Best French Toast Casserole Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my French toast casserole soggy? ›

It could be because of the bread you used. If the bread you start with is too soft (such as white sandwich bread), it won't absorb all of the wonderful custard that it should, and it might end up soggy. If you find yourself with a soggy casserole, for whatever reason, try baking it a bit longer until it firms up some.

Freezer and Make-Ahead Tips

Freeze cooked French Toast Casserole for up to three months. Remove it from the freezer the day before you want to serve it and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the pan with foil, then reheat at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until warmed through.

Covering a casserole (whether with a lid or with aluminum foil) is important because it helps keep moisture and heat inside the baking dish. This encourages even baking throughout, ensuring that noodles come out perfectly al dente and cheese melts uniformly.

For a solid French toast, aim for sturdy bread with a uniform texture and a soft crust. Hearty sandwich bread, brioche, challah, and shokupan (Japanese milk bread) are all great choices. Avoid rustic loaves with thick crusts or large holes in the interior.

Butter gives French toast a deep richness and comforting quality, which are what we crave on mornings we sizzle this breakfast staple. To prevent burning or smoking, use a combination of butter and oil in the pan to cook the toast.

Using dry, stale bread is key to avoiding soggy French toast. Fresh bread already has a good deal of moisture, but the drier a bread is, the more room it has to soak up the egg custard — like a sponge.

Ideally, the bread should be slightly stale. A drier bread will soak up all the custard. Bread can be left out with the wrapper open the day before cooking. If you find yourself in a pinch, dry your bread slices in a 275°F oven for 10 minutes before soaking them in the custard.

There are a few potential reasons why your overnight French toast may be soggy. One possible culprit is that you did not use dense enough bread, which allowed the custard mixture to soak in too much.

Continue until the pan is full with a single layer of toast. Cook until golden brown and all of the batter looks cooked, then flip with a turner and cook the second side until golden brown. If needed, adjust the temperature, so it doesn't burn or stay soggy.

Why is my breakfast casserole soggy? ›

Baked egg dishes tend to have issues with becoming too rubbery or watery after cooking. This is especially the case when high-moisture vegetables or dense meats are in the mixture—sautéing the potatoes and vegetables before baking helps to dry the food and concentrate flavors.

The bread has to soak in the egg mixture; you want it to penetrate the bread for a soft, custardy center. This requires some firm yet gentle pressure—and let the bread soak for at least 15-20 minutes. French toast is not a steak—you don't want to scorch the surface.

Fortunately, there's an easy way to prevent that sogginess and keep your bread just as crisp as it is when it comes out of the toaster. All you'll need to do is take two freshly toasted slices of bread, stand them up on an angle, and balance them against each other so that the two slices resemble the sides of a tent.