Raspberry Brioche French Toast Casserole is a bold upgrade of a family favorite, combining tart raspberries, creamy goat cheese and crunchy pecans in every bite. The custard-soaked bread turns golden in the oven, while the goat cheese melts into creamy, tangy pockets throughout. Finished with a drizzle of maple syrup, it’s a sweet and tangy dish that is both delicious and fresh.
Baked French Toast Casserole is the perfect way to serve French Toast to a crowd. Everyone loves French Toast, but nobody likes cold French Toast. Sometimes, when you're making a lot of French toast, the beginning pieces are cold by the time you the last pieces are done cooking. Or you have to serve French Toast to your family or guests as you make it so that everyone gets hot pieces. So that's where baked French Toast comes in. Everyone gets their French Toast hot and at the same time. This recipe also takes baked French Toast Casserole up a level by adding raspberries, goat cheese and pecans.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Cubed brioche bread
- Raspberries
- Goat cheese
- Pecan pieces
- Eggs
- Whole milk
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Optional: salted butter, maple syrup and powdered sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Gluten free - to make this recipe gluten free, substitute your favorite gluten free bread.
- Bread - brioche bread is a soft bread that soaks up the eggs and milk easily. Most stale bread will soak up eggs and milk, so if you have a favorite bread, you can use it. Challah works well. So does a baguette or sourdough. You can even mix different types of breads if you have miscellaneous leftover pieces.
- Goat cheese - if you don't like or don't have goat cheese, you can substitute cream cheese as that's the most common cheese found in baked French Toast casserole. But you could also use other soft cheeses like mascarpone or ricotta.
- Raspberries - you can substitute your favorite berry if you prefer blueberries, blackberries or another kind of berry.
Storage
Store any leftover baked raspberry brioche French Toast casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Next Level Tips
- Don't be afraid to experiment with different berries, breads, cheeses and nuts.
- Use a high quality cinnamon. French Toast just isn't French Toast without a bit of cinnamon!
- If you're hosting a big brunch, this is a dish that can be prepped ahead of time so that you only have to pop it in the oven when the time comes.
- Not everyone likes their French Toast drowning in syrup! There's an option to add a light maple syrup drizzle, then allow your guests to add more syrup to taste. But now everyone likes syrup, so a dusting of powdered sugar is a an option too.
- If you're using maple syrup, try for a real 100% maple syrup. Costco's brand is bargain compared to grocery store prices on 100% maple syrup.
FAQ
Yes, you can prep the French Toast casserole the day before. When you're ready to bake, remove the prepped casserole from the refrigerator. Allow it to warm up on the counter first for 30-60 minutes. Then bake as directed. However, if it's not warmed up enough, you may need to bake it longer.
Any type you want! Brioche and Challah have a light, softness to them. Sourdough is usually sturdier with a bit of tang. A baguette is dense and chewy. So it depends on the texture that you're going after. You can also mix different types of breads especially if you are trying to use up odds and ends. You know how there are always extra hot dog buns? If you're mixing breads, you can use those too!
If you find your raspberries are too tart, you can add more maple syrup at the end. The sweetness of maple syrup is a perfect balance for tart raspberries.
Yes, if you like eggy French Toast, you can add up to 4 more eggs.
If your bread is not stale, you can toast the bread in the oven. Toast it in the oven in a single layer at 300℉ for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway. Or if you're really rushed, toast at 350℉ for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway. But watch the bread so that it doesn't start to brown. It just needs to harden.
Related
Looking for other breakfast or brunch recipes like this? Try these:
Raspberry Brioche French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 16-18 ounce loaf of brioche bread stale and cubed
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 6 ounce packages raspberries
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted optional
- ¼ cup maple syrup optional
- powdered sugar for dusting optional
Instructions
- Carefully cut the bread into cubes and leave out on baking sheets overnight to harden. It works best to use a serrated knife and cut each slice of bread into 16 pieces.
- Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Place half of the cubed bread in the baking pan.
- Top the bread with all of the goat cheese, half of the raspberries and half of the pecans.
- Layer on rest of the bread, raspberries and pecans.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk.
- Add the milk, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon to the eggs and whisk together.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly into the baking pan, making sure to coat all of the exposed bread cubes.
- Let it sit for 30 minutes for the bread to soak up the egg mixture.
- While the bread is soaking up the egg mixture, preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Before placing in the oven, turn over or push down some of the top pieces of bread to make sure they are coated well with the egg mixture.
- Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil and bake for 50-60 minutes. Remove the foil after 30 minutes. Bake until the middle is set and the exposed bread is browned.
- Optional: Once the French Toast casserole is out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and brush it over the exposed bread pieces. Drizzle ¼ cup of maple syrup over the top. After serving, guests can add extra syrup or a sprinkle of powdered sugar to taste.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Don't worry! We won't spam you!
Barb Breen says
Hi Tracy. I baked this delicious breakfast casserole this morning. I see brown sugar listed in the ingredients, but I didn't see where to add it in. Did I just miss it?
I stirred it into the egg mixture. It's soooo good. Used blueberries instead of raspberries.
Tracy @ Next Level Baker says
Yes, it does go in the egg mixture! I'll make sure that's clear in the instructions. So happy you loved it!