Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Bake
Prepped overnight, this incredible baked creme brûlée french toast is one of the easiest and most delicious breakfasts ever.
Every year around Christmas time, I usually share a new holiday breakfast recipe perfect for a special breakfast. Emphasis on special. It’s very important that we all understand and know: ain’t nobody eating creme brûlée French toast on a Tuesday morning in my house.
We stick with our usual breakfast suspects during the week and save the special stuff…for special days.
I jumped the gun a bit and shared this baked Chocolate German Pancake a few weeks ago – it would be fabulous for Christmas morning, too.
But the real breakfast winner this holiday season is this overnight baked creme brûlée French toast.
Holy moly. It’s amazing.
And this is coming from someone who isn’t the biggest French toast fan on the planet. It ranks kind of low on my list of breakfast loves, but apparently, if you make it taste like creme brûlée, I’m going to be fighting young children for the leftovers.
Instead of doing full slices of bread, I opted to cut the bread into cubes and make more of a “bake” out of it instead of using full slices of bread. My main motive? Reduce the soggy factor.
I’m vehemently against soggy bread of all sorts (I’m so very sorry bread pudding – you’ll probably never have a place on my blog), but I love caramelized, golden pieces of bread lightly soaked in a sweet milk mixture.
Yes, that I like.
Keeping the crusts on the bread and cutting it into cubes helps this French toast bake reach absolute perfection.
As it bakes, the simple brown sugar syrup sitting under the bread cooks and bubbles and creates an absolutely magical creme brûlée crust for the tender French toast.
No extra syrup necessary, we serve this deliciousness with sweetened whipped cream and fresh raspberries and strawberries. The combo is spectacular.
The super simple overnight prep makes this holiday (or maybe lazy Saturday?) breakfast option a dream, especially since you take it out of the refrigerator and pop it in the oven as it preheats.
I will warn you, a 9X13-pan of this succulent French toast was pushing the limits on serving sizes for our family. Granted, I have five hungry boys (and two hungry girls!) to feed, but I’ve started doubling this for our family.
There are some leftovers doing it this way, but those easily get gobbled up later (ahem: lunch).
Creme brûlée is hands down one of my favorite desserts of all time, and this French toast version just makes me (and my whole family) so happy. This upcoming Christmas morning, I’m planning on serving it with these tasty Christmas Baked Eggs.
If you are looking for a special, fun breakfast for any of the upcoming holidays, let this be the one! You won’t be disappointed.
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Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter
- ¾ cup (159 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, can sub corn syrup or pancake syrup
- 6 to 8 1-inch thick slices French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (see picture in the post – also, see note)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Sweetened whipped cream + fresh strawberries/raspberries, for serving
Instructions
- Add butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 1-2 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Stir to combine. (This step can be done in a pan on the stove.)
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- Spread the brown sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan and arrange the bread cubes in a single layer over the top.
- In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and salt.
- Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.
- Cover the pan and refrigerate overnight (8-10 hours).
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator, uncover, and place in the cold oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven reaches temperature, bake for 30-35 minutes, until the bread is golden and the caramelly syrup is bubbling (alternately, if you want the golden syrupy goodness on top, the french toast can be baked for 20 minutes, then using a large, flat spatula, flip the bread pieces and bake for another 10-15 minutes).
- Serve immediately with sweetened whipped cream and fresh raspberries or strawberries.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe at Allrecipes
Oh I just found the way to pin it lol so that’s done. Thanks again for the delicious recipe!
Hi I don’t see a way to save this to Pinterest, would it be ok if I did? I made this last year for our Christmas breakfast and LOVED it, we had no left overs cause everyone went back for seconds, so we’re doing it again this year.
This sounds amazing, could I make a couple of days ahead and freeze?
Would it come out the same?
Hi Brianna – I haven’t tried freezing. Sorry! I’m guessing it would work just based on ingredients but I don’t know for sure.
