This Croissant French Toast Bake is a deliciously decadent yet super easy to make breakfast or brunch dish. The mix of soft, custardy croissants with crispy, flaky bits is truly irresistible. This french toast casserole is sure to be a crowd-pleasing dish for the Holidays or every day celebration!
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When it comes to indulgent and impressive breakfast dishes, it does not get better than this. And what if I told you that you only need a handful of ingredients and minimal prep time to make this croissant french toast bake? No need to stand in front of your stove to fry individual french toast in a pan here!
The flavours of buttery, crispy croissants. The fluffy bite of french toast. The ease of a baked french toast. This baked croissant french toast is sure to wow your family or guest on Christmas morning, serve for brunch or a simple weekend gathering.
Love french toast bakes? Also try my Brioche French Toast Casserole!
Ingredients
What is croissant french toast bake made of:
Scroll down to recipe card below for all quantities
- Croissants: using a good quality, pure butter day-old croissant will give you the best flavours and texture. The amount of croissants you will need will vary based on their size. With large to extra-large croissants, you will only need 6. With smaller croissants, increase the quantities up to 8.
- Milk: Full Cream / Whole Milk. You want the richness of a full fat milk so I don't recommend using a low-fat or fat-free milk here.
- Eggs: large eggs. There is no substitute for eggs here.
- Maple Syrup: I personally love the deep flavour maple syrup brings here but you could replace it with brown sugar or honey if preferred.
- Ground Cinnamon: optional... but not really! It really brings out the flavours of the dish! You can also use some nutmeg that is equally delicious in french toast.
- Vanilla: also optional. Use simple vanilla extract or vanilla essence - no need for the expensive stuff.
Ingredient Variation
I served this batch of croissant french toast with fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. But you could add berries to the french toast mix before baking it as well.
The dish will also be delicious topped with chocolate chips or nuts like slivered almonds, walnuts or pecans for example.
How to make Croissant French Toast Casserole
- Preheat your oven on 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a large baking dish (either ceramic or glass) or casserole dish.
I used a 25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 inch) oval dish but any rectangular dish around 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) will work as well.
- Photo 1: Cut the croissants into large pieces (or use smaller pieces if preferred). Set aside.
- Photo 2: in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. You should get a smooth mixture. Cinnamon tends to float to the surface, that's normal!
- Photo 3: Dip each croissant piece into the egg mixture and let it soak of a few seconds.
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- Place the soaked croissants in the prepared dish, layering packing them very tightly. Push the pieces around to fit all of your croissants. It will appear very tight, that's normal!
Note that depending on the size of your dish and how many croissants you used, the dish may appear more or less packed. If you get less height (when using a larger dish for example), you may need to adjust the baking time slightly.
- Photo 4: Pour the rest of the custard mix over the croissants in the baking dish.
- Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the top of the croissants are golden and flaky and the custard has fully set.
- Allow to cool down for 15 minutes before serving - or store in the fridge covered with plastic wrap (once cooled down) if making in advance.
Recipe FAQs
Using a good quality, pure butter croissant will give you the best flavours and texture. Yes, real French-style croissants can get expensive but it is so worth it in my opinion!
Cheap supermarket croissants that are made without butter simply do not taste as good and tend to be very soft. Without those crispy layers, your croissant french toast bake will likely turn out soggy.
Day-old croissants are highly recommended here as they tend to better absorb the egg mixture without turning soggy.
Yes, that's one of the great things about this dish! To make in advance, I recommend slightly underbaking it then storing it in the fridge. Put it back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes to finish baking and reheat when ready to serve.
You will get a softer texture as the croissants soak overnight, but you can absolutely try that method as well! As explained above though, the dish re-heats well the next day so you can also make it in advance that way and finish baking it in the morning when ready to serve.
Serving Suggestion
I served this batch with some powdered sugar, fresh berries and a homemade Raspberry Coulis. There are many other delicious ways of finishing this french toast bake; here are some ideas:
- with Chantilly Cream or Mascarpone Whipped Cream.
- drizzled with Passion Fruit Coulis, Mango Coulis or Strawberry Coulis.
- with Cherry Compote, Mixed Berry Compote or Peach Compote.
- Fruit curds are always a winning option! Try out my tangy Lemon Curd, Apple Curd or Passion Fruit Curd.
- go "all French" with Crème Anglaise.
- finish with your favourite fresh fruit; not just berries!
Tips & Troubleshooting
- The french toast bake is soggy: this could happen if the casserole is not baked for long enough, if the ratio of croissants to egg mixture is off or if you are using croissants that are too fresh. If soaking the croissants overnight before baking them, your casserole will also be on the softer side.
- How to know the croissant french toast is fully baked: the exterior should be golden and crispy. You shouldn't see any liquid around the croissants as the eggs should have fully set when baked.
- To get the best balance of texture, make sure to have different sides of the croissants facing up, alternating between the flaky exterior bits and softer inside chunks.
- Use day-old croissants instead of fresh ones. Stale croissants to better absorb the egg mixture and won't turning soggy in the oven.
Storing & Freezing
This croissant french toast bake should be kept in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap) and will last for up to 3 days. You can reheat the full casserole in the oven (cover with aluminium foil to avoid burning) or individual portions either in the oven or microwave.
I do not recommend freezing this dish.
I am so excited to share that my debut cookbook
"Bite-Sized French Pastries for the Beginner Baker"
is now available for purchase!
Recipe
Croissant French Toast Bake
Equipment
- 20 x 30 cm baking dish or casserole
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 Croissants, see note 1
- 5 large Eggs
- 500 ml Full Cream Milk / Whole Milk
- 60 ml Maple Syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 pinch Fine Table Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 20 x 30 cm / 8 x 12 inch glass or ceramic baking dish (see note 2).
- Cut each croissants into large chunks. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until you get a smooth mixture. Cinnamon tends to float to the surface, that's normal!
- Dip each croissant chunks into the egg mixture and let it soak of a few seconds, then transfer directly into the prepared baking dish. Repeat the process until all the croissants chunks have been soaked and you get a very tightly packed baking dish (see note 3).
- Pour the remaining egg mixture over the croissants in the baking dish.
- Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the top of the croissants are golden and flaky and the custard has fully set.
- Allow to cool down for 15 minutes before serving - or store in the fridge covered with plastic wrap (once cooled down) if making in advance.
- Optionally dust with powdered sugar once cooler. Serve with your choice of topping.
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Notes
- The number of croissants needed can vary based on their size. I used relatively large croissants and needed 6 1/2 croissants to make this recipe. If using smaller croissants, increase the quantity up to 8.
- I used a 25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 inch) oval dish but any rectangular dish around 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) will work as well. If using a dish that is larger, you may want to adjust the baking time as the thickness will be thinner and the french toast will bake more quickly.
- Depending on the size of your dish and how many croissants you used, the dish may appear more or less packed. If you get less height (when using a larger dish for example), you may need to adjust the baking time slightly.
Nutrition (per serving)
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Jenn says
This is the perfect mix of crispy croissant and french toast. We made it with your raspberry coulis recipe and it was so good! We used a 9x13 inch pan but it was easy to check when it was done.