Cinnamon sugar french toast is baked rather than being griddled, which frees you up from having to stand at the stove flipping it. It takes minutes to assemble, and there's an overnight option!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Bread, Rolls, Muffins & Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked french toast casserole, cinnamon french toast bake, cinnamon french toast casserole, cinnamon sugar french toast, easy french toast bake
Servings: 6
Calories: 827kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
French Toast
½cupunsalted buttermelted
3large eggs
¾cupSilk CashewmilkI used Unsweetened](https://silk.com/products/unsweetened-cashewmilk; [Original
¼cupgranulated sugar
¼cuplight brown sugarpacked
2tablespoonsmolasseslight or dark okay
1tablespoonvanilla extract
2teaspoonscinnamon
about 12 slices breaddiced into 1-inch cubes (I used half white-whole wheat and half grainy whole-wheat; amount of bread will vary based on type and how fresh or soft it is)
Streusel
5tablespoonsunsalted butter
¼cupall-purpose flour
¼cuplight brown sugarpacked
2tablespoonsgranulated sugar
2teaspoonscinnamon
confectioners’ sugaroptional for garnishing
about 1/4 cup dried cranberriesoptional for garnishing
maple syrupoptional for serving
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; 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, sugars, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon and whisk to combine.
Add about 3/4 of the diced bread and toss lightly to coat. Bread pieces should all be coated and there should be very little to no coating mixture at the bottom of the bowl; add more bread as necessary to soak up remaining coating mixture (I used 12 slices but bread varies widely in absorbency level).
Turn bread out into baking dish, loosely laying it in; set aside.
Streusel:
To a medium bowl, add the butter, flour, sugars, cinnamon, and using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut butter into dry ingredients until small pebbles and crumbly bits form. Sometimes it takes awhile depending how cold the butter is.
Using your fingers or a spoon, evenly sprinkle the streusel over the bread.
If you’re using the make-ahead/overnight option, cover baking dish tightly with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to bake. I think you could safely make this up to about 16-18 hours in advance. When you’re ready to bake, bake as directed below, noting you may need to bake an extra few minutes because everything was cold going into the oven.
To bake:
Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes (I baked 33 minutes), or until streusel is set and appears to have dried out some. It’s a bit difficult to judge doneness because everything is already dark-colored, but you can try a small bite and if it seems too wet, moist, or under-done for your liking, bake longer. Baking times will range greatly based on type of bread used, baking dish used, climate, and oven variance.
Prior to serving, optional dust with confectioners’ sugar and dried cranberries. I didn’t need syrup, but use it as desired.
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 micro before serving.