Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole

carrot-cake-french-toast-casserole

This carrot cake French toast casserole has the dreamiest texture and is full of delicious carrot cake flavor. Each bite is made of little flecks of wholesome carrots, nuts, raisins, and sweet maple syrup. 

Carrot cake french toast casserole on a plate with a fork.

Carrot Cake French Toast: A Perfect Breakfast

Level up your next Mother’s Day brunch, Easter morning, or typical weekday breakfast with this easy carrot cake overnight French toast casserole! I gotta tell ya, I’m an inner texture-freak, and this morning delight does NOT disappoint. 

With a French toast mixture made up of French bread, freshly shredded carrots, raisins, walnuts, maple syrup, and warm spices, how could you not fall in love?

And to make things even better, we topped things off with a deliciously rich cream cheese frosting that compliments the carrot cake flavors beautifully. It’s simply the BEST.

Eggs, milk and cinnamon in a bowl for carrot cake french toast casserole.

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • French baguette: French baguettes are our bread of choice for French toast, so we just had to put it in this French toast casserole.
  • Carrots: we grated carrots from fresh for this recipe for the best results.
  • Raisins & walnuts: you can’t have a carrot cake casserole without raisins and walnuts! If you have picky eaters, though, you can omit.
  • Eggs: find the freshest eggs possible for your french toast casserole, and make sure you whisk the eggs thoroughly. There is nothing worse than a breakfast casserole with thick clumps of egg whites.
  • Almond milk: feel free to use whatever milk you would like! We prefer unsweetened almond milk or oat milk for this specific recipe.
  • Maple syrup: this liquid sweetener tastes great with the carrot cake flavors. Honey or agave work just as well, too.
  • Spices: we used a warm and tasty spice blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and kosher salt. 
  • Cream cheese: a rich and creamy frosting that tastes amazing with this carrot cake French toast casserole.
  • Greek yogurt: greek yogurt is mixed with cream cheese to create a flavorful and fluffy frosting.
Carrot cake french toast casserole in a casserole dish.

Grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish and add the french baguette pieces, grated carrot, raisins, and chopped walnuts to the dish and toss. Set aside. 

Next, crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them together. Add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt to the eggs and whisk to combine. 

Then pour the egg mixture over the bread, mixing well. Use a spatula or your hands to push all the ingredients down into the egg mixture. 

Cover the casserole dish and place it in the refrigerator overnight. 

Carrot cake french toast casserole mixed together in a casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and remove the French toast bake from the refrigerator. Use your hands to submerge the bread in the egg mixture one more time before baking. 

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, covered. Remove the tin foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes. 

While the French toast bake is baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting

Place all of the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting into a bowl and use an electric mixer to whip all the ingredients together until the frosting is smooth.

Pro Tip: If you like your cake frosting on the sweeter side, feel free to add more maple syrup to the frosting.

Let the bake sit for 10 minutes before serving. Then, top your delicious French toast casserole with a spread of cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Latest French Toast Recipes

More

Let’s Go to Brunch!

While this carrot cake French toast casserole is filling enough on its own, it also tastes great paired with other classic brunch flavors. Next time you and your friends or family want to get together for a satisfying brunch, consider these great side options:

A spoon in a casserole dish of carrot cake french toast casserole.

Can you make this recipe the day of?

Absolutely! Although this is an overnight French toast casserole recipe, you don’t have to let it sit overnight. Just make sure that it chills for at least 4 hours before baking. 

Why is my French toast casserole soggy?

If your french toast bake is soggy, you either haven’t baked it long enough, or your bread-to-egg ratio is off! Try baking the french toast bake a bit longer covered with tin foil.

What is the best bread for French toast?

The best types of bread for making French toast are French baguette, brioche, and challah. This recipe calls for a French baguette, but you are more than welcome to try the other two options!

Serving of carrot cake french toast casserole on a plate with a fork.

Store your carrot cake French toast casserole in an airtight container (or in the casserole dish covered in plastic wrap) in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Carrot cake french toast casserole on a plate with a fork.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz. fat-free cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt room temperature
  • cup maple syrup or more to taste
  • Grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish and add the french baguette pieces, grated carrot, raisins, and chopped walnuts to the dish and toss. Set aside.

  • Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them together. Add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt to the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and mix. Use a spatula or your hands to push all the ingredients down into the egg mixture.

  • Cover the casserole dish and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF and remove the French toast bake from the refrigerator and use your hands to submerge the bread in the egg mixture one more time before baking. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, covered. Remove the tin foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

  • While the french toast bake is baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Place all of the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting into a bowl and use an electric mixer to whip all the ingredients together until the frosting is smooth.*

  • Let the bake sit for 10 minutes before serving topped with cream cheese frosting.

  • If you like your cake frosting on the sweeter side, feel free to add more maple syrup to the frosting.
  • Feel free to mix in any of your favorite carrot cake ingredients.

Calories: 458kcal Carbohydrates: 56g Protein: 21g Fat: 18g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 22g

Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.

About Emily Richter

Emily spent the first 10 years of her career in marketing and advertising roles and started side-hustling with Fit Foodie Finds in Fall of 2015. Em lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son, and manages FFF editorial operations as well as all things sponsorships and brand collaborations.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

here’s-why-8-hours-of-sleep-is-critical-for-athletes-(and-everyone-else)

Here’s Why 8 Hours of Sleep Is Critical for Athletes (and Everyone Else)

how-to-grill-shrimp

How to Grill Shrimp