Raspberry Croissant French Toast Bake
Easiest overnight French toast casserole! Prep the night before and bake in the morning. Too easy and so impressive!
My in-laws are coming to town this weekend and after much planning and debating and stressing, I’ve decided this will be the ultimate brunch item that will be served.
It’s ridiculously easy and so unbelievably impressive without any of the fuss or stress. I don’t even know what I was worried about. And I get to prep everything the night before.
So now I don’t have to worry about a single thing in the morning. Nope. I can simply take this out of the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then bake for an hour or so.
And it really looks like the most fancy breakfast item ever that took hours of slaving away in the kitchen, especially with the fresh raspberry topping and that beautiful dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Not to mention that ooey, gooey cream cheese filling. It’s legit so so good.
But shhhhh, let’s not tell my mother-in-law how easy this really was!
Raspberry Croissant French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds fresh croissants, about 12 medium, cut in half
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed
- 2 ½ cups fresh raspberries
- 12 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Lightly coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Place half of croissants evenly into the baking dish. Top with half of cream cheese and 3/4 cup raspberries in an even layer. Top with remaining croissants, cream cheese and 3/4 cup raspberries.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, honey, vanilla and salt. Pour mixture evenly over the croissants. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove baking dish from the refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes.
- Place into oven and bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover; continue to bake for an additional 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and center is firm.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with remaining raspberries and confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
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I think this would be even better with some granulated sugar in the recipe and more vanilla. I made the dish for the first time and carried it to an Easter brunch yesterday. Some thought it was good and others thought is was lacking something. Personally, I thought it was not sweet enough—possibly because fruits are not at their sweetest this time of the year, and I thought it could use more than one teaspoon of vanilla. Those are just my thoughts.
Your website and the recipes are delicious and I use this site all the time. I am from Mississippi and Louisiana so most all the recipes hit my tastebuds to a tea. I have lived in California for the past 32 years and miss my Southern recipes, so I “depend” on yours!
Could this be prepared 24 hours in advanced and then baked?
Has anyone tried freezing this and reheating? If so, I assume freezing it would be after it’s fully cooked and then thawing before reheating? Just wondering if the texture would be negatively impacted from freezing. I need make ahead recipes for a post wedding brunch I’m hosting.
Suggestions for eliminating cream cheese? Could I make it without it or swap it for something else?
Mascarpone? Unless dairy is the issue, then there are some decent non-dairy cream cheeses…
By refrigerating it for a while (preferably overnight), the eggs and milk soak into the croissants. It shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re worried, you can cook it on a baking sheet.
Making this tomorrow! So by “fresh croissants” does that mean I need to buy them already cooked?
Yes. The egg and milk mixture soaks into the cooked croissants, just like with regular French toast.
This was fabulous. So easy to prepare and it turned out just like the pictures. It was very impressive and my guests all had seconds. Very tasty, moist, and slightly tart. Very very good.
I made this recipe this morning for a volunteer appreciation breakfast. I also made the apple French toast casserole. They were both delicious! People were asking me for the recipes 🙂 did require about 10 to 15 extra minute cooking time. So easy!! I will be making these for a holiday breakfast for sure!! Thank you!
Could halved or quartered fresh strawberries be used?
I’ve made this before and love it. I need to make a dairy free version for a brunch next weekend and wondering if anyone has tried this with a dairy-free milk and vegan cream cheese? Think it would still work?
Getting ready to make this..just rwlIed I don’t have honest. Would maple syrup work in place?
This is wonderful. It’s so easy and impressive. I added a package of cubed ham to mine for a more complete breakfast. It was delicious with compliments galore.
Hi! Could I make this in an 8×8 pan, and maybe halve the recipe? If so, would it affect the baking time?
Thank you!
I am doing it halved in an 8×8 and wondered about cooking time as well. Did you try it ? 🙂
Does it have to sit in frig for 2 hrs minimum or can it be baked right after assembling?
~ Thank you! 🙂
It says, “Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours”
Really nice and it seems like it will be very tasty to eat I am gonna try it for sure.
Just made it and it looks delicious.
So good! Making it for the 3rd time today.
Looks delicious and easy…I want to try it right away!
Do you think frozen berries would work or would I have to thaw them first?
Don’t use frozen berries. They’ll release too much liquid. after 65 min cook time mine was still super runny.
I just made this and it look’s like it could spill bc so many eggs and milk. Will it spill over?
THIS LOOKS DAMN DELICIOUS 🙂 🙂
Hi! Just want to say that I made this recipe for breakfast this morning and what a hit it was!! I loved how easy it was. I have made several make-ahead breakfast dishes but this was by far the easiest and quickest. Thank you so much!
Does the cream cheese melt ? It looks like it is still in pieces.
Hi Sandra! Yes, it certainly melts but it may keep its delicious gooey cube shape. 🙂
What am I doing wrong? I can’t get it done in the middle!
Hi Angela! You can bake for longer as needed (with an aluminum foil tent if it is browning too quickly on the tops) until it is fully cooked through in the middle.
Angela, mine had to bake for over 90 minutes before it was done. After an hour, eggs were still standing in the middle. I set the timer for an additional 15 minutes and it was still soggy in the middle. So I set the timer for an additional 15 minutes and it was almost done. I left it in another 8 minutes and it was perfect! It was room temperature when I started. I wonder if I had too much croissants in it as I used Costco’s croissants and they are rather large in size.
Did you let it warm up a bit as directed before you put it in the oven? Were your croissants too small?
Do you think this would work well as a dessert?
It’s more of a breakfast/brunch item. 🙂
Absolutely proves simple is the best ! Thank you so much and enjoy your day 🙂
French toast casserole is one of the breakfasts that are hard to say no to. 🙂 Love that this can be easily made ahead.
This looks amazing, but in my neck of the woods I would pay alot for doz. Croissants. My question is can i sub. with say brioche,? Or any other ideas,?
Absolutely, Teresa! You can substitute 1 (16-ounce) loaf brioche bread, cubed. 🙂
Looks Yummy! We have gluten sensitivity, has anyone tried gluten free bread or would a thick and hardy sliced bread work??
Looks good