Whip up a Crock Pot French toast casserole you can make ahead or same day. Easy slow cooker breakfast recipe for a crowd. Make it regular or gluten free!
French toast has always been a rare breakfast treat, but it can be a hard dish to make for a crowd.
Slow cooker French toast, on the other hand, makes it so much easier to keep everything warm until everyone can eat. It's the answer to all your French toast woes.
What I love about this CrockPot cinnamon French toast is that it's so moist and so full of flavor. The cinnamon brown sugar topping really gives it a kick and adds a sweeter touch to this yummy casserole recipe.
It's quick and easy to whip up, though cook time does take at least a couple of hours. But you can either make it ahead of time the night before, or get up early and have it ready by breakfast time same day, your preference.
Rather make it in the oven? This oven baked easy French toast casserole is very similar, but with baking instructions for the oven. And we really enjoy making brioche French toast bake, which requires no chopping whatsoever.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my cooking tips, important cooking info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED FOR CROCK POT FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE:
- Sandwich bread – I've actually used both regular sandwich bread and gluten-free bread.
- Chopped pecans
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- Real maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salted butter
- Light brown sugar
Remember, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Slow Cooker – I use a 6-quart slow cooker.
Mixing Bowl and Whisk
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER FRENCH TOAST
There are really only 4 steps to prepping this sweet breakfast casserole in the slow cooker.
Be sure to grease your slow cooker with cooking spray beforehand.
I also like to prep the topping beforehand, so it's ready to go. Just mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl (a pastry blender works best for this), and set it aside for now.
- Cube the bread into small 1-inch cubes, and layer it with the pecans in your slow cooker.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and pecans in the Crock Pot, and give it all a gentle toss. Make sure all the bread is good and soaked.
- Crumble the cinnamon brown sugar topping over the entire casserole. It’s a really moist mixture, so it’s more like clumps of cinnamon brown sugar.
Place the lid on your slow cooker, and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours… Or you can cook it on low for 3 to 4 hours.
To make sure it's done, I use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature and make sure it's up to the proper temp for eggs.
You can slice it and serve it with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup. Keep the rest of your casserole warm, using the “Keep Warm” setting on your slow cooker, if applicable.
WHAT KIND OF BREAD SHOULD I USE?
While you can make a Crock Pot French toast bake with Texas toast, sourdough, challah bread, French bread, or really any other type of fresh baked bread, I usually use a regular loaf of plain sandwich bread.
This recipe is simple, so you can hopefully either use what you already have or easily find what you need while you’re at the store.
CAN YOU USE STALE BREAD FOR FRENCH TOAST?
Yes. In fact, it's actually the best thing to use stale bread because…
- Fresh bread can actually make really soggy French toast.
- And the dry, stale bread really soaks up the egg mixture well, leaving little to no liquid around the bread cubes in the slow cooker.
If your bread is really fresh, you can always let it sit out for a couple of hours before making the casserole. Or just leave the bag open overnight and let the bread air out.
If it's the morning of and you need it dried quickly, put it in a low temp oven (about 250° F) for a short time, until the bread has dried just a bit.
CAN I MAKE THIS A GLUTEN-FREE FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE?
Yes, you can. In fact, that's what I did with this particular recipe (and what's pictured in this recipe).
Just substitute in your favorite gluten-free bread in place of the regular sandwich bread included in the ingredients. Depending on the bread you use, it may be a bit more crumbly, but it's just as delicious.
Also, be sure to check labels on your spices and other ingredients, just to be on the safe side, and make sure they are really gluten-free.
CAN I LEAVE OUT THE PECANS?
I get it. Not everyone’s a fan of French toast casserole with pecans.
You can totally leave out the pecans altogether. OR you can add a different kind of nut like walnuts.
CAN YOU FREEZE FRENCH TOAST?
You can freeze overnight French toast. While I recommend freezing it after it’s already been cooked, you can also freeze it before cooking.
Keep in mind it’ll keep longer in the freezer if it’s already been cooked. And I'd add the topping later right before you actually slow cook it.
Be sure to cover it well or seal it in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
HOW DO YOU RE-HEAT FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE?
Re-heating after freezing…
Allow time for the casserole to thaw in the fridge. Then cover with aluminum foil, and re-heat in a 350° F oven for about half an hour, or until it's warmed through.
Re-heating after refrigerating…
You can re-heat it in the oven or microwave. If you're in a hurry, it's easier and quicker to re-heat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it's heated through.
MORE FRENCH TOAST RECIPES:
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe
- Classic Cinnamon French Toast
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole
- Brioche French Toast
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Crock Pot French Toast Casserole
Equipment
- 6-Quart Slow Cooker
Ingredients
Casserole:
- 24 ounces sandwich bread
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
- 4 tablespoons salted butter sliced
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Grease a 6 to 7-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Cube the bread into small 1-inch cubes, and layer it with the pecans in the slow cooker.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, real maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and pecans in the CrockPot, and give it all a gentle toss. Make sure all the bread is good and soaked.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, mix together the sliced butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Crumble the cinnamon brown sugar topping over the entire casserole; it’s a really moist mixture.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours; or cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.
- To make sure it's done, you can check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure it's up to the proper temp for eggs.
- Slice it and serve it with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup. Keep the rest of the casserole warm, using the “Keep Warm” setting on the slow cooker, if applicable.
Video
Notes
- Fresh bread can actually make really soggy French toast.
- And the dry, stale bread really soaks up the egg mixture well, leaving little to no liquid around the bread cubes in the slow cooker.
So just made this and I was so excited to try it but it was soooo gooey that it was like a eating a sponge?! What did I do wrong? I used GF bread that was actually
Very fresh. I toasted it before putting in crockpot. After reading I guess I should have just sat it out?
Elizabeth, it is possible that the fresh bread is your problem. I often find that letting it stale before using results in a better French toast casserole. The same is true with regular French toast….I also find that gluten-free bread is worse about it than regular. I would definitely recommend trying stale bread next time!
Can I prepare all of the ingredients and put in the crockpot the night before and then cook in the morning?
Kristen, I would recommend that you store the inner Crockpot bowl with all of the ingredients inside of the refrigerator until you are ready to cook. Otherwise, this will work fine. You may wish to pull it out in the morning and let everything come up to room temp before cooking, as going straight from the fridge to the slow cooker can sometimes cause the dish or even the glazing to crack. I hope this helps!
Will I ruin the recipe if I use 2%. Milk instead of whole?
Not one bit!
Can this be doubled?
Yes, you can double this recipe. Just double all of the ingredients and follow the directions the same as before.
My new way to make holiday French toast casserole. Third time this morning for Thanksgiving. Everyone loves it-even me a previous non-French toast lover! Great way to use older bread/buns.
It’s actually a great way to turn stale bread into a delicious treat.
This is an excellent dish to make to use up LEFTOVER BUNS after a party or camping! I ALWAYS buy too many buns! 😎
Oh what a great idea, Kim! Thank you!