This Croissant French Toast Bake is so easy, decadent, and is the perfect breakfast casserole for holidays from Christmas to Easter to Mother’s Day! We finish it off with fresh berries, powdered sugar, and some maple syrup for the ultimate sweet treat breakfast casserole.
French Toast Croissant Bake Recipe
I had leftover croissants and I needed to do something with them! I based this recipe off of our French Toast Casserole. This is very similar to bread pudding, but we make it into a breakfast casserole by adding more eggs than bread pudding, and the addition of sugar and maple syrup. The flavor of this casserole is seriously SO GOOD. It fills your entire kitchen with this sweet, breakfast-y aroma!
If you are looking to find croissants in bulk, check out Sam’s Club ($6 for about 12 of them!) or Costco.
Making Croissant Casserole
The first step to making a croissant bake is to cut the croissants. Next, spray a casserole dish with non stick spray. The goal for the perfect croissant casserole is to get the croissants soaked in the custard so they bake up like French toast! Cutting the croissants allows the custard mixture to soak into every nook and cranny, making for a deliciously even cooked casserole.
Cut the croissants horizontally, then in half again. You’ll have 4 pieces per croissant. We used a 9×13 inch casserole dish that is about 2 1/2 inches deep which fit all 7 croissants quite nicely. Don’t worry if they peek out over the top of the pan a little bit, once you pour the custard mixture over them it will weight them down to below dish level!
French Toast Custard Mixture
Once the croissants are cut and in the casserole dish mix up the custard. This is a mixture of eggs, whole whipping cream, milk, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. I used 2% milk, but I would have used whole if I had it handy. This is a rich recipe by nature, I don’t recommend skimping on the eggs or cream. It is rich and delicious and it’s intended to be just that!
Whisk it until it is fully combined and a light almost fluffy mixture.
French Toast Bake with Croissants
Pour the custard mixture over the croissants, then give them a toss, ensuring each piece is fully coated in the custard mixture. I like to almost ‘mush’ them down. They pop right back up in the oven! I use a small spatula to toss them and slightly press the pieces of croissant down. Same concept as when you put an Oreo in milk and you watch it bubble until you know it’s full of milk. Just me? Am I the strange Oreo girl?
Once the custard has been poured onto the casserole, you can either bake immediately, or cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, making it the perfect make ahead dish!
Baking Breakfast Casserole
Once the pieces are all fully coated, it’s time to bake it up! Cover it with foil for the first 30 minutes, then we’ll go another 15-20 uncovered until it’s light, fluffy, and doesn’t wiggle in the middle.
Pro Tip for Baking: This is a very dense casserole, and because oven temperatures can vary, it can take a while to bake. If you’re finding that it jut has a little wiggle in the middle of it after the overall baking time of about 45 minutes, place an empty metal sheet pan on the bottom rack of the oven, with the French toast bake on the second rack. This will ensure it doesn’t get too burnt from the radiating heat of the bottom of the oven, and will continue to let it bake in the center.
To serve this, we like to garnish it with some powdered sugar, fresh berries, and maple syrup! Spoon big heaping servings of this onto a plate, and garnish with a little more maple syrup. If you aren’t a maple syrup fan, check out this Boysenberry Syrup I buy off of Amazon. I grew up with my dad serving this one Pancakes and it is sooo good!
If you love this recipe, here’s a few more breakfast casseroles we think you’ll like!
- Mexican Breakfast Casserole
- Healthy Breakfast Casserole
- Ham and Cheese Croissant Bake
- Breakfast Casserole with Sausage and Hashbrowns
- Ham and Potato Bake
- Quiche with Ham & Cheese
What do you think about this recipe?Have questions? Comment below!Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, and connect with us on Instagram and tag your @Laughingspatula recipes with #laughingspatula,while you’re at it…We love to see your pics!
Cheers to family weekends with French Toast and other breakfast favorites! – Kathi and Rachel
Croissant French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 8 croissants (cut in half horizontally, then half again)
Custard Mixture
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1.5 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup berries
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar (optional, but it makes it pretty!)
Instructions
- Prepare a 9x13 casserole dish (at least 2 inches deep) with nonstick spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Cut croissants in half horizontally, and then again in half yielding 4 pieces. Layer in a casserole dish.
- Prepare custard: Combine ingredients (eggs, milk, sugar, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, salt) in a large bowl. Whisk until fully incorporated and slightly fluffy in consistency.
- Pour custard mixture over the croissants, and toss until each piece of croissant is fully coated. Lightly press the croissant mixture down (it will fluff up while baking). *If making ahead of time, cover with foil and place in refrigerator up to 24 hours in advance.
- Bake covered in foil at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for additional 15-20 minutes, or until the casserole is golden brown and no longer jiggly in the middle.
- Once fully cooked, sprinkle with powdered sugar, drizzle with maple syrup and fresh berries. Serve and enjoy!
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