Overnight Egg Nog French Toast Bake

I never have been, currently am not, and never will be a morning person. (I’m sure at least some of you can relate.) Since I’m not a naturally early riser, when it comes to making breakfast for special occasions or big groups I love to rely on options that can be made ahead of time and popped in the oven in the morning. That way everyone still gets a hot delicious breakfast, but I don’t have to get up with the sun to prepare it. Everyone’s happy! French toast bakes are perfect for that sort of occasion since their overnight resting period lets them truly soak up alll the delicious custard and this egg nog version is as festive and delicious as they come.

For this bake, a loaf of cubed French bread or brioche works especially well and there’s no need to let it sit out to get stale. It holds its texture just fine.

The custard is made up of eggs, eggnog, nutmeg, and cinnamon, so it’s only lightly sweet but utterly creamy and delicious. You pour that over the bread and let it chill overnight (though it can go shorter if you’d rather).

When you’re ready to bake, you top it with a streusel-like brown sugar-cinnamon-nutmeg topping…

… that gets golden brown and lightly crispy in the oven and lends its spiced sweetness to the creamy, tender bread below.

It’s a breakfast bake I could eat once a week (mayyybe more) for all the months you can find egg nog on grocery store shelves and I wouldn’t even come close to getting tired of it. And better yet, you still get to sleep in! You can have your french toast and eat it too.

Egg Nog French Toast Bake

45 minutes active, 4+ hours inactive to prepare serves 8-10

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French or brioche bread, but into 2-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 cups eggnog
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • For the topping:
  • 4 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preparation

  1. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Place cubed bread in prepared baking dish.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, eggnog, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour mixture evenly over bread and press down so bread is covered.
  4. Cover and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
  5. When ready to bake, mix together the topping. Stir together cubed butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle over bread.
  6. Bake until top is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve with maple syrup and/or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Just So Tasty.