Baked Bagel French Toast with Maple Glaze — Soft, chewy bagels make the best French toast! So easy, no flipping required, and tastes phenomenally good!!
French Toast Breakfast Casserole…With Bagels!
I’ve made my share of French toast. With Hawaiian bread, as French toast sticks, as muffins, with gingerbread, pumpkin, streusel topping, and peanut butter maple syrup.
But using bagels is a first and it won’t be the last. This fast, easy, no-flipping, no-stovetop-babysitting, baked French toast casserole is soft, chewy, moist, and tender.
It’s perfect for brunch or on a leisurely weekend. I made it over the weekend and wrapped up the leftovers in plastic wrap and had breakfasts ready for my daughter for the week.
I finished the dish with an easy whisk-together maple syrup glaze. It boosts the maple flavor even more, and adds a gooey, juicy, lusciousness to the French toast that’s more special than plain maple syrup.
Every bite of this French toast is like the sweet, soft, glaze-coated, perfect center bite of a cinnamon roll. It’s an easy, comfort food breakfast that’s guaranteed to be a hit.
What’s in Bagel French Toast Casserole?
To make this quick french toast casserole, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Maple syrup
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Bagels
- Confectioners’ sugar
How to Make Bagel French Toast Casserole
Whisk together the melted butter, eggs, milk, maple syrup, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Add the diced bagels and toss to coat.
Turn the mixture into a greased 11×7-inch baking dish. Bake until the center is set and has dried out some, taking care not to over bake as you want the French toast soft and moist.
Once the french toast breakfast casserole comes out of the oven, drizzle with maple glaze.
Can I Prep This Easy Baked French Toast the Night Before?
I haven’t tried this myself, so I can’t say for sure whether you can transform this into an overnight french toast casserole.
Tips for Making Baked French Toast Casserole
I used Thomas’ Limited Edition Maple French Toast Bagels. Making French toast with French toast-flavored bagels is perfect destiny. The bagels are soft, chewy, full of robust maple and cinnamon flavor, and they smell amazing.
Even in the sealed bag they made my cupboard smell like a bakery. If you can’t find this flavor, use cinnamon-swirl, cinnamon-raisin, or plain bagels.
You’re welcome to use lite or sugar-free maple syrup in this recipe if that’s what you prefer.
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Baked Bagel French Toast with Maple Glaze
Soft, chewy bagels make the best French toast! So easy, no flipping required, and tastes phenomenally good!!
Ingredients
French Toast
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk or cream (regular, soy, almond, cashew, etc.)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (lite or sugar-free okay)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or taste
- 5 Thomas’ Limited Edition Maple French Toast Bagels (or cinnamon-swirl, cinnamon-raisin, or plain, diced in 1-inch pieces
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- about 1/4 cup+ maple syrup (lite or sugar-free okay), adding additional as necessary for desired consistency
Instructions
French Toast:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a medium-large oval baker with cooking spray or grease and flour the baking dish. My baking dish measures about 11-inches by 7-inches. Alternatively, use a 9-inch square pan or a 9×13-inch pan noting that baking time will be reduced; set aside.
- To a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute. Wait momentarily so you don’t scramble the eggs.
- Add the eggs, milk, maple syrup, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and whisk to combine.
- Add the bagels and toss lightly to coat. Allow mixture to stand for about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, giving bagels time to soak up the coating.
- Turn mixture out into prepared baking dish, loosely laying it in. Drizzle any unabsorbed coating mixture over the bagels.
- Bake for about 35 minutes (start watching more closely at 30 minutes), or until center is set and has dried out some taking care not to overbake as you want the French toast soft and moist. The coating does not have to be bone dry on all pieces. If you’re having difficulty judging doneness, try a small bite and if it seems too wet, moist, or underdone for your liking, bake longer. French toast will firm up more as it cools. Baking times may vary widely based upon bagels used, baking dish used, climate, and oven variance.
- While French toast bakes, make the glaze.
Maple Glaze:
- To a medium bowl, add both ingredients and whisk until smooth. You may need to play with the sugar or maple syrup amounts slightly to achieve desired consistency.
- Remove French toast from oven, evenly drizzle with glaze, and serve immediately.
