Sourdough French Toast Casserole

This is the most delicious sourdough french toast. And it couldn’t be easier. Mix it up the night before you want to bake it and it feeds a crowd in the morning. The layers of cinnamon sugar the optional crumb topping – oh goodness, this is a favorite recipe. I know you’re going to love this perfect sourdough breakfast!

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Why You’ll Love Sourdough French Toast Casserole

• Overnight Recipe: This is a super simple overnight recipe. You’ll love how easy this sourdough french toast casserole is to prepare, and preparing it at night makes for a quick and easy breakfast.
• Day-old Bread: This recipe uses up day-old sourdough bread, making it the perfect recipe if you have a loaf of uneaten sourdough sitting around.
• No Syrup: With layers of cinnamon sugar and an optional crumb topping, there’s no need to serve with syrup. This french toast casserole is sweet and delicious!

Important Ingredients

• Crusty Sourdough Bread – I use a loaf of bread from my favorite sourdough artisan bread recipe. The loaf needs to be a day old for best results, and cut into 1-inch cubes.
• Unsalted Butter – I prefer baking with unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt in my recipes better.
• Brown Sugar – You can use either light or dark brown sugar. It is used in both the filling and optional streusel topping.
• Granulated Sugar – Sugar helps balance the flavors in this recipe and enhance the sweetness.
• Cinnamon –Cinnamon makes the filling so delicious. It is also used in the streusel topping.
• Salt – Including salt balances and enhances flavor.
• Eggs – This recipe uses 5 large eggs for the egg mixture.
• Heavy Cream and Milk – A combination of heavy cream and whole milk soak into the bread overnight and make it soft and delicious. If you are worried about it becoming soggy, or if you are planning to leave it longer than overnight, decrease the amount of milk.
• Vanilla Extract – I love how the vanilla combines with the cinnamon and sugar to create the perfect french toast flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour – I use flour in the streusel topping to help with the consistency of the topping.
• Chopped Pecans – These are optional for the streusel topping, but so delicious!

How to Make Sourdough French Toast Casserole

Prepare Casserole

The night before baking, cut day-old crusty sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread half of the bread in the bottom of a 10-12 inch skillet (or 9 by 13 inch baking dish).

Prepare the filling by mixing together softened butter with brown sugar, ground cinnamon and salt. Dollop most of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the cubed bread. Add the rest of the bread on top and dollop with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Prepare the egg mixture by whisking together eggs, heavy cream, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Pour over the cubed bread.

Cover the french toast with plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 hours.

Streusel Topping

Before baking your sourdough french toast casserole, you can add an optional (but super delicious!) streusel topping. To prepare the topping, mix together brown sugar, all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, cinnamon and optional chopped pecans. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the french toast casserole, right before baking.

Bake

After allowing the french toast sourdough casserole to soak overnight for 8-10 hours, bake in the oven at 350ºF for 40 minutes until bubbly and baked through. Serve warm and enjoy!

Substitutions

• Sourdough Bread: I love making this recipe with traditional crusty sourdough bread but it would also taste delicious with brioche or a regular sourdough sandwich loaf. Just make sure to dry out the bread before using it.
• Cream Cheese: If you love the flavor of cream cheese, this recipe tastes extra delicious with some dollops of cream cheese (about 2-4 oz) spread throughout the bread before pouring on the milk/cream mixture.
• Cinnamon Sugar Filling: If you prefer a less sweet french toast casserole, leave the cinnamon sugar filling out. Top your french toast casserole with maple syrup or powdered sugar if desired.
• Streusel Topping: I love the texture the streusel topping brings to the sourdough french toast casserole. My kids begged me to leave it in this recipe because they love it, but it’s also just as delicious without. Do what works for you!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover sourdough french toast casserole can be moved to a container and refrigerated for a couple of days. Reheat and enjoy.

If you liked this, you’ll also like…

• Sourdough Breakfast Casserole
• Sourdough Dutch Baby Pancake
• Homemade Kolache
• Sourdough Brioche
• Sourdough Discard Soft French Bread

Frequently Asked Questions