Apple Cider French Toast Bake: An Easy Fall Breakfast

Inviting the in-laws over for breakfast on a Friday night is exactly what led to this apple cider french toast bake, since flipping individual pieces of bread while answering questions about life choices felt genuinely offensive at ten that evening.

Not being a morning person, with hand-eye coordination that usually results in burnt toast and tears before two cups of coffee, made an overnight solution feel like the only reasonable choice.

Anyone who prefers to do the morning cooking the night before, while still technically awake, will find a real lifesaver in this recipe. Here is exactly how I do it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Sleep in. Prepping this the night before lets this overnight french toast casserole do the heavy lifting while everyone dreams.
• Zero stove duty. Standing over a hot pan flipping soggy bread slices for an hour never becomes necessary.
• Feeds a crowd. A house full of hungry relatives gets satisfied without needing a short-order cook.
• Aromatherapy. The house ends up smelling better than any expensive autumn candle money can buy.

Tools You’ll Need

Nothing fancy, I promise.

• 9×13 baking dish. The workhorse of any casserole.
• Vegetable peeler. This handles the apples far faster than a paring knife.
• Large skillet. This softens the apples in butter and sugar, which is honestly the best part of the whole process.

Ingredients

For the Casserole

• 1 loaf French bread, brioche, or challah – Challah is the best, but if you buy the flimsy sandwich bread, this will turn into a soggy nightmare.
• 6 large eggs – The glue that holds our lazy morning together.
• 1 cup apple cider – Use the real unfiltered apple cider, not apple cider vinegar unless you want a terrible surprise.
• 1 cup whole milk – Skip the skim milk; we are not counting calories today.
• 1/2 cup brown sugar – Light or dark works, just pack it in there.
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest – I know zesting is annoying, but it actually wakes up the flavors.
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – Measure with your heart, but a teaspoon is a good start.
• pinch cinnamon – For warmth.
• pinch salt – Because baked goods without salt taste flat.

For the Cinnamon Apples

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter – Everything is better with butter.
• 4 medium apples – Peeled and sliced. Use firm ones like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp so they do not turn into applesauce.
• 1/4 cup apple cider – For the pan sauce.
• 1/3 cup brown sugar – More sugar, more happiness.
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – Required for fall baking.
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice – Do not skip this, it adds depth.
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg – Freshly grated if you are feeling ambitious.
• 1/8 teaspoon salt – Just a dash.
• 3/4 cup pecan halves – Optional, but they add a great crunch.

How To Make Apple Cider French Toast Bake

Do the work now so tomorrow-you can just push a button and take the credit.

1. Slice and dry the bread: Cut the bread into 1-inch slices and let it sit out for a few hours. If you forget this step, just bake the slices at 300°F for 10 minutes to dry them out – nobody needs to know.
2. Prep the dish: Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. If you skip the grease, you will be chiseling baked egg off this pan until Thanksgiving.
3. Whisk the custard: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, apple cider, milk, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.

1. Soak the bread: Dip each slice into the custard and line them up in the dish, then pour the rest of the liquid over the top. It might look like a swamp right now, but trust the process.
2. Cook the apples: Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the apples, cider, brown sugar, and spices. Cook for about 8 minutes until softened, then stir in the pecans. Try not to eat this straight out of the pan.
3. Assemble and chill: Spoon the apple mixture over the bread. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. This is the secret to a perfect baked french toast with apple cider.

1. Bake: Bake uncovered at 350°F for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for another 25-35 minutes until the center is set.
2. Serve: Let it cool for 5 minutes before serving so you do not burn the roof of your mouth.

Make it yours

• Streusel topping version. You sprinkle a buttery brown sugar streusel over the apples before the final bake for extra crunch.
• Maple drizzle version. You drizzle warm maple syrup over each serving for a deeper, more traditional fall brunch recipe finish.

Perfect Pairings

This fall brunch recipe suits two specific pairings particularly well.

• Crispy, thick-cut bacon balances out all that sweet, spiced apple goodness.
• A lazy Sunday brunch spread calls for exactly this kind of bake that looks fancy with zero effort.

Baked Apple Cider French Toast

This apple cider french toast bake proves that a genuinely impressive fall brunch can come together the night before with almost no morning effort. This overnight french toast casserole layers a cinnamon apple topping over a rich, custard-soaked bread base, delivering everything a proper fall brunch recipe should offer. Whether prepped for visiting in-laws or served as the ultimate make ahead french toast for fall brunch, this baked french toast with apple cider earns a permanent spot in the regular rotation.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 4 hours hrs

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 8 hours hrs

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 (12–14-ounce/340–400g) loaf French bread brioche, or challah*
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup (240ml) apple cider
• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch salt

Cinnamon Apples

• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter
• 4 medium apples peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices (about 4 cups/500g)*
• 1/4 cup (60ml) apple cider
• 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (90g) pecan halves
• for serving: confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and/or salted caramel sauce

Equipment

• 9×13 baking dish
• Vegetable peeler 
• Large skillet

Method

 

1. Slice the bread into 1-inch-wide slices. Let the sliced bread sit out uncovered for a few hours or up to 1 day. (If you don’t have enough time, see recipe Note below for a shortcut.)
2. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish (or any 3.5–4-quart baking dish), or spray with nonstick spray.
3. In a medium bowl preferably with a pour spout, whisk the eggs, apple cider, milk, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
4. Dip each slice of bread in the egg custard mixture, soaking both sides. Place in the prepared baking dish, lining the slices up next to each other. Pour any remaining custard over the top. Set aside.
5. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples, apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples have slightly softened. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans.
6. Spoon the apple mixture over the top of the bread slices, and pour any remaining sauce from the skillet over the top of everything.
7. Cover the casserole tightly and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. This gives the bread a chance to soak up the custard and is a key step in this recipe.
8. Remove casserole from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
9. Bake casserole uncovered for 20 minutes, and then cover with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 25–35 minutes or until center appears set and is no longer runny. The total time this casserole takes is 45–55 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving. Casserole deflates slightly as it cools. Feel free to sift a dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top, and/or drizzle maple syrup or salted caramel sauce on entire casserole or on individual servings.
11. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days.

Recipe Notes

Bread: I always use challah or brioche, since flimsy sandwich bread turns this into a soggy mess.

Apple cider: I always use real, unfiltered cider, never apple cider vinegar, since that would ruin the whole dish.

Apples: I use Granny Smith or Honeycrisp, since both hold their shape instead of turning to mush.

Milk: I use whole milk for the richest custard, since skim thins it out too much.

Pecans: I add these for crunch, though they lose their texture after a day in the fridge.