Baked French Toast Casserole with Praline Topping

(and Raspberry Liqueur Syrup if you’re feeling fancy)

This delicious dish, baked french toast casserole with praline topping recipe, adapted from one of Paula Dean’s, is a go-to breakfast and brunch recipe when I’m hosting friends and family or planning for a special occasion. You’ll love how simple it is AND that you can make the night before!

Make Ahead Baked French Toast with Praline Topping and Raspberry Syrup — Make Ahead Baked French Toast with Praline Topping

We all know that hosting, especially out-of-town guests around the holidays, can be a little stressful . And as I explained in my Web Story about 5 tips for hosting out-of-town guests, the more planning you do ahead of time, the smoother everything usually goes.

That’s one reason I love this Baked French Toast recipe! You can make it a day or two ahead of time and pop it in the refrigerator. Then, you can pull it out and stick it in the oven when you’re ready to eat. I also love that this casserole is made primarily with ingredients you likely already have, except for maybe the bread. AND it feeds a whole bunch of people! This is definitely a recipe to keep in your recipe box! You can save it really quickly to your Pinterest board now by clicking on the Pin It button on the recipe below. Also, follow me on Pinterest so you have access to all of my recipes!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Baked French Toast Casserole with Praline Topping

A delicious, super easy, crowd-pleasing make-ahead, breakfast casserole

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: breakfast, brunch, casserole, french toast, make-ahead

Ingredients

French Toast with Praline Topping

1 tsp divided ground nutmeg
1 tsp divided cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
8 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 loaf (13-16 oz) French bread
1/2 lb butter, plus more to grease pan
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 tbsp light corn syrup

Raspberry Syrup

1 cup raspberries
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp raspberry liqueur

Instructions

Casserole

Generously butter the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in the buttered 9X13 casserole dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 °F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.

Praline Topping

Combine butter, brown sugar, pecans, light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.

Raspberry Syrup

Combine raspberry preserves, water and liqueur in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until warm and thinned out like syrup.

I hope you try this delicious Baked French Toast Casserole Recipe! I’d love it if you left a comment below, sent me a message, or tagged me in a post about it! Enjoy friends!