With all the flavor of french toast and one of the South’s most beloved desserts, bread pudding, this recipe is worthy of any special holiday celebration or lazy weekend mornings. Sweet, and slightly decadent, French Toast Bread Pudding is a make-ahead dish that will have your loved ones running to the table even before the alarm clock goes off!
If I had to make one breakfast casserole recipe for the rest of my life, this would be it! French Toast Bread Pudding is full of all the wonderful warm flavors of french toast with the rich baked custard of bread pudding.
It’s the perfect make-ahead recipe to serve for breakfast or brunch especially if you’re entertaining. Or, make it at the end of a busy week and pop it in the oven on the last weekend morning. Serve it with a side of bacon, warm maple syrup, and some fruit and you’ve got a glorious start to the day!
Ingredients Needed
- Day-old bread
- Cream Cheese
- Eggs
- Milk
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Maple Syrup
- Melted Butter
Can This Recipe Be Made Ahead Of Time?
Yes, absolutely! As a matter of fact, that’s what I recommend. To make the recipe, all you need to do is assemble, store unbaked in the refrigerator overnight, then in the morning, bake it in the oven until it’s hot and golden brown.
PRO TIP: make sure to chill the casserole properly. The key is to let the bread soak up as much of the egg mixture as possible. A minimum of 4 hours is necessary but overnight is best.
What Is The Best Type Of Bread To Use For This Recipe?
For this casserole, I used dinner rolls that I had on hand but you can use almost any kind of bread. Keep in mind that the bread should be dried out or day-old. Here are a few suggestions:
- French Bread
- Croissants
- Bagels
- Cinnamon Bread
- Challah Bread
Add-ins To French Toast Bread Pudding
This recipe lends itself to all kinds of variations. It all depends on what you’re craving!
- add chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts for a bit of crunch.
- for a little sweetness, add golden raisins, dried cranberries, or cherries.
- take things to a whole new level by adding chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or caramel chips.
How To Store Leftovers
If you are lucky enough to have some French Toast Bread Pudding left over, you can store it in the refrigerator covered for up to 4 days.
What To Serve With French Toast Bread Pudding
- Fruit Salad
- Oven Cooked Bacon
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Waldorf Salad
- Peachy Rose Sangria
- Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits
Ingredients
- 8 “day old” dinner rolls or ½ loaf of french bread cut into 1 inch cubes
- ½ block of cream cheese (4 oz) – cubed
- 8 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cup half & half or whole milk
- 4 tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread half the bread cubes into dish.
- Sprinkle cream cheese over bread and layer with remaining bread cubes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and cinnamon.
- Add in maple syrup, vanilla, milk, and melted butter, whisking until well incorporated.
- Gently pour egg mixture over bread. Use a large spoon to press bread into egg mixture until covered.
- Cover dish with tin foil and place in refrigerator overnight.
- Remove foil and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until top of bread pudding is golden brown.
- Heat additional maple syrup until warm to serve with bread pudding.
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If I am adding pecans, when do I add them?
Hi, Donya;
I have saved dozens of your recipes and intend to try them once my second knee transplant heals sufficiently.
My question is: Rather than using maple syrup, could I use Date syrup? Date syrup is quite sweet and fairly thick. I actually prefer it over Maple syrup.
Hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer week-end.
– Carolyne.
Hey there Carolyne!
Thank you so much for your support, you’re so kind. Let me start by saying, I hope your surgery and recovery go well, I have no doubt you’ll be up and cooking again in no time. And as for your question, you can absolutely use date syrup instead of maple syrup. I actually think that would give the dish a really nice flavor. Thank you so very much for your support! I hope you have a speedy recovery after your knee transplant, let me know if you have any other questions!
~Donya
Would love to try the bread pudding recipe & am wondering how many cups of bread does it take total (if I don’t use rolls). thanks. Sandy
Hey Sandy,
Great question, thanks so much for reaching out! If you aren’t going to use rolls, you can substitute a loaf of brioche bread or Challah, really any kind of light and airy bread. You’ll want to use about 1-2 loaves of bread depending on the size of your pan, if you’re using an 9×13 it’s about a loaf and a half. Let me know how it goes, I hope you like it!
~Donya
Can you freeze it for later and still be good after reheated?
I’ve never frozen this casserole but it should work out just fine. I would thaw in the fridge then reheat.
Let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
I wanted bread pudding and I also wanted bread pudding for breakfast so I tried this recipe it was great I did not have Maple syrup but it was very good. This will be added to my favourite desserts as well as breakfast dish
This looks so good Donya! Next time we have tea you get to bring the casserole. ☺ Pinning!
Thanks friend! I'll bring the casserole and you bring a trifle, how about that?~Donya
YUM! Definitely saving this to make for the next Teachers Appreciation Breakfast or something! Love that it can be made the night before. Thanks!
Thank Joy! I love Treasure Box Tuesday and I hope the readers like this recipe.xo,~Donya
Yay, Donya! Your French Toast Bread Pudding will be featured at Treasure Box Tuesday this week (2/25)! ♥
Wow, you have had an eventful week! I can't think of a better way to celebrate the sunshine than this beautiful bread pudding. I really should make more bread puddings, they're just so darn good! Thanks for this recipe.
Thank Lea Ann for your sweet words. I am so thankful for how great things turned out! Hope you'll make this soon…it REALLY is easy and so yummy.
Could I make this if I only have 8 hours to soak it?
Hey there Andrea!
That’s a great question! The answer is yes, it turns out the best if you soak over night, but as long as it soaks for 4-6 hours it will still have that fantastic bread pudding texture. I hope this helps, let me know how it goes!
~Donya
In the recipe you call for 1/2 loaf of French bread. In the comments you say 1-2 loaves of bread, about 1 loaf and a half for a 9×13 pan. I will probably buy french bread because it dries out quickly. Should I use a half loaf or a loaf and a half? I am very anxious to try this recipe. I’m sure it will be just as good as your other recipes that I’ve tried!
Hey Carol.
It does appear a bit confusing. It all depends on how big the loaf is. I would use a 1/2 a large french bread loaf. Some of the other bread types are much smaller.
Let me know how things turn out!
~Donya
This was excellent! We had a bunch of extra buns left from the 4th and I was looking for a way to use them… so I made it with hot dog and hamburger buns. We don’t like soggy bread so I was skeptical. But this will be my Go-to for any morning the family and friends are here. THANK YOU!
Hey there!
My goodness, you’re so sweet! Thank you so much for your kind words! This recipe is one of my absolute favorites for using old buns; they soak up that egg mixture perfectly at night, and still get crispy on the top during the bake. Thank you so much for your support, I’m thrilled you enjoyed this recipe!
~Donya