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Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast

overhead view of Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast in a white baking pan

Mornings and I are not the best of friends. I am sadly not one of those people who can jump out of bed in the morning and be instantly ready to take on the day. No, I need a little while to convince myself to get going.

Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast served on a red-rimmed white plate

But my love of breakfast goodies can create quite the conflict. That’s why there are recipes like this one. You can put most of it together in the evening, let it refrigerate overnight, then just do a little bit more to get it in the oven the next morning. Even a non-morning-person like me can handle that!

Essentially, this is a bread pudding. It’s just geared a bit more toward breakfast than traditional bread puddings. I had some gorgeous Pink Lady apples sitting on my countertop, so I put one of those to good use here, along with some cinnamon and pecans.

My favorite bread for French toast is challah. Feel free to use whatever kind of bread you prefer. And this is a great recipe for changing as other fruits come into season. I look forward to making this again when berries begin appearing at the local markets.

If you like, sprinkle a little confectioners’ sugar on top of each serving and pour on a little maple syrup, too. But I’ll tell you that it’s perfectly delicious without adding anything extra. This is definitely a new go-to recipe for me for a special breakfast!

Want more apple treats for breakfast and brunch? Try Apple Cinnamon Muffins and Apple Streusel Coffee Cake, too!

Visit the Recipe Index for more breakfast recipes!

Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Yield 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast is a warm, sweet way to make breakfast special!

overhead view of Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast in a white baking pan

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 12 ounces (340g) challah bread, cut into 6 to 8 slices
  • 5 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 & 1/2 cups (591ml) milk
  • 2/3 cup (133g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:

  • 1 medium baking apple, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup (120g) chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
  • confectioners' sugar, optional
  • maple syrup, optional

Instructions

To make the filling:

  1. Arrange the bread slices in a lightly greased 3-quart baking dish. Overlap the slices if needed.
  2. Combine the eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the bread in the pan. Lightly press the bread into the egg mixture as needed to thoroughly moisten the bread.
  3. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

To make the topping:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Place the apple slices and pecans over the top of the chilled filling.
  3. Mix the butter and brown sugar. Drizzle over the apples and pecans.
  4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
  5. If desired, serve with confectioners' sugar and maple syrup.

Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from BHG.

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    11 Comments on “Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast”

  1. This is making my mouth water! Absolutely can’t wait to try this, pinned this recipe!

  2. Great idea! I love this kind of recipe. So easy to prep early and bake quicker in the morning and always popular.

  3. My kind of breakfast food, will try this for sure!

  4. LOVE prep ahead breakfasts like this!! Perfect 🙂

  5. Breakfast bread pudding sounds HEAVENLY especially when it has apples…that basically makes it a health food, right?

  6. I’m assuming this is in a 350F degree oven??

  7. This is awesome! I made it for our Sunday breakfast today, and it was delicious (I used a store-bought loaf of brioche instead of the challah). Like you, I’m not a morning person, so doing most of the work yesterday made it easy–I just had to prep the topping and pop it in the oven this morning. My spouse’s review: “Outstanding!” Thanks, Jennifer.

  8. This is delicious!!  What a great way to use up a loaf of french bread.  I used walnuts instead of pecans- I’m sure either is wonderful. Thank you, this one is a keeper for sure!

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