Overnight French Toast Recipe

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 08/19/22
Overnight French Toast

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Refrigerate: 8 hrs
Total: 8 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 12 slices

This overnight French toast is for those days when you want to sleep in and have a relaxed morning while still feeding your family a delicious breakfast or brunch. And it's perfect for those times when you have overnight guests and would rather hang out with them than busying yourself in the kitchen in the morning. 

What makes this recipe so convenient is that you can assemble everything the evening before. The bread is soaked in a mixture of beaten eggs, milk, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. A jelly roll pan works well for this recipe because it is large enough to arrange the bread in a single layer. Don’t skimp on the butter when coating the pan, as it not only prevents the bread from sticking to the bottom but also helps to give the bread a nice brown crust at the bottom, just like pan-fried French toast.

All you have to do is cover the jelly roll pan with plastic wrap so that it won’t dry out, and then refrigerate it until you are ready for breakfast the next morning. Because it has the thickness of regular French toast, it bakes quickly—and it’s ready in about 15 minutes after you pop it in the hot oven. Turning the French toast over once during that time ensures that it browns evenly.

As with all French toast, this is a flexible recipe that lets you use different types of white bread, whatever you have on hand. Instead of French bread, you can also use thick slices of regular toast or soft white sandwich bread, or even slices of leftover challah or panettone.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

  • 12 slices French bread, about 3/4-inch thick

  • 6 large eggs

  • 1 1/2 cups milk

  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or golden cane syrup

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • Confectioners' sugar, optional

  • Maple syrup, or other syrup, for serving

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Spread the 1/4 cup of butter over the bottom of a large, shallow-rimmed pan, such as a jelly roll pan.

  3. Arrange bread slices over the butter.

  4. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar, maple syrup, pure vanilla extract, and salt until well blended. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat thoroughly.

  5. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

  6. Preheat oven to 400 F.

  7. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn bread over and continue baking until just golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes longer.

  8. Transfer the cooked French toast to a serving platter or individual plates.

  9. If desired, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

  10. Serve immediately with syrup.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
725 Calories
18g Fat
113g Carbs
28g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 725
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 23%
Saturated Fat 8g 41%
Cholesterol 211mg 70%
Sodium 1431mg 62%
Total Carbohydrate 113g 41%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 26g
Protein 28g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 208mg 16%
Iron 8mg 44%
Potassium 392mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)