Boozy Caramel French Toast Casserole
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This boozy French toast casserole with a caramel bottom makes the perfect company-for-brunch dish.
Part booze, part French toast, part bread pudding — how could you go wrong? In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you already had the recipe because such things (i.e., amazingly good, crowd pleasing, make-ahead, easy recipes) tend to get around. I got it from my friend Gayle, who got it from her friend Karen, who got it from…you get the idea.
This French toast casserole makes a perfect company-for-brunch dish because you can assemble it the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and then just pop it in the oven in the morning when you’re ready to eat. Don’t worry if you forget to plan ahead; it can be baked soon after assembling if need be.
Ingredients For Boozy Caramel French Toast Casserole
I use broiche bread to make my French toast casserole. Brioche is a lightly sweetened yeast bread enriched with lots of butter and eggs. You can find it in the bakery of most large supermarkets; if for some reason you can’t find it, challah makes an excellent substitute.
Grand Marnier is an orange-flavored liqueur. It adds depth of flavor and subtle orange flavor that pairs nicely with the orange zest and caramel. If you’d like to omit the booze, go ahead and replace it with more half and half.
How To Make Boozy Caramel French Toast Casserole
Begin with the caramel. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and one tablespoon of water.
Melt over medium heat, stirring until smooth.
Pour the caramel into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Remove the crust on the brioche and into 1½-in slices. Arrange the bread on top of caramel, making sure entire base is well covered.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, orange zest and salt until well combined.
Pour evenly over bread. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
When you’re ready to eat, bake the French toast casserole, uncovered, until puffed and golden, 40-50 minutes.
Let cool a few minutes (it will deflate) and then serve immediately. The caramel will harden up as it cools, so it’s important to serve this dish hot.
More French Toast Recipes
Boozy Caramel French Toast Casserole
This boozy French toast casserole with a caramel bottom makes the perfect company-for-brunch dish.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1⅓ lbs brioche (you'll likely need two loaves but you won't use it all)
- 5 large eggs
- 1½ cups half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with butter.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the brown sugar, corn syrup, and one tablespoon of water, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Slice off the crusts from the brioche (it doesn't need to be perfect). Cut the bread into 1½-in thick slices. Arrange the bread slices on top of caramel, making sure the entire base of the pan is covered.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, orange zest and salt until well combined. Pour evenly over bread. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 20 minutes or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Bake, uncovered, in the middle of the oven until puffed and golden, 40-50 minutes. Let cool a few minutes (it will deflate), then serve immediately. The caramel base hardens up as it cools, so it's important to serve hot.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 705
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 17 g
- Carbohydrates: 84 g
- Sugar: 37 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 17 g
- Sodium: 578 mg
- Cholesterol: 269 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hi, Is there a way to double this recipe for more people? Maybe place slices vertically, or add another layer? Thanks!
Hi Jean, sure, I’d add another layer. Keep in mind that the bake time will be longer but I’m not sure by how much, so just keep a close eye on it. Enjoy!
Love all your recipes – I’m excited to serve this today for a Valentine’s Day brunch. I made the casserole last night. Should I let it sit out before it goes into the oven? If so, for how long? Or can it go straight from the fridge to oven? Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m obviously weighing in too late to help (sorry!) but it’s fine to put it directly in the oven. Hope everyone enjoyed!
My brioche bread is sliced and it takes 2 slices for it to be 1 1/2″. Can I use two slices (one on top of the other) instead of one slice? Or should I just over lap them? Or should I cut into cubes?? help. Thanks, Beth
Sure, Beth, you can make 2 layers of sliced brioche. Enjoy!
Absolutely DELICIOUS. I made it with a loaf of apple cinnamon bread I defrosted. A crowd pleaser.
Hi Jenn, we can’t get corn syrup in the UK. One recipe I was trying that said corn syrup was paramount to the success said to use glucose syrup if corn syrup was unavailable. Do you think that would work with your recipe or do you have another suggestion? Thanks for your advice.
Hi Leslie, Do you have access to Lyle’s Golden Syrup? That will work nicely.
Could this be made with the brioche cut up into cubes
Instead of thick layered slices? I’m thinking this would be an excellent sweet companion to your savory spinach cheese strata that we have every year for Christmas morning breakfast. Thanks Jen
Hi Dawn, I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out!
Question — do you think it would be ok to assemble closer to 24 hrs in advance, rather than just overnight?
Sure, I think that would be fine. Enjoy!
This sounds wonderful, but there are only two of us. Do you think the recipe would work cut in half, and if so, what size pan would you suggest?
Yes, you could cut this in half successfully (and you’ll need an 8 x 8-inch dish. Hope you enjoy!
I bought challah by accident. Can I substitute for brioche? (Fingers crossed!)
Yes definitely 🙂