Notes
Storage: French toast is best fresh, but leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days and can be reheated gently in the microwave before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 445Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 212mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 1gSugar: 50gProtein: 5g
More Baked French Toast Recipes:
Overnight Caramel French Toast Casserole – EASY, soft, tender, and decadent French toast that’s coated in caramel sauce!! Assemble it the night before and wake up to an amazing breakfast or brunch that everyone will ADORE!!
Caramel Apple French Toast Casserole — An EASY recipe with a make-ahead overnight option so it’s perfect for weekend or holiday brunches!! Soft bread, juicy apples, and buttery streusel topping is pure DECADENT comfort food!!
Overnight Syrup-On-The-Bottom French Toast – Assemble it the night before and wake up to AMAZING French toast the next morning!! An EASY homemade syrup layer on the bottom with super SOFT challah bread on top!
Baked French Toast Muffins – French toast that’s baked in muffin cups is so much easier! No stovetop flipping needed!
Cinnamon-Sugar Streusel Baked French Toast — The perfect breakfast! No stovetop flipping and you can make it ahead of time!
Overnight Gingerbread French Toast Breakfast Bake – Easy, make-ahead French toast that’s perfect for winter weekends or Christmas morning! Easy, no-flipping-required recipe!
Post is brought to you by Thomas’. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own.
Really an awesome recipe, but I prefer to use maybe 3/4 as much sugar and maple syrup in the french toast and make maybe 1/2 the glaze.
Thanks for the 5 star review and if you can get away with cutting the sugar/syrup back and everyone still enjoys it, that’s great!
Y’all. This is the stuff dreams are made out of. I accidentally bought some Hawaiian flavored bagels. They didn’t go well with eggs, at all. So I looked up a recipe to use those bagels and this is now probably my favorite dessert breakfast EVER! Everyone loved it. I don’t think you can make any variation of french toast better than this. For the glaze, I did 2/3 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/3 cup of syrup, and it was the perfect amount and consistency.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this came in handy for your accidental Hawaiian bagels (that is something I would do)! I am glad this is your new favorite dessert breakfast EVER!
Hi! Can I make this up the night before or will it get too soggy?
Thanks, Lisa
I have only made it as written so I can’t say for sure. If the bagels are staler/firmer, probably ok. If they’re real soft, they could get mushy.
This was SOOO delicious & easy to make. I thought it would be too sweet, but it was perfect. Especially with a side of bacon.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was delish and easy and turned out just the right level of sweetness!
I was able to bake it in the oven in my crock. After baking, I let it cool a bit and then put the crock into the electric holder to keep it nice and warm at work. It was a big hit and the aroma filled the office. I made it again for Christmas for family and everyone loved it. Thanks for such an easy and great recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you were able to do this in your crock pot and that it was well loved!
Would this work to make in a slow cooker? I need to take it to a breakfast at work, and have no way to keep it warm.
I would say make it as written and then transfer it into your slow cooker to keep it warm. It won’t be the prettiest looking recipe of all times but it will taste good (and warm).
SO yummy! Like dangerously delicious. I used cinnamon raisin bagels, added a few blueberries, but did not make the sugar glaze. It was sweet enough with just a little more syrup on top.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was dangerously delicious for you! And that you didn’t even need the glaze!
I make this a couple times a month. The family absolutely loves it. One trick I’ve found to make it easier, is placing the cut up bagels in a ziplock bag. Then pour the wet ingredients in the bag. Toss the bag a few times, and all the pieces are coated evenly. After you dump the pieces in the baking dish, squeeze the bag to get the rest of the liquid out.
Thanks for the 5 star review and thanks for sharing your tips and tricks!
Delicious!
Thanks for the five star review!
Made this today. It is a keeper! My family devoured it! I usually make stuffed French Toast at Christmastime using canned apples for pie. I plan to use this recipe this year instead and will add the apples. It will be amazing! Thank you for making our lives easier.
Thanks for the five star review, glad The recipe will make your life easier, and that’s very nice to hear that you will be making this for your Christmas celebration!