If the oven has already been used for other dishes and is still warm, and I don’t have time to let the oven get cold again, what do you suggest for cooking time? Thanks!!!
I’d probably do about the same time…check 5-10 min early just to be safe
I am so excited to have found your blog, Mel. Your recipes look right up my alley 🙂 The French toast bake was my first recipe to try. I was a tad uncertain at first only because I’ve never made a recipe like this before and it seemed too easy to taste as good as the reviews made it out to be. However, it was delicious! I did flip it halfway through and it turn out perfectly. I’m reheating it for breakfast this morning.
Next up, Dan Dan noodles!
Thanks, Andrea! I hope you love any of the other recipes you try!
I have a question for you. I made a bunch of these and froze them yesterday as Christmas gifts. I did a test run and loved it but melted the brown sugar and butter in the oven as it was warming up to save time but it was difficult to melt the sugar. So when I made them, I melted the butter on the stove in a pan and it was still difficult to see when the sugars were melted to I brought it to a boil, just barely, just to make sure. As I was cooling, it formed a caramel in the bottom of the pan, not hard crack, it was still soft and moved some on the pan. Here is my question….will this melt in the oven again? I don’t ever make candy, so I don’t know the limits of sugars. Any advice is helpful!
Hey Beth, that’s a good question. In “Mel terms” when sugar is melted and boiled (like making caramel or candy), the higher the temperature, the harder the sugar will be when cooled, which you know. It can melt again, but it will still be hard when cooled because of the first boiling/melting stage. Does that make sense? So in the case of your gifts (great idea, by the way!), yes, the sugar will melt again…and depending on how long you let it boil, it might take longer to melt and/or might not be quite as soft in the French toast, but if it was only a few minutes of simmering, it should be fine!
Oh thank you. Yes I made 9 of them and if I go by my list, I have about 20 more. Going to have to cut the list. It is a very affordable gift though. It worked out to about $1.61 in cost! I am so glad it will melt again. Relieved. Nothing worse than a nasty tasting gift. I have had a few. lol
I prepped this last night so that my husband and his buddies would have a good breakfast the next morning while hanging Christmas lights. I had a frozen loaf of brioche, increased the liquid and added vanilla bean paste (for flavor and vanilla beann specks). This recipe was so easy and made my morning even easier as I just had to pop it in the oven. Definitely keeping this recipe to make for Christmas morning.
This is wonderful! I made it for Christmas Eve breakfast, have made it for my father-in-law’s birthday(because he liked it so much) and am making it again to take to him for desert tomorrow night 🙂 What is the absolute minimum time it needs to set in the refrigerator before cooking? I want to know if I have to make it ahead tonight or if I can make it in the morning and refrigerate for two to four hours before baking. Thank you for this delicious recipe !
I’ve only ever refrigerated it overnight, so I’m not sure how it would work out only made ahead a couple hours. I’d suggest making it per the recipe, if you can, so that it turns out delicious!
Made this. Loved it! Easy, very tasty! I would say it feeds about 3 people.
I’ve been experimenting with sourdough starters and whole wheat dough, which means every now and then I end up with bricks. This recipe was the save for one of those bricks! My family loved the treat of this dessert breakfast and I loved not wasting ingredients and effort! Thanks Mel!
Awesome!
This was a hit at our house on Christmas morning – definitely a decadent treat for special occasions!
Have you ever done the caramelized topping on top as well as on bottom and let it sit overnight. Just curious if it would be good or not…
I haven’t tried that…
We had this for Christmas breakfast and it was delicious and easy…double win! This is definitely going to be our new Christmas tradition (we had done cinnamon rolls in the past but it always led to way more work than I wanted to do on Christmas Eve). Thank you!
I made this for Christmas brunch along with your Christmas eggs, and got so many compliments! Thank you for making me look good, and everything taste amazing!
