Overnight Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole

This easy Overnight Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole is an overnight casserole made with healthy eggs, pineapple, walnuts, and pureed carrots (in the form of baby food) so it's quick and easy to make) but still tastes like you're eating carrot cake for breakfast! It's the perfect Easter breakfast casserole recipe.

Overnight Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole is popular at Easter but makes a great brunch any time of the year! It pairs perfectly with Old Fashioned Fruit Salad and Air Fryer Turkey Sausage. This recipe was inspired by my favorite Carrot Cake recipe.

🥘 Ingredients

This French toast casserole boasts healthy carrots (baby food) and other real, wholesome ingredients like eggs, cinnamon, pineapple, walnuts, and cream, yet it still tastes like you're eating a carrot cake for breakfast!

The beauty of baby food is that the work is already done for you! Why do all that shredding or cooking and puréeing carrots when you don’t have to? That's why I use carrots,  in the form of baby food, in this casserole; it's super quick and easy.

And since they make it for babies, there are no preservatives and fillers in it. It's pure carrots and water. And the brand I uses makes theirs with organic carrots. Plus, you can buy baby food anywhere!

In addition to carrot baby food, you will also need the following for this french toast bake:

• Thick French bread Texas toast bread 
• large eggs
• half-and-half cream
• brown sugar
• white granulated sugar
• vanilla extract
• ground cinnamon
• crushed pineapple and pineapple rings, drained and liquid squeezed out
• walnuts
• maple syrup
• cream cheese, room temperature
• icing sugar/powdered sugar
• whipped cream * I use the aerosol can of whipped cream
• carrot ribbons (thin) * See photo below, in instructions

Easter starts with eggs and so does this Baked French Toast Casserole!

🔪Instructions

Prep: Generously spray a 9 X 13 casserole dish or baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Arrange ½ the loaf of slices of bread in 2 rows, overlapping if need be, in a casserole dish.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half cream, drained, crushed and squeezed pineapple (make sure you squeeze as much liquid out as possible!),  pureed carrots (baby food), brown sugar, white granulated sugar,  vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Then beat with a whisk until blended thoroughly.

Pour ½ the liquid french toast mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the cream-egg mixture. 

Then add the rest of the bread slices

Pour the remaining half of the liquid mixture over the bread slices

Add finely chopped walnut evenly over soaked bread slices.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight (about 8 hours)

The next day,  preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) Remove from refrigerator, leave the foil on, and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. 

Remove foil and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar/icing sugar until incorporated. Then add milk and vanilla.

Spread glaze over warm casserole with a spatula.

Garnish:

Sprinkle with cinnamon and pat the pineapple rings dry with paper towel and place on top of casserole.

Dot the insides of the pineapple rings with whipped cream (* I use whipped cream from a spray bottle).

 Use a vegetable peeler to make thin ribbons with carrots, then add 2-3 on top of the whipped cream. Add a few pieces of chopped walnuts.

Serve with additional syrup and whipped cream, as desired.

⏲️ Baking time

Overnight French toast Casseroles are so much easier than fussing with making individual French toast. It takes about 10 minutes to throw together the night before, you let it rest overnight in the fridge while you slumber and the next morning, you pop it in the oven for 50 minutes. Easy Peasy! And perfect for your Easter brunch.

🥗 Side dishes

This carrot cake casserole pairs well with the following dishes:

• Old Fashioned Fruit Salad (with Honey Lime Dressing) (shown)
• Air Fryer Turkey Sausage

🍽Equipment

For this Carrot Cake French Toast with Cream Cheese Frosting you will need a mixing bowl, a 9x13 casserole dish, an electric mixer, a trivet, and a spatula (affiliate links).

🌡️Storage

You can store leftover carrot cake casserole for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge! If you are just leaving it overnight, you can cover it in plastic wrap.

Make ahead:

• This can also be reheated and served later. If you are taking it along to a gathering or potluck make sure you bake it in a microwaveable casserole dish (so it can warmed up)!
• You'll want to add the glaze and garnishes AFTER you reheat it
• And be sure to bring along additional maple syrup and whipped cream to serve with it!

Freezing:

• You can freeze leftovers! I froze my leftovers of this recipe, fully garnished, then heated up a piece for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The texture was a little moister so I wouldn't recommend this for serving initially, but it's fine for eating as leftovers for yourself.

