This one levels up your typical overnight French toast! With the most decadent layer of caramel and pecans, this Overnight Caramel Baked French Toast bakes into blissful caramel perfection.

Best of all, it can be made the night before for an effortless breakfast come morning!

A gold fork cuts into caramel baked French toast on a stack of white plates.

Table of Contents

The Story Behind the Recipe

This one is perfect for a holiday morning when time is tight and something special is in order. Put it together the night before, then just pull it out of the fridge and bake up a sinfully delicious breakfast while you’re off taking care of other things.

We’ve also plopped a bit of vanilla ice cream on the top of leftover slices for a quick, almost bread-pudding-like dessert.

A white plate with several pieces of caramel baked French toast.

I first published this recipe back in 2009, and it’s been a family favorite ever since! My nephew, when he was little, even used to called it “Aunt Karen’s famous French toast,” because it was on the internet and all. I thought that was pretty awesome!

A cross-section of a piece of caramel baked French toast on a white plate.

Why You’ll Love Overnight Caramel Baked French Toast

This caramel French toast is super special-occasion worthy. I love that it can be assembled the day before, then the next morning, you can just pop it in the oven to bake. It’s especially great for holiday mornings when things are hectic yet you want something special.

Plus, it tastes amazing! Everyone loves this baked French toast recipe … the bread is lightly custardy and chewy, and the caramel is so rich and buttery. The crunch of pecans go perfectly and totally elevates it from plain old French toast.

Ingredients for Caramel French Toast.

Ingredients

  • Brown sugar – You can use either light or dark brown sugar, your preference. The difference is in the amount of molasses, so if you want a richer, more deeply molasses flavored French toast, go for the dark brown sugar.
  • Light corn syrup – A small amount of corn syrup helps create the caramel sauce and ensures success.
  • Butter – If you use unsalted, be sure to add an extra pinch of salt to the batter.
  • Heavy whipping cream – For the thick, rich caramel sauce.
  • Vanilla extract – Use pure vanilla extract for a sweet touch of vanilla flavor.
  • Pecans – Go for raw pecans and chop them finely.
  • French bread – You’ll want to slice them thick, about 3/4-inches.
  • Milk – For the French toast batter. I use 2% or whole milk.
  • Eggs – You’ll need three of them.
  • Salt – Just a pinch (or, again, two if you are using unsalted butter).
  • Cinnamon – I love the added flavor that a bit of ground cinnamon brings.

Adaptations/Variations

  • Go nut-free – This caramel French toast is excellent without the pecans, too.
  • Caramel apple French toast – I haven’t tried this yet, but I think that diced apples in lieu or (or in addition to) the pecans would be glorious. Or, you could just serve it up with some easy sautéed apples on the side.

How to Make Caramel French Toast

Prepare a 9×13 pan and set it aside, then make your caramel sauce in your saucepan.

Ingredients for aramel in a white pan for overnight French toast.
Caramel in a white pan for overnight French toast.

Pour the caramel sauce into your baking dish.

Caramel in a casserole dish for baked French toast.

And then add the pecans, dunk the bread into the batter, and add the bread.

Pecans and caramel in a French toast dish for an overnight French toast bake.
Slices of French bread in a casserole dish for caramel baked French toast.

Cover it up and let it sit overnight. In the morning, bake it!

Top view of caramel baked French toast in a casserole dish.

Serve your overnight French toast right from the pan or let it cool for a couple of minutes then invert it over a platter for a pretty presentation.

A top view of caramel baked French toast on a white platter.

Tips for Success

  • Don’t allow the caramel sauce to boil. That’ll result in hard caramel once the French toast is baked. Keep the heat on low and just stir until the butter is melted and the ingredients are smooth.
  • Grease your pan first. With butter or non-stick spray – this will help make clean-up easy.
A white spatula lifts a piece of overnight caramel baked French toast.

I really hope you love this overnight caramel baked French toast as much as we all do! If it ends up being a family fave, will you please do me a favor and come back and leave a review? Thank you! Happy breakfasting!

More French Toast Recipes

A close-up of a piece of overnight caramel baked French toast.
5 from 1 vote

Overnight Caramel Pecan French Toast Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Author: Kare
Yield: 6 servings
Thick slices of bread are dredged into an egg batter and nestled into a thick, rich caramel sauce, then baked up to ooey, gooey perfection!
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup pecans (chopped)
  • 6 – 7 slices French bread (about 3/4 inches thick)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 eggs
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Grease a 9" x 13" pan with a light layer of butter or non-stick spray.
  • Over low heat, combine the brown sugar, light corn syrup, butter, and whipping cream in a medium saucepan.
  • Keeping the heat on low (letting it get too hot is bad – and don’t let it boil!), stir constantly until the butter is melted and the ingredients are smooth.
  • Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla.
  • Pour the warm caramel mixture into a 9″ x 13″ pan.
  • Sprinkle the pecans over the top.
  • In a large bowl, beat together the milk, eggs, salt, the other 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and cinnamon.
  • Dip the bread into the egg mixture, making sure each piece is well-coated. You want to soak up all of the mixture with your six or seven slices of bread.
  • Lay the bread in the pan, over the caramel and pecan mixture.
  • Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • It’s morning! Ready for some breakfast? Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
  • Remove the cover from the pan and bake for 20 minutes, until the bottom is bubbling and the toast is golden brown.
  • Let stand for a couple of minutes, then invert onto a platter.
  • Eat right away!

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1g, Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 73g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 129mg, Sodium: 1691mg, Potassium: 253mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 41g, Vitamin A: 703IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 124mg, Iron: 3mg

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