Like so many others, I also chose to make this for my family Christmas morning. I knew it would be tough to enjoy unwrapping gifts, get kids ready for Christmas church services, and crank out a nice warm Christmas-worthy breakfast. This did the trick. I prepped the ingredients Christmas Eve (it was a cinch), and when the kids woke up, I popped it in the oven. Once gifts were opened, I pulled it out, rinsed some berries and topped it with whipped topping (yes, our store was sold out of whipping cream). So easy! I will say that I fretted about the BREAD to use only because I wasn’t able to do my usual pre-Christmas shop-a-thon to get all the best ingredients for my meal plan before everything was picked over. I didn’t want to risk using the bakery “french bread” loaf, but I’m curious if others tried that route. To my surprise, I found a nice Sara Lee Artesano commercial bread that worked out lovely. Since it was already sliced, all I had to do was cube a few stacks of slices. Easy! I did feel like it might be missing some cinnamon. I think I’ll sprinkle the top with cinnamon the next time I make this because I will be making this again. Thanks, Mel. Happy New Year!
I agree — although not traditional “Creme brulee” flavored—- it was SCREAMING for cinnamon and that’s how I make it now! Love it!
I made this Christmas morning using a baguette and it’s now my new holiday breakfast treat. I was reluctant to replace my usual overnight Egg Nog French Toast recipe, but I was strong 😉 and changed it up anyway—and I am so happy that I did. I actually prefer my baked french toast a little more moist, so next time, I’ll increase the liquid part by half.
Sidenote: I purchased the very last baguette in my grocery store and was so happy to find it that I didn’t read the label. Turns out it was sourdough. I was disappointed when I realized that, but I made the dish anyway, counting on the high sugar content to mask the sourness of the bread. And it did. And even if it hadn’t, I’m pretty sure the dish would have been just as much of a hit.
Your recipes rock, Miss Mel. I’m making banana bread this morning and wanted to try a new recipe. And then I remembered that you’re my favorite recipe source and found one here. From now on and forever, I’m checking your website FIRST for a specific recipe.
I love that sourdough worked out just as well in this, Lorene! And thanks for having confidence in the recipes I post…that makes my day!
Great recipe. Made it for Christmas morning with a little changed. We had leftover Kings Hawaiian dinner rolls from our Christmas Eve party and instead of milk and vanilla used Eggnog.
Looking forward to making this again next weekend.
Sounds delicious!!
We had this yesterday morning and it was absolutely delicious! Easy to prepare the night before too. I did flip it half way through baking and loved how the caramel sauce surrounded the bread pieces. I’m not a soggy bread fan either, so I did 1 1/2 times recipe for a large 10×15 inch Pyrex dish. Between this and the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake of yours that we made for our Christmas Eve family gathering, you have given us some tasty new Christmas traditions. Thank you, Mel! Blessings to you and yours for the New Year!
Happy New Year, Becky! So glad you loved this and thanks for including your modifications!
This was so good. I will make this over and over again! I flipped my pieces over after 20 mins and it was great. There are chewy caramel parts, crispy parts and creamy parts. It is the best breakfast bake ever. And Mel’s right, one pan Really isn’t enough! I’m a conservative eater, and I couldn’t stop eating it! Thank you!!!
So happy you loved it, Gen! Thanks for reporting back. 🙂
Holy cow, Mel, this is an amazing recipe, everyone just loved it! Definitely a new favourite special breakfast here. Thank you.
So happy to hear that, Fiona!
A winner for our Christmas breakfast this morning. Forgot to uncover it, forgot the raspberries, forgot the whipped cream (hectic Christmas morning). It was still delicious!
Sounds like it’s foolproof! Yay!
This made for a delicious Christmas Eve breakfast. Since I used oven toasted French bread (to mimic staleness), the top was crispy, which my husband loved. Thanks so much.
Oh yum!
The three most fabulous things about this dish: it is prepped the night before, it is simple to make and it is delicious!! We just had it for breakfast.
