French Toast Casserole with Raisins

Imagine waking up to the smell of warm bread soaked in a rich custard, baked until golden and bursting with delicious raisins! Yep, that’s this French Toast Casserole. It’s comfort breakfast at its finest, with soft, tender bread cubes and crisp edges mixing together into one irresistible morning treat. Perfect for weekends, brunches with friends, or holiday mornings when you want something effortless yet unforgettable.

Key Ingredients

All ingredients and their amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Bread: I’ve tested this recipe with brioche, challah, French bread, and sourdough bread. All work beautifully. Brioche and challah make the casserole extra soft and custardy, while sourdough gives it a slightly tangy flavor and a sturdier texture. Use whatever you love or have on hand.

Eggs: The eggs get whisked with the milk mixture and soaked into the bread cubes, creating that rich, custard-like texture. I’ve tried using fewer eggs, and the casserole didn’t set as nicely — the full amount gives the best structure and creaminess.

Almond Milk (or Milk of Choice): I’ve made this casserole with almond milk, whole milk, and oat milk, and all of them worked well. Almond milk keeps it lighter, while whole milk makes it extra creamy. This recipe is very flexible depending on your dietary needs.

Coconut Sugar: I love using coconut sugar because it gives a caramel-like flavor similar to brown sugar. I’ve tried regular granulated sugar and brown sugar in this recipe as well and both work, but coconut sugar adds deeper, molasses-like notes that make the casserole extra cozy.

Raisins: I’ve tested this recipe with golden raisins and regular raisins, and the sun-dried raisins add the best pop of natural sweetness and chewy texture. They stay plump and hold their flavor beautifully after baking.

Instructions

Cube bread:

• Grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with a little bit of butter, oil, or nonstick cooking spray and set it aside. If you don’t have a casserole dish, you can use a pan that goes in the oven.
• Cut bread into bite-sized pieces and place cubes in your prepared casserole dish.

Prepare batter and assemble:

• Measure eggs, almond milk, vanilla, and coconut sugar into a medium bowl and whisk vigorously until ingredients are well combined.
• Pour egg mixture evenly over bread cubes and sprinkle raisins on top.

Refrigerate:

• Cover your casserole dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator.
• Allow your casserole to chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight! Note: bread cubes need adequate time to soak up the custard, and if it doesn’t fully absorb, you could end up with scrambled egg pieces in your casserole.

Bake and serve:

• Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Once the oven comes to temperature, bake your casserole for 40-50 minutes until golden brown. Note: Be sure to check it at the 40-minute mark, as ovens vary and we don’t want the top to get too dark.
• Remove this beautiful baked French toast casserole from the oven and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve warm with all of your favorite toppings like maple syrup, Chantilly cream, and extra raisins!