Eggnog French Toast Bake
Eggnog French Toast Bake is a Christmas morning tradition! This quick-to-prepare overnight casserole features French bread soaked in an eggnog custard. In the morning, simply pop it in the oven for a special holiday breakfast!
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If you enjoy eggnog treats, you'll also love Eggnog Overnight Oats, Slow Cooker Eggnog Bread Pudding, and Eggnog Cookies!
It goes without saying that Christmas morning calls for a special, festive breakfast. However, around here, that breakfast also needs to be something that I can prep the night before, seeing as how on Christmas morning I'll be bleary-eyed thanks to kids who were raring-to-go before 6 a.m. Nor do I want to be stuck in the kitchen and risk missing any of the Santa-induced excitement. Enter my favorite overnight Christmas breakfast casserole...Eggnog French Toast!
How to Make Eggnog French Toast
This overnight Eggnog French Toast Bake solves both problems at once. It's quick to assemble before going to bed (you know, at 3 a.m. after all of the toys are put together). And come morning, all you have to do is pop it in the oven to bake while the kids are tearing into their presents. In addition to that, the fact that the bread has been soaked in eggnog and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg means that it tastes -- and the whole house consequently smells -- like Christmas.
To prep your Eggnog French Toast on Christmas Eve:
- Make the brown sugar syrup in a small pot on the stove and then pour it into the bottom of a baking dish.
- Add cubed French bread to the dish.
- Whisk together some eggs and eggnog and pour the mixture over the bread cubes in the dish.
- Tightly cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, pop the dish in the oven and bake.
Christmas breakfast is served!
In Case You Don't Like Eggnog...
What's that? You don't like eggnog? Well, while I am firmly in the pro-eggnog camp, I do realize that there are individuals who do not actually enjoy this holiday nectar of the gods.
However, allow me to point out that even my non-eggnog drinking husband enjoyed it in this French toast. In other words, I think you might like this recipe even if you think you won't. 😉
How to Serve It
This tasty Eggnog French Toast can be enjoyed straight out of the oven as is...additional syrup is not necessary.
Simply pairing it with some fresh berries or a halved grapefruit is a perfectly tart counter to the sweetness of the eggnog.
Oh, and don't forget bacon! Bacon is necessary to cut the sugar as well, am I right?
So sometime this December -- whether it's a special school day breakfast, a lazy Saturday morning, a pre-Christmas brunch, or Christmas morning itself -- promise me that you'll treat yourself to this eggnog French toast decadence!
After all, what's better than a recipe by which you can have your eggnog...and eat it, too? 😉
To Accompany Your Eggnog French Toast
- Green Chile Cheddar Egg Bake
- Ground Beef, Egg, & Cheese Breakfast Casserole
- Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage
- Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate {4 Flavor Ideas}
Eggnog French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups prepared eggnog
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish (or two 8- by 8-inch baking dishes) with butter or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and maple syrup; continue stirring as mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into prepared baking dish. Arrange the bread cubes over the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle bread cubes with cinnamon and nutmeg, to taste.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and mix in the eggnog and vanilla. Evenly pour this custard mixture over the bread cubes. Press down lightly on the bread to make sure it's all coated/soaked. Tightly cover baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight, at least 8 hours.
- Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 375°F and remove foil. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until knife inserted in center of casserole is clean (and mostly dry) and top is puffy and golden brown.
Notes
- The bread I typically use for this recipe is the in-house baked French Bread from HEB (a Texas grocery store). It weighs about 16 ounces.
Nutrition
Adapted from AllRecipes
Post originally published on December 9, 2013.
Wowzah! This was so yummy-I really like eggnog but had never considered baking with it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I made mine with the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon bread instead of regular french bread because it is what I had. I would definitely say to serve this with berries as it was a bit too sweet without them. I forgot to serve it that way but on my second round (don't judge me, I'm literally ten months pregnant) I put raspberries and skipped syrup-PERFECT!! Thanks again!!
Yum, Michelle...I bet this recipe was great using cinnamon bread! I can see how that would make it a bit sweeter, though, so I'm glad the raspberries helped balance everything out. Congrats on your baby and I hope s/he comes SOON...I am sure you are more than ready to meet your new little one! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to comment and have a great week!
I made the eggnog french toast & it was delicious!!!! Only problem - how do I make it all year round. Can't find the eggnog. What can I use????
Hi, Virginia! I'm so glad to hear that this recipe was a hit! To make it year-round, you could always make a batch of homemade eggnog. Paula Deen has a good recipe, or a Google search will turn up many others. You could always scale down the recipe to the amount that you need, and you wouldn't have to worry about the raw egg factor that is usually inherent in homemade eggnog since it will end up getting cooked in the French toast anyway.
If you don't want to go to the trouble of making actual eggnog, you could just substitute whole milk, half-and-half, and/or cream for the eggnog. But first sweeten it with sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg (to taste). I'm willing to bet that by the time the French toast is baked, it will taste eggnog-ish! For two cups of milk/cream, I would probably start with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Taste and add more sugar depending on how sweet you like it.
