Cinnamon Croissant French Toast Bake

Cinnamon Croissant French Toast Bake is a decadent, delicious, easy, make-ahead breakfast with crispy layered croissants coated in a sweetened condensed milk custard and baked until puffy.

Whether you double it for a large crowd over the holidays or make a small batch for just you and your sweetie on Valentine’s Day, no one has to know just how easy it is to whip up this beautiful and delicious croissant french toast casserole.

French toast bake recipe

This french toast bake recipe is so good because it’s made with toasted croissants and sweetened with a can of sweetened condensed milk.

I’m always surprised by the number of people who have yet to be introduced to the goodness that is sweetened condensed milk. Most are extremely confused to discover that it’s actually a super luscious, caramel-like mixture of only two simple ingredients: milk + sugar. That’s it.

Remove the water from the milk, add sugar and something magical happens. I mean, Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk’s entire purpose is to add pure joy into people’s lives through its product, so you KNOW it’s gotta be good.

I remember my grandma and my mom always having at least one can in the pantry. And I’m now the same! I always have a can on hand for whenever a random craving hits.

Because I just never know when I’m going to want to make Easy Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons, key lime pie, millionaire bars or dulce de leche brownies. I mean, you just never know. You know?

I also always bring a can of Eagle camping so that I don’t have to wait for boiling water to get a delicious coffee fix and instead instantly mix up a glass of Thai Cold Brew Iced Coffee.

You can also make french toast casserole without sweetened condensed milk like this recipe for Blackberry Croissant French Toast Bake.

Ingredients

It takes only a few minutes and a handful of ingredients to prepare. And it’s so, so, so over-the-top yummy. Poofy and light and crispy and custardy.

• Sweetened condensed milk – or substitute the same amount of canned cream of coconut or use 1 cup of granulated sugar and and extra ¾ cup of milk.
• Whole milk – or substitute any other milk without any recipe adjustments. But note – if using heavy cream you’ll need to increase the amount to 2 cups and skip buttering the dish because there’s so much milk fat in the cream.
• Stale croissants – If you have leftover croissants after a party or brunch, this is the perfect way to use them up because the drier the better. If not, simply toast fresh croissants for a little longer than the day old ones.
• Eggs
• Butter – just to grease the dish
• Spices – cinnamon powder, nutmeg and salt
• Confectioners sugar- (optional) for serving

Step by step instructions

1. Reserve 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk out of the can to drizzle over the baked casserole. Then pour remaining sweetened condensed milk into a large bowl. Measure whole milk with the condensed milk and add to bowl. Then whisk in eggs and a generous amount of both cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Slice croissants in half or rip into pieces then toast in oven and layer in a baking dish.

3. Pour egg/milk custard over toasted croissants.

4. Cover with buttered foil or parchment and bake until eggs are puffed up. Then uncover and bake a few minutes more until golden brown.

5. Cool 5 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and drizzling with the reserved sweetened condensed milk.

6. Serve with variety of toppings like whipped cream, berries, fresh mint and pure maple syrup. Or with ice cream for dessert. Enjoy!

Easy, make-ahead breakfast casserole

This is the best make-ahead breakfast recipe. After a nice long soak, all the flavors meld together and soak in to the croissants. It’s such an easy brunch for a crowd or make-ahead holiday breakfast! Perfect, really, for any morning when cooking and cleaning is the last thing you want to do.

Simply prepare through the point of covering with foil then refrigerate up to 18 hours. Don’t go any longer or the croissants will break down too much and be a soggy mess. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350 and bake as directed.

Customize It!

• Make individual servings of croissant French toast casserole in muffin cups. Perfect for early morning parties and brunches.
• Sprinkle fresh fruit into the custard or sliced nuts on top.
• Use chocolate or almond croissants instead of plain for an even more over-the-top option!
• Instead of tearing apart the croissants, stuff with flavored cream cheese and/or jam before placing in the baking dish and bake them up whole.

Yield

This recipe yields 8-12 servings but can easily be halved for a small family or just a couple people.

Pin for later!