Overnight Eggnog French Toast is the ultimate festive twist on classic French toast. Thick slices of bread soak in an eggnog bath overnight, allowing the flavors to soak in. The best part? Prepping it the night before ensures your holiday morning is stress-free and enjoyable!
Table of Contents
Eggnog: Love it or hate it?
If you handed it to me in a glass, it would be a hard pass. But serve it up on a plate, complete with buttery carbs and warm maple syrup, and now we are in business!
French toast is a Christmas essential at our house, and my mom, Noni, first introduced me to this creative repurposing of eggnog a few years ago.
If you’ve never tasted eggnog, it has a subtle spiced flavor, which works wonderfully as the base of a custard. Whisk in a little vanilla extract then let the carbs go for a nice, long overnight soak. This eggnog French toast has quickly become one of my favorite Christmas recipes.
Needing more holiday breakfast inspiration? Check out my Make-Ahead Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin French Toast Casserole and The Best Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s make-ahead. With the prep done in advance, all that’s left is to cook and enjoy, saving you valuable time during the busy holiday season.
- It makes use of leftovers. You’ll need just ¾ cup of eggnog for this recipe—such a tiny bit might go to waste otherwise once the carton’s nearly finished!
- Fluffy and flavorful. The overnight soak ensures that every slice of bread is perfectly infused with eggnog flavor, resulting in a fluffy and flavorful French toast.
- It can easily be doubled. This holiday French toast recipe serves four, but can easily be doubled for a larger crowd.
- Eggnog: The star of the show! The creamy texture of eggnog makes for a wonderfully rich custard.
- Eggs: Eggs further thicken the custard. (Also, who else loves the browned, eggy exterior of French toast?!).
- Ground cinnamon: Cinnamon is often added to eggnog, so it makes sense to add a bit more to this recipe. For me, cinnamon is a must-have in French toast batter.
- Sugar: Since eggnog is already sweet, you’ll need just 1 tablespoon of additional sugar to help caramelize the exterior of the bread.
- Vanilla extract: Contributes a sweet and aromatic flavor. Choose pure vanilla extract (or use homemade vanilla extract!) for its rich and authentic flavor.
- Thick-cut bread or Texas Toast: You’ll want thickly cut white bread that can hold up to an overnight soak. Brioche or challah would work, too.
- Unsalted butter: Cooking French toast in unsalted butter adds flavor. However, you could substitute coconut oil or a neutral oil (like canola).
- Maple syrup: Do I need to say more? Maple syrup is a French toast must-have!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Make the custard. In a 13×9-inch baking dish, whisk the eggnog, eggs, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract together. Make sure to evenly slice your bread.
- Add the bread. Add the bread to the pan, turn to coat, then arrange in a single layer. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Cook the French toast. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter has melted, add two or three slices of bread (being sure not to crowd the pan). Cook until golden brown (about 5 minutes), flip and continue cooking until cooked through and browned on the other side. Transfer the French toast to a serving platter and repeat this process with the rest of the bread.
- Serve. Top with maple syrup and serve.
Kelly’s Note: You can coat and then immediately pan-fry the French toast if you don’t have the time or patience to wait all night long, but the longer the bread soaks, the more custardy and pillowy it will be in texture, not to mention flavorful!
- Dislike Eggnog?: For those who answer “loathe it!” have no fear. You can easily substitute half-and-half for the eggnog and make this delicious breakfast year-round.
- Avoid Thin Slices of Bread: You’ll want to use thick slices of bread here, which will retain their shape after soaking overnight. Thin slices will fall apart.
- Cook Low and Slow: French toast can burn before cooked through if cooked at too high of a heat. That’s why I recommend medium-low.
- To Keep Things Warm: To keep the French toast warm while the remainder frys up or you finish making the rest of breakfast, place it into a very low (225°F) oven.
- For Something Salty and Sweet: I love serving French toast alongside something savory, like bacon. You could also try my Homemade Candied Bacon.
Leftover French toast can be kept in the fridge, stored in an airtight container, for a few days.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s important to use sturdier, thickly sliced bread for overnight French toast. If the bread is sliced too thin, it will get too soggy overnight.
You can absolutely soak French toast overnight in the fridge. In fact, some recipes (like my eggnog French toast) are designed to soak overnight.
You can make French toast ahead of time and reheat it, though it will lose much of its crispness unless you do so in a skillet. You can also re-warm French toast in a 350°F oven or toaster oven (this should only take a few minutes).
- Banana and Nutella Stuffed French Toast
- Banana Bread French Toast
- Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast
- Baked French Toast Sticks
- Hot Chocolate French Toast
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup eggnog
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 slices thick-cut bread or Texas Toast
- Unsalted butter, for cooking
- Maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- In a 13×9-inch baking pan, whisk together the eggnog, eggs, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract.
- Add the slices of bread to the pan, turning to coat, then arrange them in a single layer.
- Cover the pan securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
- When ready to serve, heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the pan, and once it has melted, add two or three slices of the French toast. Allow them to cook until golden brown and slightly crisped, about 5 minutes, then flip them once and continue cooking until they are cooked through.
- Transfer the French toast to serving plates then repeat the cooking process with the remaining slices of toast.
- Top the French toast with maple syrup and serve.
Kelly’s Notes
- You can easily substitute half-and-half for the eggnog and make this delicious breakfast year-round.
- You’ll want to use thick slices of bread here, which will retain their shape after soaking overnight. Thin slices will fall apart.
- French toast can burn before cooked through if cooked at too high of a heat. That’s why I recommend medium-low.
- To keep the French toast warm while the remainder frys up or you finish making the rest of breakfast, place it into a very low (225°F) oven.
- I love serving French toast alongside something savory, like bacon. You could also try my Homemade Candied Bacon.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Shoutout
Did you try this recipe?
Share it with the world! Mention @justataste or tag #justatasterecipes!
This post may contain affiliate links.
Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
This recipe sounds great!! Could this just be baked in the oven instead of on the stove? Thank you.
Hi Kathi! Absolutely, you could arrange the coated bread slices in a pan and bake them.
We loved it!
I’m so thrilled to hear this, Danica!
I noticed egg nog is back in stores for the season so I’ll have to whip up this French toast ASAP!
Really want to give the eggnog french toast a try!! Sounds delicious!!
I’m a friend of Amy Siberio’s and she told me about this website. As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. My family and I are obsessed with egg nog, so we can’t wait to try it and share it with the rest of our family on Christmas. :)
This looks so good. I can’t wait to make it. I think I’m going to use my Evan Williams egg nog to add another little kick.