This decadent Vegan French Toast Casserole can be prepped the night before for the ultimate hands-off breakfast! It has all the flavors of traditional french toast and then some, thanks to the crunchy, sweet topping.
This recipe is further proof that you don’t need animal products to make amazing baked goods. I really wasn’t sure I could pull this off, but after a few tries, I got it just right. Really! No eggs, no milk, no cream.
Vegan French Toast Casserole is the perfect make ahead breakfast casserole for when you have company visiting, holiday mornings or just a lazy weekend. It’s totally rich and decadent, and tastes like french toast! If you haven’t already, please go make my 10 minute Vegan French Toast. You’ll thank me!
I have a few very important tips and tricks for making this the BEST French Toast Casserole ever, so read on.
What is the best bread to use for vegan french toast casserole?
This is the most important part of the entire recipe. Trust me, because I tried it first with a pretty fresh loaf of moist bread. It was wayyyy too soggy and did not turn out. The next time I used a day old loaf that was pretty dried out, and it was absolutely perfect.
So pretty please, do not try to make this recipe using sandwich bread or any fresh, moist loaf of bread. It will just be soggy bread no matter how long you bake it. I want you to use a DAY OLD loaf of french/sourdough bread or even a baguette.
If you only have fresh bread, cut it up and lay it out on a baking sheet. Let it dry out at room temperature for a couple of hours before using.
How to make french toast casserole without eggs:
This was a really big challenge! It took a few tries to get it just right. French toast casserole is usually made with about 6 eggs. The custard for my vegan version is made with a combination of silken tofu, coconut milk and cornstarch. It works perfectly! And the best part: no eggy aftertaste.
How to serve vegan french toast casserole?
The casserole isn’t super sweet on it’s own, so serve it with a dusting of powdered sugar and warm, pure maple syrup.
Consider making Tofu Scramble or a batch of Tempeh Bacon to go alongside it.
I hope you love this Vegan French Toast Casserole! It’s:
- Soft & Crunchy
- Easy to make
- Perfect for holiday mornings
- Sweet and decadent
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Vegan French Toast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 day old large loaf (14-16 ounces) french or sourdough bread* cut into 1 inch cubes (about 10 cups)
- 12 ounces silken tofu
- (1) 13.5-ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter, cold
Instructions
- Prepare the bread: Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes. I do this by first slicing the loaf, then cutting into smaller cubes. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish, and add the bread cubes to it.
- Make the custard: In a blender, add the silken tofu (drained of water if needed), coconut milk, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the custard over the bread cubes. Using your hands, press the bread down into the custard a few times, until the bread is soaked in it. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. You can bake it immediately if you prefer.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Then cut the vegan butter in with a fork or your fingers. Sprinkle this over the top of the casserole.
- Bake, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown on top and cooked throughout.
- Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve with warm, pure maple syrup. Enjoy!
Notes
- You MUST use day old, dried out bread for the casserole. If you use moist, fresh bread, you will have a soggy casserole and it will not taste good! Sometimes you can even buy day old bread at your grocery store, discounted. If you only have fresh, cut it up and let it sit at room temperature, uncovered for a few hours to dry out.
- You can use mori-nu silken tofu, or the silken tofu packed in water. Simply drain all the water you can from the packaging before using.
The first time I made this my family insisted it would be our new Christmas morning tradition! It tastes absolutely amazing and is so yummy and sweet that you don’t even need maple syrup with it.
This was so good!! The perfect weekend brunch treat. I added a cinnamon raisin bagel mixed in with the sourdough and yum!!
Hi Melanie. Your mix of breads sounds really delicious! I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for your feedback and positive review!
Do you think toffuti cream cheese wouls work instead of tofu?
Thank you
I haven’t tried replacing the tofu with cream cheese, but it might work. Alternatively, you could try replacing the custard in this recipe for my vegan custard.
Do you think this would be okay to freeze and cook later?
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t think the texture of the french toast would turn out well once thawed. Sorry!
I made this for a Mother’s Day brunch and even my very vegan skeptical parents loved it! I added fresh strawberries and vegan cream cheese in the middle of the bread cubes. It was very decadent and delicious. Thanks for another’s great recipe!
Hi Stacy. Your idea of strawberries and cream cheese sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your feedback and your ideas! I’m so glad your parents loved the casserole! Wishing you happy cooking!
This is the best vegan junk food, ever!
I made this for our church Easter breakfast to offer a vegan option to the egg casseroles usually provided. It was a hit with everyone!