Using slightly stale French bread resulted in crispy edges of bread with gooey caramel.
Flipping the pieces just before serving put the caramel on the top without me having to turn the entire thing during cooking because I’m lazy about things like that.
Thanks for another winner Melanie. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Those are all the reasons I love it, too! 🙂
Hi Mel! I’m so excited to make this for Christmas morning! I’m just wondering- how far ahead do you buy the bread? I don’t want to go to the store on Christmas Eve- does it need to be fresh bread? Thank you for your wonderful recipes- they are always a hit at our house (daily!). Merry Christmas to you and your cute family!!
You could definitely use 1 or 2-day old bread, especially since it soaks in the milk liquid.
Hi Mel.
Thanks for all of your fabulous, yummy recipes. What type of 6X9 pan did you use? Would it be OK to use a Pyrex dish?
Yes, you could use a glass Pyrex baking pan.
This looks lovely! Thank you! I’m going to make this for our Christmas breakfast. Quick question. If I’m doubling the recipe and baking 2 pans of it at the same time, do I increase the baking time?
Nope, I just bake it like normal.
So, one of the benefits of nursing a newborn baby is that I need so.many.calories!
That is why I had this on a Friday morning. Not the whole pan, obv…
It was really tasty and surprisingly really tastes like a creme brulee!
Thank you for a great recipe!
Could you use texas toast?
Could definitely try!
I’ve been making a recipe nearly identical to this one for years. It calls for Texas toast, 5 eggs, and 1 1/2 c. half and half and it cooks in an 18×13 pan (jelly roll pan). It’s so good!
Ok Mel … the question I have wondered for years following your blog… How the heck do you stay so slim?!?! Creme brule for breakfast?!?! This may be our Christmas breakfast too. Sounds wonderful.
Haha, well, I’m certainly not eating this for breakfast every morning. 🙂 AND, I’m probably not quite as slim as you think. I always tell people I exercise to support my eating habit! 🙂
Yum! I made this to surprise that sweet boy who married me (many moons ago) for a “just because” breakfast. 🙂 It was a hit! Thank you for all you do. I love your recipes. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
So happy you made it and enjoyed it, Jana! You are a sweet wife. 🙂
Annnnnd now I know for sure what we’re having Christmas morning!
Did you use your homemade French bread for this?
I have one time when I made it…and I’ve also used a more artisan-style loaf from Costco.
Hello,
Firstly I have to say I love your posts and am so very thankful for your recipes.
I live in Australia and need a little help with the bread used in the recipe. When you say French bread, do you mean Brioche? Or are you referring to a particular loaf that is sold in the US? Can you recommend what bread to use and how much is actually needed? I work in grams but if you can tell me how many ounces of cubed bread you use that would be ever so helpful ( I can easily convert it to grams).
I am wanting to do a trial before making on Christmas morning.
Thank you,
Warm regards from Australia,
Angela
Hi Angela – brioche would work just fine. Honestly, any kind of sturdy bread that can be cubed without disintegrating or falling apart would work. You just need enough cubes to cover the bottom of a 9X13-inch pan in a single layer. I’m sorry I don’t have the weight in ounces…
This is very similar to my fave french toast bake. yum!
Do you think it could be cooked in the slow cooker on christmas morning, perhaps on high for a couple of hours?
Certainly worth a try!
thanks!
Would it affect taste/texture if this was refrigerated for closer to 24hours??
I think that should be ok…I probably wouldn’t go over 24 hours though.
I am excited to try this! I recently made your cinnamon roll recipe under “The Best” section and it overflowed my mixer. Have you ever made it by half-ing the ingredients?
Yes, works great!
Thank you! This is going to be my Christmas morning so much easier.
