Tender apples, warm spices, and a delicious crumb topping make this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake the perfect make-ahead breakfast! Assemble the french toast casserole the night before and bake it in the morning for a fuss free start to the day.
This blog post was sponsored by Pink Lady Apples®. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
There is something so comforting and downright delicious about the combination of apples and cinnamon. They are a match made in heaven. That is exactly what this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake is – heavenly.
This Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake is an absolute hit in our home and something we love to bake up for special brunches or lazy weekend breakfasts. Since apples are available at the grocery store year round and we are always fully stocked in our home, we pretty much always have the ingredients we need on hand to make this apple breakfast.
French toast bakes are one of my favourite things to make for brunch or even make-ahead breakfasts for my husband and I. The beauty of it is that you can do all the prep work the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning. Once baked, you can store leftovers in the fridge and reheat for breakfast the next day too!
To make this french toast, I used Pink Lady® apples which are crisp, naturally sweet apples. These juicy apples are the perfect apple for this sweet breakfast bake and keep their shape so you don’t end up with overly mushy apple in your breakfast bake.
Why we love this recipe
- It’s delicious! Tender apples, brown sugar, warm spices, and a crumb topping over custardy french toast. It’s the ultimate breakfast!
- The dish is so easy to make.
- French toast casseroles are a great make ahead breakfast. Do all the assembly the night before and all you have to do is pop it in the oven in the morning.
- It is way easier to make french toast for a crowd this way! No need to stand over the stove cooking individual slices of french toast.
Ingredients in Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake
- Bread: 1 loaf of sandwich bread makes a 9×13 french toast bake. Brioche bread is a delicious substitute. Ideally, your bread should be slightly stale.
- Apples: Pink Lady® apples, chopped. I was delighted for this opportunity to work with Pink Lady® apples since they are not only crispy, sweet, and juicy, but they also keep their shape so that you can still detect those delicious apple chunks in your french toast. Pink Lady® apples are hand picked and stay on the tree longer, giving them more time to develop their lovely, sweet flavor. You can identify them by their heart-shaped Pink Lady® sticker and are currently available at Loblaws, Fortinos and Zehrs. If you haven’t tried them before and are interested to learn more, you can visit www.pinkladyapples.co.uk.
- Butter: melted butter is used for the french toast and softened butter is used for the crumble.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar sweetens this apple french toast while also adding some molasses flavor to it.
- Cornstarch & Lemon Juice: Tossed with the apples to coat them before adding them to the french toast casserole.
- Warm spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg.
- Eggs: You will need 8 eggs for this recipe.
- Milk: I use 2% milk or whole milk for this recipe. If needed, you can use a low fat milk or even nondairy milk options.
- Vanilla extract: Adds flavor and is a must in pretty much all baked goods.
- Flour: used for the crumb topping.
**Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
How to make Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake
- Cube the bread. Slice the sandwich bread into 1 inch cubes and distribute evenly in a greased baking dish.
- Add the apple layer. In a bowl, mix together the chopped apples, melted butter, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Sprinkle the apple mixture over the bread in the baking dish.
- Make the egg custard and pour over the bread and apples. Whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour the egg mixture over the apples and bread in the baking dish ensuring everything is covered with it.
- Make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Crumble it over the french toast bake. Cover with plastic wrap and chill it overnight if making this ahead of time.
- Bake. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top turns a nice golden brown. Slice and serve with maple syrup.
Maple syrup is a must over this delicious apple cinnamon french toast casserole. Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that delicious crumb topping? Absolute perfection! Crumb topping is always a good idea, if you ask me.
Storing leftovers and reheating
Once cooled, leftover french toast casserole can be covered in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for a couple of days.
To reheat, pop slices into a baking dish and heat them in the oven at 350F until heated through.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Looking for more sweet breakfast ideas? You may also like:
Pumpkin Baked French Toast Casserole
Classic Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe
Blackberry Coffee Cake
Baked Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts
Baked Apple Donuts
Did you love this recipe? Please consider leaving us a comment and a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below.
Don’t forget to keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 loaf sandwich bread
- 3 Pink Lady® apples chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Crumble Topping:
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13″ baking dish with butter.
- Slice the sandwich bread into 1 inch cubes and distribute evenly in the baking dish.
- In a bowl, mix together the chopped apples, melted butter, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Sprinkle the apple mixture over the bread in the baking dish.
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour the egg mixture over the apples and bread in the baking dish ensuring everything is covered with it.
- In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Crumble it over the french toast bake. Cover the casserole with plastic wrap and chill it overnight if making this ahead of time.
- To bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the casserole from the fridge if making the night before.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top turns a nice golden brown. Slice and serve with maple syrup.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
