Breakfast
Oven Baked French Toast Recipe (w/ Brown Butter Caramel + Creamy Eggnog Sauce)
Prep
25 minutes
Yield
8 -12
This easy, delicious Oven Baked French Toast Recipe has a brown butter caramel and eggnog sauce that makes it a perfect dish to serve with some savory entrees at Christmas brunch.
This easy Oven Baked French Toast Recipe can be made right in a casserole dish in your oven. It makes for an easy Christmas morning breakfast for a large group and did I mention it was made with brown butter caramel and creamy eggnog sauce just to take it up a notch and make it next level?
❤️ Why You’ll Love Oven Baked French Toast Recipe
- Short Prep: This recipe will only take you 20-minutes to prep which makes it so easy to whip up on Xmas morning
- Delicious: The flavors of the brown butter caramel and creamy eggnog sauce and the cinnamon of the french toast is so good
- Serves a Group: This recipe will serve your whole family for breakfast but keep in mind it’s only for those with a sweet tooth so it can be nice to pair it with things like fruit, egg, and/or bacon
🍲 Ingredients
Bread: You’ll want to use bread like a challah or brioche. These will make a delicious french toast as they’re thick and so perfect for this recipe. You can also replace soft bread with croissants, or gluten-free bread!
Brown Butter: Brown butter is made by cooking unsalted butter long enough to turn the milk solids brown while cooking out any water. This process makes the butter nutty and/or toasty which is great for baking and recipes like this baked french toast recipe.
👩🍳 How to Make Oven Baked French Toast Recipe
- To brown the butter: in a medium-sized pot add the butter, and stir constantly over high heat. In a few minutes, the butter will foam up, cooking off any water content. Continue stirring, waiting for it to foam up a second time. After it foams the second time, the butter will begin to change color from golden to amber to chestnut red to brown. Once it contains mainly dark brown color, immediately transfer to a heat-safe container, and allow to cool.
- Combine the brown sugar with the butter and evenly spread it on the bottom of a 9×13 in casserole dish.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Cut your slices of bread in half (width-wise), saving the round top halves.
- Arrange the pieces of bread (on top of the caramel layer) in two lines across the casserole dish, lightly fanning them like dominos. Set aside while you prepare the custard filling.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine eggs, cream, milk, sugars, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the egg custard mixture over the casserole dish. Lightly push the tops of the bread to ensure being coated with custard.
- Bake for 32 – 35 minutes, until the top is browned and the custard is set.
- While the French Toast bakes, prepare the Eggnog Sauce. In a small pot, heat + combine the eggnog, milk, sugar, and butter, and bring it to a simmer. In a small dish, whisk together the flour and 2 – 3 tbsp of eggnog until smooth. Add the pot and bring the sauce to a rolling boil to thicken. Transfer immediately to a bowl to cool.
- Once the French Toast Bake is done, serve immediately with cinnamon sugar dust and Eggnog Sauce.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Serving: A sweet tooth would eat this for breakfast so if you are someone who can only handle so much sweetness I’d suggest you serve this with other breakfast items to balance it out such as eggs, vegetarian bacon, hashbrowns, etc.
- Personalize It: Add different nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, whipped cream, ice cream, OR anything you desire for this delicious baked French toast!
🗒 Variations
- Try this Brioche French Toast recipe
- If you don’t want an eggnog sauce, you can swap the eggnog for more milk or heavy cream and eliminate the nutmeg for a spice like cinnamon instead
🗒 Other Brunch Recipes You’ll Love
- Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
- Yogurt Parfaits with Granola
- Apple Cinnamon Waffles
- Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store in the fridge in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight, reheat to serve.
🤔 Common Questions
It’s the bread! If your bread is to soft and thin, like plain white bread, then it can often get soggy when baking it with the other ingredients.
There are two key qualities to think about – the quality of the bread and allowing it to soak. These two things make restaurant french toast superior but are such easy traits you can carry over to your homemade french toast.
Oven Baked French Toast Recipe (w/ Brown Butter Caramel + Creamy Eggnog Sauce)
Ingredients
For Brown Butter Caramel:
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
For French Toast Bake:
- ½ loaf soft bread challah, brioche, etc
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- 5 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp vanilla
For Eggnog Sauce:
- ½ cup plant-based eggnog
- ½ cup heavy cream or plant-based milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp fresh nutmeg grated
- ½ tsp salt
For Cinnamon Sugar Dust:
- ½ cup icing sugar
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- To brown the butter: in a medium-sized pot add the butter, and stir constantly over high heat. In a few minutes, the butter will foam up, cooking off any water content. Continue stirring, waiting for it to foam up a second time. After it foams the second time, the butter will begin to change color from golden to amber to chestnut red to brown. Once it contains mainly dark brown color, immediately transfer to a heat-safe container, and allow to cool.
- Combine the brown sugar with the butter and evenly spread it on the bottom of a 9×13 in casserole dish.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Cut your slices of bread in half (width-wise), saving the round top halves.
- Arrange the pieces of bread (on top of the caramel layer) in two lines across the casserole dish, lightly fanning them like dominos. Set aside while you prepare the custard filling.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine eggs, cream, milk, sugars, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the egg custard mixture over the casserole dish. Lightly push the tops of the bread to ensure being coated with custard.
- Bake for 32 – 35 minutes, until the top is browned and the custard is set.
- While the French Toast bakes, prepare the Eggnog Sauce. In a small pot, heat + combine the eggnog, milk, sugar, and butter, and bring it to a simmer. In a small dish, whisk together the flour and 2 – 3 tbsp of eggnog until smooth. Add the pot and bring the sauce to a rolling boil to thicken. Transfer immediately to a bowl to cool.
- Once the French Toast Bake is done, serve immediately with cinnamon sugar dust and Eggnog Sauce.
This looks so delicious!! Would it work to prepare everything in the dish the night before, then bake in the morning?
I would prep everything dry in one bowl and then pour over the liquid the morning of and then bake! does that make sense?
My eyes cannot believe what they are seeing, breakfast? more like dessert!! haha
haha totally!!!!
YUM, wow, amazing, everybody should see this recipe!
It’s sooo good!
Super amazing! My husband made this for us for our anniversary. I’m surprised as it’s kinda complicated, I’ve never heard of eggnog sauce before?!
so easy!!! I am glad he made this for you!
I will have to attempt this using gluten-free bread? It sounds amazing but I’m afraid it won’t taste as good!
It will be fun fine!!!!
Hello. I’m not sure about the eggnog, but I will give it a try!!
YES!! DO IT!
I’m not sure about the eggnog, but I will give it a try!
You are actually killing me, I don’t know how I will control myself, I have to wait to make this for when I have a lot of guests because IF I make it, I will definitely overmake it and eat it all!!!! My kryptonite!
it’s so special!