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Overhead view of a gorgeous croissant french toast casserole topped with strawberry slices, whipped cream, and a bourbon maple syrup.

The BEST Croissant French Toast Casserole

Rich and sweet and fluffy French toast made with croissants, layered into a gorgeous casserole, and topped with strawberries and blueberries. Seal the deal with an optional but unbelievable bourbon-vanilla maple syrup.
Prep: 45 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Chill 2 hours
Total: 3 hours 20 minutes
Yield:9 servings

Equipment

  • Small saucepan optional
  • 2 whisks 1 optional
  • small airtight bottle or jar, optional
  • 9x13 baking dish
  • Cooking spray
  • Sharp knife
  • Cutting board
  • large mixing bowl with lid, or plastic wrap to cover
  • refrigerator
  • Oven
  • sugar duster or fine mesh sifter; optional, for powdered sugar

Ingredients

For the Bourbon-Vanilla Maple Syrup (Optional)

  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 ounce salted butter 2 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Croissant French Toast Casserole

  • 8-10 croissants see Notes
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups half and half or milk of choice, or heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 large pinch sea salt
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup plus more to serve if not making bourbon-vanilla syrup

Suggested Toppings (All Optional)

  • powdered sugar for dusting
  • whipped cream
  • fresh berries
  • bourbon-vanilla maple syrup from recipe above

Instructions

For the Bourbon-Vanilla Maple Syrup (Optional)

  • Warm small saucepan over high heat. When saucepan is warm, add maple syrup, bourbon, and butter, and whisk until ingredients are incorporate. Bring mixture to boil.
  • When mixture begins to just boil, immediately reduce heat to low. Simmer mixture uncovered 3 minutes.
  • After simmering 3 minutes, add pure vanilla extract and whisk to incorporate.
  • Transfer prepared syrup to bottle or jar. Serve immediately, or cover container, let syrup cool, then refrigerate syrup up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave or on stovetop when ready to serve.

For the Croissant French Toast Casserole

  • Lightly spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set dish aside.
  • Slice croissants in half, cutting through middle of croissants to create croissant buns. Detach halves completely and set aside.
  • Add eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, and maple syrup to large mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until fully combined.
  • Submerge one croissant half in egg wash until completely soaked, then place croissant half cut-side down in greased casserole dish. Repeat until all croissant halves have been dipped in egg wash and placed in casserole dish. Overlap croissant halves slightly as needed to fit in dish.
    Overhead view of an unbaked croissant french toast casserole in a large rectangular casserole dish.
  • Cover baking dish tightly with lid or food-safe plastic wrap. Place covered baking dish in refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours, but no more than 24 hours.
  • Remove baking dish from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking and let stand at room temperature. While casserole comes to temperature, preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
  • When oven is preheated, discard plastic wrap and place baking dish in oven. Bake casserole, uncovered, 25 to 35 minutes, or until croissants are golden brown and heated through completely.
  • Remove casserole from oven. Let stand 5 minutes, then dust top with powdered sugar and add fresh fruit and whipped cream if desired. Serve immediately with pure maple syrup or bourbon-vanilla maple syrup.
    Overhead view of a baked croissant french toast casserole in a large rectangular casserole dish.

Notes

  • Croissants: For best results, the croissants should be a day old. I like to use 10 croissants because they layer nicely, but 8 would work fine.
 

Optional Egg Wash Mix-Ins

I kept the recipe simple, but you can add any number of things to the egg wash, to give your casserole a little more flavor. Here are just a few suggestions:
  • Orange zest
  • Grand Marnier
  • Bourbon
  • Lemon zest
  • Honey
  • Bailey's Irish Cream
  • Brown sugar
  • Banana extract
  • Chopped walnuts
  • Pumpkin pie spice
  • Nutmeg
  • Blueberry syrup

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1serving | Calories: 333kcal | Protein: 10g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 172mg | Sodium: 272mg | Potassium: 181mg | Total Carbs: 31g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Net Carbs: 30g | Vitamin A: 700IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 2mg
Recipe By:Cheryl Malik