I’m so glad the casserole was a hit! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Do you think it would be okay to freeze the bread before using it in the recipe? Thanks
You could. Just make sure the bread is thawed before using it in the recipe!
This recipe is delicious, better than the original one that I made with animal products. We are oil free, so I omitted the vegan butter topping, replaced it with banana’s and cinnamon, came out excellent. This casserole will be enjoyed by omni’s and vegan’s alike, its perfection!
Thank you, Anne, for sharing your great feedback and review! I’m glad your family has found a new recipe you all enjoy! I love your ideas of bananas and cinnamon! Thank you again!
Do you know if this recipe be can doubled and turn out ok? Would I bake it longer at a lower temp.?
I haven’t tried it, but probably!
Great Recipe!! I made this for brunch and it was a big hit!! My son, who is not vegan, says it’s now his favorite breakfast. Served it with fresh berries, homemade vanilla syrup and pecans. It was terrific!!
You casserole sounds delicious! I’m so glad you guys loved it! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments!
I replaced the coconut milk with vegan eggnog and it turned out great! Perfect holiday breakfast. Thank you, Nora!
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your great review and comments!
Not enough stars in the world to rate this!!! You’ve done it again!
Thank you for your wonderful review!
I used to have a baked french toast recipe from my pre-vegan days and have missed it. We tried this for Christmas breakfast today. It was absolutely delicious. The two of us ate 1/2 the pan already! It didn’t need any sweetener but I did drizzle a bit of maple syrup on it for the flavor. This will be a holiday tradition!
How fun this casserole will be a tradition for you! I’m really glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review!
Hi Nora! How long in advance can I make the custard? I want to make it ahead of time and then pour over the bread cubes on Christmas Eve for Christmas morning. Love your recipes!
You could probably make the custard 2-3 days before you make it. You made need to slightly warm it and whisk it well before pouring over the bread. Hope you enjoy it, thank you so much!
Thanks so much for asking this! I was just about to type exactly the same question for our winter getaway at a cabin…I just don’t know if there’s a blender there and don’t want to pack one if I don’t have to. And thanks for the answer Nora, I’m looking forward to making this next week. 🙂
Thank you for your reply, Nora! And you are very welcome, Ruth! Merry Christmas! Looking forward to a warm and fond Christmas morning that includes yummy vegan French toast casserole, first time making vftc for me! ❤️????
WOW! This was super easy and absolutely delicious. I used a baguette from Sam’s Club that was a few days old and we loved the texture. I cut the sugar in the liquid mixture to 1/4 cup and it was still plenty sweet (even for my sweet tooth). I added about 1/4 cup of golden raisins and that was a really nice addition. The house smelled divine and when I pulled it out of the oven, my husband and son could not stop eating it. I’m going to make a couple more tweaks next time, finely dicing an apple and mixing it in as well as adding 1/2 tsp orange extract. This reminded me of a bread pudding so I am also going to play with changing the topping to caramel sauce or icing. Thank you for the inspiration!
I’m glad you and your family loved the casserole! Thank you for sharing your great review and fun ideas! Yum! Wishing you happy cooking!
Hello Nora! My daughter has a soy allergy (in addition to dairy and eggs) so we can’t do tofu… Any idea of what else we might use in place of the tofu for the custard that might still kind of work?? Thanks!!!
You might have to get creative! 🙂 I do have this recipe for vegan custard, and while I haven’t personally tried it in this recipe, I think it’s likely to work.
I’m going to make it with a cup and a half of soaked cashews, I found a different recipe that uses the cashews with coconut milk. Good luck:)
Anyone tried this with a different plant milk? I would prefer to not have the coconut flavor.
I would go for cashew, soy or hemp milk as they are quite creamy. I know that one person used used 50% coconut milk and 50% soy and said it turned out well. I hope this helps!
Do I use the liquid from the canned coconut milk as well?
Can’t wait to try this as I love making French toast casserole for Xmas morning! I’m vegan now so this is great!!
Yes, use the entire can. Hope you enjoy it!
God bless, this was great! My bro-in-law is vegan and were vegetarians, and I love making french toast casseroles for meals. This is genuinely better than an egg-custard one. Love the coconut milk. It was absolutely phenomenal, thanks so much for this recipe!!
You are welcome! I’m glad the casserole was a hit! Thank you for taking time to share your review!
I am so happy when I find a vegan recipe that tastes better than my old eggy ones. This was so delicious and easy. I had to substitute light coconut milk and it still cooked so nicely and tasted amazing. I had some for breakfast and lunch! Thank you!
I’m so glad you love the casserole! I appreciate you taking your time to share your wonderful review! Thank you!