Overnight Baked Strawberry French Toast

This crispy topped overnight French toast casserole combines custard soaked bread with strawberry jam and cream cheese for the ultimate overnight casserole. Perfect for the holidays or when you have overnight guests. It will be the star of your breakfast or brunch. The key to a French toast that’s crispy on top and not mushy is to use day old, slightly dried out bread and top it with brown sugar.

 

Make a Breakfast Casserole the Night Before

If you like crispy French toast and don’t want to do any work, then this is the French toast recipe for you. It only takes 10 minutes to prep this the night before. While you sleep, the custard will be absorbed by the dry bread and transform into a perfectly textured breakfast casserole for your next breakfast or brunch.

Brown sugar sprinkled on top gives this oven baked French toast a crispy texture along with adding just a bit of sweetness.

French toast has always been a favorite for me, but my family is a little picky, so years ago I found that they love this strawberry baked French toast. I first experimented with the recipe for Christmas morning one year when the girls were still living at home. I decided to try baking it using strawberry jam hoping to appeal to my picky french toast eaters.  I was fully prepared for at least half to go for Cheerios instead.

Much to my surprise, ALL, and I repeat, ALL of my picky french toast eaters loved this recipe, even my husband who wants savory for breakfast. Truly a Christmas miracle.  Since that first effort, I’ve added frozen blueberries along with blueberry jam, which is delicious, but our favorite version is still this one made with homemade strawberry jam.

Why Make Strawberry French Toast?

• It’s so easy and you can make it the night before
• No-fail recipe – you can’t mess it up
• Cream cheese gives it a richness without a lot of sugar
• Everyone can eat at the same time
• You can sleep in!

For those occasions when you need an overnight breakfast casserole, the kind that you put together the night before and then just pop in the oven when you get up, this is a no fail recipe. It’s especially nice for holiday mornings when you have better things to do then make breakfast. While it’s hard to beat a brie and sausage overnight casserole, this recipe is a little sweet and would go great with some million dollar bacon and eggs.

The Best Bread for an Overnight Casserole

You can use almost any type of bread for baked French toast, but a loaf of French bread is my favorite. I like it because it has texture so it won’t get too mushy.  Whatever bread you choose, let it sit all day on the counter in the air so that it dries out, or if you forgot, cut it into pieces and put it in the oven on 250º for a few minutes to dry it out a little. When the bread is dry it will absorb more of the yummy custard.

Just a Few Ingredients for Oven Baked French Toast

French Bread – you want to be sure it is dry, too fresh and it will be mushy.

Cream cheese – regular or low fat is fine, it adds richness to every bite.

Strawberry Jam – strawberry is my favorite but any type will work, try raspberry or blueberry. Of course homemade jam is the best but if that’s not available, Stonewall Kitchen or Bonne Maman are my favorites.

Half-and-half – this is my favorite for quiche or breakfast casseroles, it has enough fat to give you a rich custard. You can make it even better by adding heavy cream, or lighten it up and use whole milk. Anything less will not work as well.

Brown sugar – this is sprinkled on top and gives it a wonderful crunch.

Pantry items – eggs, vanilla and cinnamon.

Quick Steps to Make Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast

Step 1: Create the base

Tear the bread into pieces and add half of them to a casserole dish. Top with cream cheese cubes and warmed jam and top with remaining bread.

Step 2: Add a custard

Whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla and cinnamon and pour the egg mixture over the bread and cream cheese layer.

Step 3: Make it crispy

Sprinkle with brown sugar, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Step 4: Bake

Remove from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes to get the top nice and crunchy.

While the bread soaked in custard is fabulous especially with a little cream cheese mixed in, our favorite part is the the crunchy sweet texture of the top from the brown sugar.  It’s just the perfect amount of sweetness so you don’t need to add anything extra.  It didn’t even need butter, perfect just out of the oven.

It’s also nice that you can assemble it in about 3 minutes the night before and it only takes about 30 minutes to bake.  It’s great for overnight guests when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.