Apple French Toast Casserole Recipe

This apple french toast casserole will have your house smelling amazing and your tummy feeling very, very pleased with itself.

I love good comfort food, and this baked french toast casserole definitely fits that description! Comfort food in all its cinnamon-apple-y goodness! While this isn’t necessarily something you’d want to make on an average weekday morning, it’s definitely a great breakfast casserole for special occasions. Holidays, birthdays, or any fun and festive, autumn or winter event!

Classic French Toast

Typically, french toast is fried, slice by slice. It’s first dipped into an egg and milk bath and then immediately placed into a hot, oiled skillet and cooked until you have a golden brown edge. But turning your french toast into a casserole allows you to make french toast with far less fat since you are baking instead of frying. An apple French toast bake is a much healthier option, to be sure!

Brunch Menu Ideas

If you’re looking to put together a nice spread for a brunch menu, this is the perfect addition to that menu! Everyone loves the combination of apples and cinnamon and french toast is always a brunch-time winner. Add to that the fact that this is super easy to serve, and it quickly becomes the perfect brunch menu casserole!

Family Breakfast

This apple french toast casserole is a fabulous family-style breakfast. It serves 8 people or 4 really hungry people. The crust came out nice and crunchy and the center was soft and chewy. The apples were marvelously soft and so very tasty. It’s the perfect autumn or winter family breakfast!

French Toast Without Vanilla

French toast doesn’t have to include the addition of vanilla or vanilla extract. In fact, it’s quite tasty without it. I personally use it, but vanilla extract has gotten so expensive these days, that I’m making this dish without it, more and more. The flavor is not harmed by the lack of vanilla, so feel free to skip it if you don’t have any.

FAQs

Here are some commonly asked questions about French toast casserole.

What Is The Best Bread For French Toast Casserole?

If you aren’t concerned with healthier eating, Challah makes excellent french toast, as does brioche bread.

For those who want to eat clean and healthy, any whole grain bread without added sugar or other unwanted ingredients will work well here.

Why Is My French Toast Casserole Soggy?

There are typically two reasons for soggy French toast casserole. And most often, it’s a combination of these two things that do it.

1. Your bread is too thin or not dense enough to hold all the liquid called for in the recipe.
2. You used too much milk/liquid.

I haven’t had that problem with this recipe. So if this happens to you, it’s most likely due to the type of bread you used.

If using white bread, you may want to back off of the liquid by about a half cup.

Why Do You Add Milk To French Toast?

Milk is used, not only to soften the bread but also to help create more of the custard-like consistency that is customary in French toast.

How Do You Know When French Toast Is Done?

You can tell that your French toast casserole is done when 2 things happen.

1. The color of the bread is more of a golden brown. The amount of color change that happens will depend heavily on the type of bread used. For that reason, you also want to check for the next telltale sign.
2. The center of the casserole is no longer soggy. This goes back to that custard texture created between the milk and egg that I mentioned above.

Recipe Variations

Believe it or not, this dish is delicious when it’s sprinkled with pre-cooked bacon bits. It’s a heady, sweet-savory combination. Some types of sausage will work too. But those are often better served on the side.

About The Ingredients

Apples

Tart, green apples – Chopped into small pieces. You can use sweet apples if you prefer them. Fujis are excellent in this, as are pink ladies.

Oil – Any light-flavored oil you like to use.

Ground cinnamon – Just plain cinnamon. Not cinnamon sugar.

Pure vanilla extract – Use the real stuff, not vanilla flavoring.

Pure maple syrup – Here again, use the real stuff. Pancake syrup is not the same.

Water – Use good, filtered water you feel comfortable drinking.

Toast

Unsweetened almond milk – You can also use oat milk or dairy milk. But almond milk gives a nice flavor.

Large eggs – Chilled or room temperature.

Ground allspice

Whole grain bread – No added sugar. Slices cut in half.

Topping

Maple syrup – The real stuff.

How To Make Apple French Toast Casserole

Apples:

• In a medium pot, combine the apples, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla (not the maple syrup).
• Over low to medium heat, cook for approximately 15-20 minutes until the apples are soft.

Toast:

• Whisk together the almond milk, eggs, and allspice in a large mixing bowl.
• In a large baking dish (I used two 9×13 dishes) pour a small amount of the milk mixture into the bottom of the baking dish(s).
• Set the bread, cut side down, in your baking dish. Pour the apples over the bread slices and work them in between the slices of bread.
• Pour the rest of the liquid over the top of the casserole, covering everything as evenly as possible.
• Bake at 350 F. for about 50-60 minutes.
• If the bread is not browned very well on top, switch your oven to broil for the last minute or two of baking.
• Top with maple syrup and serve.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container and keep this in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezing

Slices can be frozen if you put a small piece of parchment paper in between them so they don’t freeze into one big lump of bread. Wrap them well to keep them from drying out and freeze them for up to 2 months.

Reheating

From fridge – Reheat in a skillet with a spritz of oil.

From frozen – Place in a hot, 475 F. oven for 15-20 minutes, or until warmed through. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. But high heat is needed in order to evaporate the excess liquid.

Recipe Supplies

For this recipe, you’ll need a casserole dish, a mixing bowl, a whisk, and a spatula. You can click any of these images to be taken to that product on Amazon. (Affiliate links)

Don’t have a casserole dish and don’t want to buy one? You can bake this casserole in a large skillet too. Cast iron works best.

Healthy Brunch Ideas

If you are putting together a brunch and need more menu ideas, here’s a nice list to round out your brunch table while still keeping things healthy and made from real food.

• Homemade Donuts
• From Scratch Cinnamon Rolls
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pesto Quiche with Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Cheddar Asparagus Quiche

More French Toast Casseroles

• Coconut French Toast
• French Toast Strips

If you need more healthy brunch ideas, here’s a video I found on YouTube that has some fun ideas.

Apple French Toast Casserole Recipe Card

Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted 6/12/12.