This overnight baked banana French toast is easy to make and delicious with bananas nestled alongside the custard-soaked bread and a touch of brown sugar and pecans crisped on the top.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

There's not too many times that I buy something for lunch partly because I want to use the leftovers for breakfast in a day or two's time, but that did indeed happen the other day.

I was running low on things to take for lunch for my son and I, but knew that where we were going was near a supermarket that we could pop in and get some bread and cheese to add to what we had. I had rolls in mind, and when I saw brioche rolls I immediately thought baked banana French toast for breakfast (the idea had been brewing before then) and so in the basket they went.

Different kinds of French toast

We have French toast now and again, but tend to go for the quick and easy way of slicing bread, soaking it quickly and frying in a little butter. Usually I just use egg, maybe with just a little milk but don't tend to get round to 'seasoning' the egg/custard.

However, I had often seen baked French toast recipes where you soaked the bread overnight. These seemed to lend themselves to making a bit more of a proper custard. Somehow the fact of preparing it the night before and doing a larger batch, it just made more sense, in my mind. (I've used the idea again in my strawberry French toast bake).

I'm glad I didn't prepare this dish until after I had already eaten. I needed to be full enough not to start eating it, as the smell from the custard was already delicious, even before I put it in the oven.

Finishing touches

I decided to add in bananas because we all love them in our house. Furthermore, the taste when they are baked is intensified to add a fantastic natural sweetness to the dish. I still went for a little brown sugar mixed in with some pecans on top, though, just to give a delicious tasty crisp finish. The pecan-sugar mix goes so well with everything else and really finishes things off.

If you're a banana fan, be sure to try my banana ice cream (which also roasts the bananas) and easy banana oatmeal. And these air fried bananas make an easy snack or dessert.

This baked banana French toast is a lovely mix of soft, comforting egg-custard soaked bread with a gentle spice and a crunchy nutty and sweet topping. The banana goes slightly gooey and has that great baked sweetness. The fact that it doesn't take long to prepare, and can be done in advance, is all the better. It's a perfect brunch dish, especially for a cold day.

Looking for more brunch ideas? Try these:

Eggs Royale (smoked salmon eggs Benedict)
Strawberry French toast bake
Baked eggs with mushroom and asparagus
Asparagus with easy blender Hollandaise sauce
Plus get more ideas in the breakfast and brunch recipes archives.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes