the ingredients? Now grease your 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray and get started.
Step 1: Arrange slices. Layer the bread slices in the greased pan.
Step 2: Add the apples. Pour some of the apple pie mixture over it.
Step 3: Add more bread. Follow up the apple filling with another layer of sliced bread.
Step 4: Add egg mixture and refrigerate. Whisk the eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and milk in a bowl. Pour this evenly over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Step 5: Mix butter and brown sugar. Combine brown sugar and butter in a bowl. Use a fork to mix together.
Step 6: Add rest of topping ingredients. Add the spices, mix-ins, and corn syrup to the butter mixture.
Step 7: Add topping. Spread this coarse topping all over the casserole.
Step 8: Bake and enjoy. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get the casserole out of the refrigerator a few minutes before. Bake for 45 minutes and allow it to cool down slightly before you serve.
Hint: If necessary, cut the slices in half so that there’s a full layer of bread covering the bottom.
If you're looking for a different French toast option, explore my favorite French toast recipes for some inspiration.
Storage
- Storing: Your leftover apple cinnamon French toast casserole can be refrigerated for 2-3 days. Move it to an airtight container or cover the baking dish with cling wrap to keep it from drying up while it is in there.
- Reheating: The best way to reheat the casserole is to pop it in the microwave on medium heat for 30-60-second intervals until it is heated through.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious apple pie French toast casserole is a riot of flavors and textures and can be enjoyed on its own as a hearty and comforting breakfast.
If you really want to go the extra mile, top it with a drizzle of maple syrup, butter pecan syrup, or just dust some icing sugar on the top. Fresh whipped cream can also be a great topping to go on this casserole dish. Don't stop there check out more pancake toppings which will also work well for this recipe too!
You can also check out my detailed post about sides for French toast to find some more inspiration.
Recipe Tips
- Use fresh: If you don’t have apple pie filling, you can also use fresh apples and make your own apple pie filling. Combine sliced tart and sweet apples in a pan along with cornstarch, sugar, spices, and butter until they soften.
- Overnight it: Assemble the casserole the night before and refrigerate it overnight, or at least for 4 hours. Doing this helps the bread soak up all the moisture and gets the casserole to have the perfect texture when it is baked.
- Bread-wise: If you’re using fresh bread, you can skip the overnight soaking, and just let the casserole sit for a few minutes in the refrigerator. Since fresh bread is softer, letting it sit overnight is not absolutely necessary.
- Bake uncovered: This gives the topping a chance to caramelize. Trust me, the results will be worth it. It makes the topping just out of this world.
Recipe FAQs
You can! In fact, stale bread or bread that has lost a fair bit of its moisture willingly soaks up the egg and the milk, which makes the casserole much better in terms of texture.
The easiest way to check if the casserole has cooked to perfection is to insert a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it’s ready!
Overnight Apple French Toast Video
More Delicious Breakfast Recipes
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Apple Pie French Toast Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
French Toast Bake
- 1 loaf bread french, cinnamon raisin, or egg (challah), 1-inch thick slices
- 1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling or any other fruit filling, I love to open the second can of pie filling and spread it on top of the bread to create a second apple layer if you so desire.
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- 1 cup cold butter cubed
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 - 1 ½ cups pecans coarsely chopped, optional
- 2 tablespoon corn syrup
- ½ cup raisins or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Slice bread into 1 inch thick slices. Set aside.
- Prepare a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray.
- Place slices in your prepared pan. Cut slices in half where necessary so that there is one full layer of bread covering the bottom of the pan.
- Open your can of pie filling and spread it across the top of the bread layer as evenly as possible. Sprinkle with raisins if desired.
- Top pie filling with remaining bread. Again, cut slices in half to create a bread layer that overlaps the bottom.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Pour over bread and apples.
- Adjust bread and egg mixture to try and make sure bread is coated as best you can.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The Next Day
- Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Place brown sugar and butter in a small bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans, raisins and corn syrup.
- Spread out all over top of French toast.
- Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Serve with maple syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruit or any of our favorite sides to serve with french toast.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published February 2020. It has been updated for content and new images.
Tammie Scheib says
I'm making this for 35 people and was going to double it in a large pan should I double the baking time. Thank you
Karin and Ken says
Good morning! May I ask how large a pan you want to use? Honestly I would make two casseroles using two 13x9 inch pans. The problem that comes up with larger pans is the casserole will cook from the outside in towards the middle of the pan. By the time the center cooks the edge tends to become very well done and burn or look burnt. Does that make sense? I hope I’ve helped. If you decide to try it in a larger pan put tinfoil around the edge once it’s cooked to try and protect it and it’s cooked when you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean. I don’t recommend just doubling cook time. Take care. This dish is delicious. For 35 people you may just need to triple it lol All the best. Karin