Overnight French toasts are one of my favorite breakfasts! This one looks amazing!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Oh Mel thank you! This is going to be the first year in sooo long that we won’t be spending Christmas morning with our grandchildren. Their dad works at a church and when the subject of just having a church service or having the whole kit and caboodle regular Sunday came up, people went up in arms saying they had to have it ALL. That meant daddy would be gone for most of the morning and into the afternoon on Christmas. Our church is electing to throw open the doors and pack us all in for one glorious service, but I digress. My daughter also teaches Sunday school so she will be busy getting an almost 10 year old, a 5 year old and a 7 month old out of the house not having been able to open presents. When we were talking about when to celebrate we decided on Christmas eve as she will only have to work after late afternoon. I told her I would supply the food because she wanted to do it at her house so the kidlets could go on to bed, and we could relax together which is a rarity. With the ease of this recipe I can make up a double recipe last thing before heading over, leaving one at my house. When she gets up with the baby Christmas morning she can pop it into that cold oven and they will all feel like they are still having Christmas breakfast with Grandmama and Grandpa. We will have the other one at our house feeling the love of our dear ones. I don’t even need to try this recipe out before hand either. I have yet to have a problem with any of your recipes sweet Mel. To make it that much better… one of the 10 yr old, 5 yr old, and my daughters favorite desserts is Creme Brulee!
Thanks, TerriSue! You are such a sweet mom/grandma. I’m sure your daughter will appreciate that – sounds like they have a hectic Christmas weekend. I’m sure your efforts to help will go very far!
Thank you, thank you for posting this!! I have been hoping you would ever since you did your instagram story about it … with your cute kiddos. I often make french toast for Christmas morning because my children really like it… although I, like you, don’t LOVE it as my favorite thing. Last year we had the Christmas Eggs and they were a hit. So I can’t wait to add this to my Christmas morning.. Over Night Creme brûlée French toast for the Christmas morning win!! Merry Christmas Mel and gang!!
You just saved my Christmas morning! I typically make the more traditional French toast bake with the cream cheese pieces throughout which my husband and I love but a couple of my pickier kids have been (not to subtly) hinting that they would really prefer something without cream cheese and I’ve been searching high and low for something that would still fit the bill of put it together the night before and just bake in the morning that everyone would enjoy…. They are going to LOVE this!! Thank you thank you!!!
This looks delicious and I def shared it on my socials! Thanks for the recipe!!!
OMG, This is a perfect combination, you nailed it.
I make something similar to this and it’s a genius move to cube the bread! Can’t wait to try it this way!
Please tell me that I don’t have to flip it over to have it be delicious (?)
It’s delicious either way!
Hi Mel! You mentioned that you now double the recipe for your family, do you use two separate pans to maintain the single layer or do you double in one pan? This sounds wonderful….very similar to one I make (I add sliced Granny Smith apples before adding bread). Merry Christmas and thank you for feeding the blog world well!!
Yes, I double it in two 9X13-inch pans. Merry Christmas to you, too! 🙂
I am wondering if challah would work for this recipe? This looks amazing!!
Yes, I bet it would be amazing!
We love crime brûlée French Toast but have always made it with whole slices of Texas toast on a jelly roll pan. I’m excited to try this version.
Just want to be sure, we should pour the brown sugar mixture on the bottom of the pan before laying on the bread. The directions didn’t include that step.
Sorry about that! Yes, the brown sugar mixture goes in the pan and the bread goes on top. I just edited the recipe. Again, sorry!
Hi Mel,
It might just be me, but I think your recipe is missing a step. What do you do with the sugars you dissolved? Do you mix it into the egss/cream mixture? or do you add it to the bread separately? I love your recipes and really appreciate your willingness to share them! Merry Christmas!
Sorry, Beth! The brown sugar mixture goes on the bottom of the pan before the bread. I just fixed the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!@
Love this..gonna do this in AZ this weekend while out visiting my son, daughter in law and my Queen Creek grand babies
Maybe you forgot the step where you tell us what to do with the carmel-y stuff?
I sure did…sorry about that! I just fixed the recipe. 🙂