I made this today for a bunch of teen girls after a sleepover. It was a tremendous hit. I had a varity of day old bagels from work – cinnamon raisin, pumpkin, blueberry, cinnamon and oatmeal. I cut them up, mixed them together and followed the rest of the recipe, skipping only the glaze. It was fabulous. BONUS: Same day prep and no overnight refrigeration. A keeper for sure.
Same day prep and no overnight refrigeration is what I love about this too! Glad this was a keeper with the teenage girls and that you got to use up the odds and ends bagels!
Still loving this recipe! Now I’m planning freezer meals for my SIL, who is caring for my ailing MIL. Has anyone tried prepping and freezing prior to baking?
I personally have not so I can’t really give any guidance. In general bred freezers pretty well, but with the egg involved, not sure how that would work.
This was an absolute hit in my home. It will be a brunch must from now on. What a way to use bagels. I used raisin cinnamon bagels and generic cinnamon spices . Since I didn’t have unsalted butter I just used regular butter and didn’t add salt.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Would it be okay to leave it in the fridge overnight?
I haven’t personally tried but I think you’ll be fine.
O did this the night before and then baked it in the morning. I did use a bit more milk but delish!
I know you published this over a year ago, but my husband came home last week with a ton of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl mini-bagels! I gave some packages away but we kept a couple. I wanted to do something special and delish and searched for a recipe! I stumbled on yours! I just made this after we came in from church! Oomph, it is absolutely DELISH and YUMMY!!! I did not do the glaze it was great as is just out of the oven!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And I love it when a recipe can help you use up odds and ends!
Made this multiple times. Well received. This weekend I’m going to attempt with some pumpkin spiced syrup.
Thanks for making this multiple times and I’m glad it came out great for you! The pumpkin spiced syrup sounds like a great twist!
I made this and it was amazing! I wouldn’t have changed a thing! thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with no changes necessary!
Ooh, ALL of your french toast recipes look great! I’ve got to try one of them sometime!
This is just what I’ve been looking for, I’m hosting a brunch in a couple of weeks and I can already smell it baking! Thank you for sharing and by the way, your photos are mouth watering, I can almost taste it! :)
I made this for brunch this morning to thank my bridesmaids for flying in to help me shop for my wedding dress. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And have fun dress shopping!!
Yes, yes, yes!!! Bagels make the best french toast casseroles. They are usually the only thing I use in mine because of the texture!!! And that maple glaze on top…I would totally be slurping some as I drizzled it on top!!! Pinned!!!
Thanks for pinning and that’s awesome you’re already on board with bagels in French toast casseroles. It was news to me and now I’m sold! :)
OMG. Bagels in a french toast casserole?!? What a *BRILLIANT* idea! Seriously…this one deserves a standing ovation.
Turning bagels into french toast? Averie, you are a GENIUS. I can never get through the whole stack of them before they start to go stale… And then I just end up baking way too many bagel chips. (But since they’re my favorite part of Chex mix and I always pick them out, I suppose there are worse things in life. But I digress.) Your daughter is so lucky to have you as a mom and get to eat all kinds of delicious things for breakfast! :)
The bagel chips in Chex mix are the first thing I go for too!
Killer recipe! It really looks like a mix of a monkey bread…casserole..bagel…and french toast. Plus im sure others. And the glaze is truly the icing on the…er…not cake..icing on the french toast ;) hehe
Wow, baked bagel French toast… this is insanely awesome!
Wow! This looks so great! It looks perfectly sweet and chewy!
I do love a good chew so bagels seem like the perfect thing to use for this!
Bagels?? Wow!! Never thought of using it.. This is perfect for those lazy weekend mornings! It looks fantastic!
What can be used to substitute eggs? Vegan,.
Love the quick and simple recipe but not adding eggs. Maybe Vegg, egg replacer, applesauce, chia seeds/flax. Suggestions
donuts yes, french bread yes, texas toast, yes but bagels? Never thought to do that and yet its such a fantastic idea!
I love french toast, but I seem to ALWAYS end up over cooking them, or they’re too eggy or whatever. This method of french toast is SUCH an exciting prospect!
Not soggy, not eggy, and super easy! Enjoy!
I miss bagels so much, but my ass doesn’t!
LOL you’re the best :)
I love french toast casseroles like this. They are much easier than regular french toast but with so much flavor. In my family we traditionally have a french toast casserole on Easter morning!