Please do let us know if these substitutions work out to your liking! Good luck, and thanks for the great question!
Served this for my extended family this Christmas morning and it was delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this, this will be our go to Christmas brunch recipe for years to come.
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that, Amy! We had this dish for Christmas breakfast this morning as well. 🙂 I really appreciate you coming back to let me know that y'all enjoyed it...hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
This eggnog french toast casserole looks so tasty! I still have some eggnog leftover which I wasn't sure what I wanted to make with it and your casserole sounds perfect for Christmas breakfast 🙂 Pinning and thanks so much for sharing and hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Thank you, Kelly! If you already have leftover eggnog, it sounds to me like making this French toast was meant to be! 😉 I really appreciate the pin...have a wonderful Christmas!
Samantha, this french toast casserole looks absolutely divine. Especially with the eggnog action going on inside of it...pure genius. Gives us a delicious excuse to use up the eggnog for breakfast! Love it! I also wanted to let you know that I am featuring this in the morning at the Show Stopper Saturday party...thank you for sharing it with all of! (=
Wow...thank you for the feature, Gloria! And I really appreciate you stopping by to let me know! I so enjoy y'all's party each week. 🙂 Glad to hear that you're an eggnog fan, too! I can't get enough of the stuff, and I'm sad that it will be coming to an end soon! Hope you're having a great weekend!
This looks so yummy! I just pinned it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You're so welcome, Amber...and thank you for the pin! I hope this recipe is a hit at your house! 🙂
Congratulations…this post was featured on Create It Thursday #33! Thanks for sharing such a great idea with us last week!
Thanks so much, Leslie...I really appreciate the feature! And thank you for hosting each week...you put on a great party! Hope you have a great weekend and a wonderful Christmas!
Samantha, this sounds amazing! I'm going to attempt it for a Christmas breakfast at work. I'm nervous though...I want it to turn out great. Quick question, how much of the Nutmeg and Cinnamon do you typically use?
Hi Jaime! Honestly, I've never measured them! I just do a moderate sprinkling of cinnamon over the top of the whole casserole, and then a very light sprinkling of nutmeg. I really don't think you can go too overboard with your cinnamon sprinkling, but it is possible to use too much nutmeg. If I had to guess, I'd say I use about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg? But honestly, that's a guess...I will try to remember to measure next time and report back!
I hope this dish is a hit at your Christmas breakfast at work! Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
This looks wonderful and would make such a festive breakfast for Christmas! Stopping by from Saturday Dishes! We, Coffee With Us 3, are the ones that will be taking over in January. Thank you for linking up and we hope you continue to do so.
Thank you, Lucy! I'm so glad you stopped by. I look forward to visiting Saturday Dishes once y'all take over. 🙂
Samantha, this looks great! Berries are in season here year-round so I'll be sure to pin this to remember if for making soon. Love overnight casseroles that make mornings simpler. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Jelli! Like eggnog itself, this recipe is pretty sweet as-is, and I think fresh berries do a nice job of cutting through that a bit. How nice to have access to them year-round! They are hit and miss these days around here. 🙂 I'm glad you stopped by...hope you have a great week!
This looks so yummy! would be great 4 Xmas Morning!
I agree, Krystie...it's on our Christmas morning menu for sure! Hope you enjoy if you end up trying it!
This looks yummy! 🙂 I’m a new FB and Twitter follower stopping by from Moonlight and Mason jars!
ChristysCraftyCorner.blogspot.com
Thank you, Christy! We are so happy to have you link up, and thanks so much for the follows! Hope too see you again next week. Have a happy Thursday!
I love overnight french toast and this version looks delicious! A great way to start Christmas morning or to serve when company is in town!
Thanks so much, Audra! This is going on our Christmas morning menu for sure...it's just too good and too easy not to! 😉
I love French Toast Casseroles! And this one with eggnog sounds delicious!
We loved it, Kathy...even the non-eggnog drinkers among us! 😉 I hope you enjoy it, too!
This is gorgeous! I love your photos. And eggnog totally rocks, and so does overnight anything. Who wants to get up early and bake breakfast? #notme
Thanks so much, Dorothy! Yeah, if breakfast is dependent upon me getting up earlier than my already-too-early wake-up call on Christmas morning, breakfast just isn't going to happen. So overnight it is! 😉
My mom's been asking for a french toast casserole and what better way than an eggnog version. This would be great Christmas morning! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I hope that you and your mom love this one, Megan! I agree...it's a perfect Christmas breakfast. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
oh my goodness this looks so delicious!! I pinned it right away. I love everything you make on your blog so glad I found it 🙂
You are so sweet, Shamene...thank you! I'm glad you found the blog, too...I'm always happy to have you stop by! Hope you're having a great night... 🙂
Samantha, I am loving your blog! Keep it up & congratulations.
Thank you so much, Taneal...that means a lot! Let me know if you have any recipe requests... 😉