This french toast casserole is simple to make and will have your family requesting it over and over. The sweetness of the banana and the buttery flavors of the brioche bread makes this banana french toast casserole extra special.
Need more ideas for a brunch that will be sure to impress? Pair this banana french toast with a grazing board and some bubblies.
Why you will love this
This french toast casserole is my go-to breakfast and brunch recipe for something easy but with a wow factor. Instead of making individual french toast, this is perfect for serving just my family of four or when we have guests over. It is an especially great recipe for holiday mornings or the day after. Here’s why:
- Easy to prep, put it together the night before, and pop it in the oven the next morning.
- Simple ingredients. A great way to use up the overripe bananas.
- Not just your typical egg and bread french toast, the combination of banana and brioche bread makes this extra amazing.
- On top of the banana flavor, this french toast is topped with a sweet and buttery strudel.
- Add some whipped cream or ice cream, and you can serve this as dessert! I have served this as a banana bread pudding. Shhh. No one knew.
My kids absolutely love this banana french toast. I get extra hugs whenever I make it, not exaggerating either. My daughter loves helping me put it together. Her little hands are perfect to layer the bananas all over the casserole.
Ingredients in this Banana French Toast Bake
This banana french toast casserole uses simple ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen.
- Ripe bananas – you can use bananas that are not entirely ripped but cut them in thinner slices to help them soften as they cook.
- Brioche bread – this is what makes this french toast recipe so good. My go-to is Trader Joe’s Sliced French Brioche. You can use any form of brioche bread, sliced, loaf, hamburger, or hotdog buns. If you cannot find any brioche bread in any form, a good alternative is challah bread or croissants.
- Eggs – you can use an egg substitute. See my recommendation and instructions below.
- Milk – you can substitute with any version of milk. If using an unsweetened milk substitute, add an extra tablespoon of sugar to the egg mixture.
- Heavy cream – can substitute this with heavy whipping cream or evaporated milk.
How to make Banana Brioche French Toast
Layer bread cubes in a greased baking dish. Mix eggs, heavy cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla in a separate bowl until eggs are well blended. Pour egg mixture onto the bread cubes. Mix until all pieces are coated with the egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To make the strudel, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add pieces of cold butter. Break up butter pieces and mix with dry ingredients. This is a great job for the kids! Preheat oven. Layer sliced bananas on top of the bread mixture. Sprinkle strudel evenly on top of bananas. Bake for 50-60 minutes.
What to serve with Banana French Toast Casserole
We love it with whipped cream or a drizzle of syrup. But you can serve this sweet casserole dish with a variety of toppings. Here are some suggestions:
- powdered sugar
- whipped cream
- maple syrup
- cinnamon and sugar
- variety of berries
- chocolate or caramel sauce
Important Tips
Make sure your bread cubes are stale or at least slightly dried. Brioche bread is extra buttery, keeping its moisture longer than french bread. I found that brioche bread can still be too soft for french toast even a few days later. Here are a few suggestions on how to dry out your bread:
- Cut your bread into cubes a day or two before you use it.
- Leave bread out of the bag and unwrapped for a day.
- If you don’t have the time or find your bread still a bit soft, spread it on a baking sheet and bake it at 250 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let it cool completely before preparing your french toast casserole.
Common Questions
Brioche french toast is made with brioche bread, and regular french toast is made with plain french bread. Brioche bread is actually a type of french bread. It is sweeter and more buttery in flavor.
The sweeter and buttery flavor of the brioche adds that extra flavor to the french toast.
Yes. You want stale or dried bread to hole up to the egg mixture. Using bread that is too soft will make it too mussy and soggy.
Yes. It is best to soak the bread mixture overnight. If you cannot prep it the night before, let it soak for at least 2 hours before baking.
You can also make the strudel topping ahead of time too. Mix ingredients and store them in the fridge overnight separately from the casserole.
Reasons can be that the bread was too soft, so you will want to dry it out more next time. See Important Tips above. Or it was undercooked.
My kids love it reheated the next day. You can reheat in the microwave, toaster oven, or pop it in the oven if you are reheating a larger portion.
Yes. I have made it with an egg substitute for my best friend’s daughter, that has an egg allergy. It turned out just as good. I used Just Egg: Plant-Based Egg Scramble. I replace the eggs in the ingredients with six tbs of Just Egg.
Recipes you might like:
Simple and Tasty Fried Rice Waffles
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Cups
Banana Brioche French Toast Casserole
Equipment
- 1 dough blender optional
Ingredients
- 1 16-18 oz loaf brioche bread
- 6 eggs
- 1½ cup milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Strudel Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup salted cold butter cut into small pieces
- 2 whole bananas sliced
Toppings
- Maple syrup
- Whipped cream
- Berries
- Powdered sugar
- Chocolate or caramel sauce
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cut steal brioche bread into 1-inch cubes (see Important Tips section above on how to create dry out your bread). Spread bread cubes in the baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, heavy cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla together until well incorporated and sugar are dissolved. There may be some streaks of yellow from the eggs, which is ok.
- Pour egg mixture all over the bread cubes. Gently stir and mix until all bread pieces are coated with the egg mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 f. Remove casserole dish from the refrigerator.
- To make the strudel topping, cut the cold butter into small pieces. Place butter piece and add brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl. Mix all ingredients with a dough cutter or fork while smashing and cutting the butter. You will still have lumps of butter, but it will be coated with the flour and sugar mixture. You can make the strudel topping ahead of time too.
- Slice bananas into thin slices. Add bananas by layering them evenly across the surface of the egg and bread mixture.
- Spread the strudel topping over the banana layer until the entire surface of the casserole is covered.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour until the french toast is golden brown. It will puff and rise while baking.
- Remove from oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Serve with your favorite french toast toppings.
