Cranberry Egg Nog French Toast Bake can be assembled the night before making it perfect for the holidays! Creamy egg nog and tart cranberies make this a decadent and flavorful breakfast.
There's nothing I love more than waking up Christmas morning and enjoying the magic of the day with my children. This is also great for Thanksgiving morning!
What I don't want to do is spend a whole bunch of time in the kitchen. A little planning goes a long way and everyone will love this decadent baked french toast!
On Christmas Eve, I cut up some fresh fruit and make some muffins. Then I prep this Cranberry French Toast Bake - it's perfect to make the day before.
On Christmas morning, we snack on fruit and muffins, while we open stockings and this delicious breakfast casserole bakes.
Ingredients
- butter
- brown sugar
- maple syrup
- challa bread
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- eggs
- egg nog
- fresh cranberries
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar (optional)
Equipment
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In addition to Measuring Spoons, Liquid Measuring Cup, and Dry Measuring Cups, you will also need:
- 9x13 Baking dish
- Large bowl and Whisk
- Cutting Board and Bread Knife
- Sauce Pan
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Serving Suggestions
I just love serving this as part of a holiday brunch spread, too.
It's perfect alongside sausage links, fresh fruit salad, and ham and cheese croissants or a holiday ham. It's delicious with a little bit of brown sugar butter or even cranberry butter on top, too.
Here are a few more ideas you might like:
- Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Sangria Recipe
- Bacon Puff Pastry Twists
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Related: Pineapple Cranberry Smoothie
Cranberry Egg Nog French Toast Bake
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Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 loaf Challa bread Cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups egg nog
- 1 cup cranberries fresh, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- powdered sugar optional
Instructions
Prep Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13″ baking dish with butter and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and maple syrup.1 stick butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and pour into prepared baking dish.
- Arrange half the bread cubes over the brown sugar mixture.1 loaf Challa bread
- Sprinkle half of the fresh cranberries over the bread.1 cup cranberries
- Place the remaining bread cubes into the dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and mix in the Egg Nog, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract.1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, 8 eggs, 2 cups egg nog, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Evenly pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes.
- Gently press down on the bread to make sure it’s all coated.
- Sprinkle the remaining cranberries over the top of the dish.1 cup cranberries
- Tightly cover baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight, at least 8 hours.
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325-degrees F.
- Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator.
- Bake covered for 45 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 375-degrees F and remove foil.
- Bake uncovered until a knife inserted in the center of casserole is clean (and mostly dry) and top is puffy and golden brown. This will vary from 10-20 minutes depending on how hot your oven cooks.
- Dust on powdered sugar if desired and serve warm.powdered sugar
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Bread Knife
- Sauce Pan
Jennifer Eldridge says
In the recipe it says to put half the loaf on the brown sugar mixture, but I don’t find another direction to include the other half. Is this an error or do you only use half the loaf?
Ang Paris says
Hi Jennifer! Add the remaining bread crumbs on top of the cranberries, and before you add the custard mixture. Enjoy!!
Vanessa H says
Do I have to make it the night before !? Can I make it morning of??
Angela Paris says
Yes, you can make it the same day. 🙂
Richard says
Baked up perfectly following the directions. Texture was good, not too dry and not too soggy. Used Challah bread with raisins because we love raisins. You might consider sugaring the cranberries or swapping some out for blueberries if someone doesn't like the tartness of cranberries -- four out of the five of us were fine with the cranberries, one of us commented that an occasional cranberry was too tart for her. Ther pickiest eater requested that we make it next year for Christmas, so that's a WIN!