Perfect holiday brunch recipe for sure!
BAGEL French Toast?! You smarty pants, you. This looks award-winning. Pinned!
YUM!! I will be putting this on the menu for Easter breakfast for SURE! I might add some of the peanut butter syrup from https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/03/french-toast-with-peanut-butter-maple-syrup.html
because why not add peanut butter?!
Beautiful pictures too!
Thank you for reminding me about my own syrup! :) That stuff is amazing and would be wonderful on this bagel bake!
Ooh, yum. Sometimes I find that baked french toast is a little too soggy for my taste, but I bet using bagels would take care of that problem.
I know exactly the sog-factor you’re talking about and many French toast is just too soggy for me as well but this…oh wow. The best chewiness ever! You’ll love the texture!
You are genius! This looks amazing… tomorrow we are supposed to be snowed in and I’m totally going to get some bagels before the storm to make this in the morning! Yum!! :)
Good luck with the snow! And if you try this, please LMK how it goes!
Now I want a huge bagel or a big serving of French toast! This looks absolutely marvelous.
Oh wow. My mouth is watering right now. Lucky me that I have extra bagels sitting in the fridge.
You literally read my mind. Guess what I made last week??!!! But mine did not work out (too much egg; like a scrambled bagel casserole). This looks SO GOOD! It’s the perfect way to use up those extra bagels! Pinned, of course!
Thanks for pinning and sorry your attempt at making something like this didn’t go so well. I have learned with French toast recipes of any kind, easy does it with the eggs because otherwise it turns into baked eggs. Trust me, been there! ugh.
Averie, this is insane in the BEST way!!!! I don’t even have words…. pinned!
Thanks for pinning and I saw your bananas foster French toast yesterday and that is right up my alley. Lovvvvve bananas foster so much!
That glaze won me over! I always have some left over bagels when I make them because they go stale so quickly. I will have to do this next time…
Homemade bagels get stale soooo fast, totally agree! This would be a perfect way to use them!
WOW. Bagel French Toast. I think I’m in love.
Your baked french toast recipes are pure comfort food and using bagels is such a great idea–they have such a chewy, hearty texture. This looks like it would smell (and taste) amazing!! This kind of has a cinnamon roll/monkey bread vibe with that yummy glaze over the top….it’s like the best of all breakfast treats in one dish!
cinnamon roll/monkey bread vibe = funny you say that because I am making a recipe over the weekend that’s going to be one or the other or sort of both of those things in one :)
I love a good baked french toast. LOVE the bagel twist…and the maple glaze!! PINNED :)
Thanks for pinning and the bagels added the best chewiness and texture to this!
A french toast-i-fied bagel?!? SAY WAH?!!? Clearly this needs to happen to my life…and that maple? It makes the Canadian inside of me very happy ;) Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and it would be a perfect cozy breakfast for a cold Canadian morning!
YUM!!!! this is like having dessert for breakfast…then you get all day to work it off. Love maple anything. Of course you know I’m probably going to throw in some raisins to help with my addiction. Can’t wait to try this.
like having dessert for breakfast…then you get all day to work it off. <---- kind of like eating the big Thanksgiving meal at lunch rather than dinner so you have the rest of the day to at least work it off, right :) And I love raisins too but it seems no one else does! They'd be GREAT in this!
Baked French toast is the best, because again, no standing over the stove nonsense! You can actually sit down with your family and eat with them instead of feeling like a short order cook.
But using bagels? Wow, that is some inspiration. I love it! Never even occurred to me, and now I know I’ve been missing out. Genius!
They were SO good in the French toast. I mean such a new texture that I had never had before in a French toast and just loved it!
Oh my. This recipe is a complete winner in my book. We have a grocery store nearby that makes fresh bagels daily including a french toast cinnamon bagel. I might need to make these this weekend. The house will be flood with the smells of cinnamon and maple. I can’t wait.
That is amazing you have a local store that makes those kind of bagels, fresh and daily. Wow, now THAT is nice! The scent while this bakes is just beyond.all.amazing.
I never had something like that before. But my mouth is watering already… :( I need sweet stuff… haha