👪 Serving Size

This overnight casserole makes 10 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. You'll need a bigger casserole dish or an additional casserole dish if you double or triple it.

So, if you want to have dessert for breakfast and still feel good about it, then make this Carrot Cake French Toast recipe with cream cheese glaze. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and essential for Easter Sunday dessert (or in this case 'dessert for breakfast'!)

📋 Overnight Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole Recipe

This easy Overnight Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole is made with healthy eggs, pineapple, walnuts and pureed carrots (in the form of baby food so it's quick and easy to make) but still tastes like you're eating carrot cake for breakfast! It's the perfect Easter breakfast casserole recipe.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Keyword: carrot cake, casserole, french toast, overnight

Special Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 308kcal

Author: Terri Gilson

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

refrigeration: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 9 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

9x13 casserole dish

electric mixer

trivets

spatula

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 loaf Thick french bread, brioche or texas toast bread * if using brioche, may need to use 2 loaves, if loaves are smaller
• ▢ 8 large eggs
• ▢ 1 1 /2 cups half-and-half cream
• ▢ 2 -128 ml -carrot baby food jars
• ▢ 4 tablespoon brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 -398 ml can -crushed pineapple, drained and liquid squeezed out
• ▢ ⅔ cup finely chopped walnuts
• ▢ ¼ cup maple syrup

Cream Cheese Glaze

• ▢ 8 oz oz cream cheese
• ▢ 1 cup icing sugar/powdered sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoon milk
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla

Garnish

• ▢ 1 398 ml can pineapple rings, drained and patted dry with a paper towel
• ▢ ½ - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ whipped cream * I use the aerosol can of whipped creaam
• ▢ carrot ribbons (thin) * See photo below, in instructdions
• ▢ walnuts

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

NOTE: The instruction images will NOT print by default. If you want them to print, you'll need to check the box beside "images" on the print page

• Generously spray a 9 X 13 casserole dish or baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Arrange ½ the loaf of slices of bread in 2 rows, overlapping if need be,  in a casserole dish.
  
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half cream, drained, crushed and squeezed pineapple (make sure you squeeze as much liquid out as possible!),  pureed carrots (baby food), brown sugar, white granulated sugar,  vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Then beat with a whisk until blended thoroughly.
• Pour ½ the liquid  mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the cream-egg mixture. 
  
• Then add the rest of the bread.
  
• Pour the remaining half of the liquid over the bread slices. Sprinkle finely chopped walnut evenly over soaked bread slices.
  
• Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight (about 8 hours)
  
• The next day,  preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C ). Remove from refrigerator, leave the foil on and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. 
• Remove foil and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze

• Beat softened cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth.
• Gradually add powdered sugar/icing sugar until incorporated. Then add milk and vanilla.
• Spread glaze over warm casserole with a spatula.
  

Garnish

• Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Pat the pineapple rings dry with paper towel and place on top of casserole, as shown.
• Dot the insides of the pineapple rings with whipped cream (* I use a whipped cream from a spray bottle) 
• Use a vegetable peeler to make thin ribbons with carrots, then add 2-3 on top of whipped cream.
  
• Add few pieces of chopped walnuts.
• Serve with additional syrup and whipped cream, as desired.
  

Notes

Make ahead:

• This can also be reheated and served later. If you are taking it along to a gathering or potluck make sure you bake it in a microwaveable casserole dish (so it can warmed up)!
• You'll want to add the glaze and garnishes AFTER you reheat it
• And be sure to bring along additional maple syrup and whipped cream to serve with it!

Freezing:

• You can freeze leftovers! I froze my leftovers of this recipe, fully garnished,  then heated up a piece for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The texture was a little more moist so I wouldn't recommend this for serving initially, but it's fine for leftovers.

 

Nutrition Facts

📋 Overnight Carrot Cake French Toast Casserole Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 308 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 131mg44%

Sodium 269mg12%

Potassium 147mg4%

Carbohydrates 46g15%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 22g24%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 230IU5%

Vitamin C 0.1mg0%

Calcium 60mg6%

Iron 2.4mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 308kcal (15%) | Carbohydrates: 46g (15%) | Protein: 10g (20%) | Fat: 9g (14%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) | Cholesterol: 131mg (44%) | Sodium: 269mg (12%) | Potassium: 147mg (4%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 22g (24%) | Vitamin A: 230IU (5%) | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 60mg (6%) | Iron: 2.4mg (13%)

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