Sausage and Apple French Toast Bake

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

16 Comments

5 from 3 votes
16 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
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Sausage and Apple French Toast Bake is an easy make-ahead breakfast with classic Autumn flavors. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning!

Breakfast bakes like this one are great for a big group. For more crowd-sized Breakfast Recipes try Blueberry Sausage Biscuit Casserole and Chocolate Chip Croissant Casserole. 

Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake on plate

SAUSAGE AND APPLE FRENCH TOAST BAKE

Sausage and Apple French Toast Bake is the perfect breakfast for the holidays, or just weekend mornings. The baked apples and breading will remind you of classic baked goods like Apple Pie, but the sausage brings its own savory flavor. These two key ingredients balance each other out wonderfully for a breakfast that’s equal parts sweet and savory. 

The traditional flavors of baked apples and sausage make this the ultimate Autumn recipe. Leaving it in the fridge overnight allows time for the bread to soften up and absorb the flavors surrounding it. Once it’s in the oven it will fill your whole house with it’s delicious smell. That alone will be enough to get everyone out of bed, even on cold mornings.

Because it’s made all in one casserole dish this is an easy and portable breakfast to take to potlucks or brunches. Top it with some maple syrup and serve it with a side of eggs for the best brunch dish ever. You and your guests won’t be able to get enough of the warm and cozy flavors of this breakfast bake. Just be prepared for everyone to ask you for the recipe.

Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake before baking

HOW TO DRY OUT BREAD FOR FRENCH TOAST

When it comes to making French Toast or French Toast Bakes like this one, it’s best to use slightly older bread. If the bread is slightly more stale it will do a better job absorbing the custard. The end result is a soft toasted bread with a crisp outside. However, if you’re using fresh bread there are a couple ways to dry it out.

  • Simply leave your bread out at room temperature for 8 hours or so, before making the French toast. 
  • If you didn’t remember to leave your bread out, just pop it in the oven to dry it out. Leaving it in the oven for 15 minutes at 250 degrees should do the trick. 

MORE FRENCH TOAST RECIPES

PERFECT MAKE-AHEAD BREAKFAST

One of the reasons this bake is so perfect for the holidays, is that you prep it all the night before. Rather than having to wake up at the crack of dawn to throw together an elaborate breakfast, you can get everything ready ahead. Here are the simple steps to prepping your breakfast bake:

  1. Prepare your baking sheet with cooking spray so the French Toast won’t stick to it. 
  2. Brown the sausage.
  3. Combine the bread cubes, apples, and sausage. Add the mixture to your baking dish.
  4. Whisk together the milk and eggs, then pour the custard over the bread. 
  5. Cover the dish and store it in the refrigerator until the morning. 

Since you get all this done the night before, you won’t have to worry about cleanup or anything else in the morning. Just make sure the first person to wake up pops the bake in the oven. Your family will have the best breakfast waiting for them when they wake up. 

Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake in baking dish

VARIATIONS ON SAUSAGE AND APPLE FRENCH TOAST BAKE

  • Meat: You can exchange the sausage for ham, bacon, or turkey bacon. You could also try different kinds of sausage such as Italian or spicy to change up the flavor more. 
  • Fruit: There are plenty of other fruits you can try in this French Toast Bake apart from apples. Some good options would be peaches, bananas, blueberries, or raspberries. 
  • Bread: If you don’t have Italian bread, try French bread, sourdough, brioche, Texas toast, or challah. Any of these make great French toast. 
  • Cinnamon: Before mixing the apples with the bread and sausage, try coating them in cinnamon sugar. Mix together a teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ cup sugar. Toss the apples in this mixture until coated. You can also add some nutmeg and other classic spices to the blend. 

HOW TO STORE SAUSAGE AND APPLE FRENCH TOAST BAKE

  • Serve: Don’t leave your Sausage and Apple French Toast Bake at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: Once the breakfast bake has cooled to room temperature, you can cover and store it in the fridge. It will stay good for a week. 
  • Freeze: If carefully sealed, you can store your French Toast Bake in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the fridge before you reheat it in the oven. 

Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake on small plate

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Dinner, then Dessert

Sausage and Apple French Toast Bake

Sausage and Apple French Toast Bake is an easy make-ahead breakfast with classic Autumn flavors. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning!
Yield 16 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake with syrup on plate and green napkin
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds pork sausage
  • 3 medium apples , cut into 1/2-inch chunks (tart apples like Granny Smith work best)
  • 12 cups Italian bread , cubed
  • 9 large eggs
  • 3 cups 2% milk

Instructions

  • Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.
  • In a medium pot over medium heat, cook and crumble sausage for 6-8 minutes until no longer pink. Combine sausage, apples, and bread in a large bowl, then spread evenly in the prepared baking pan.
  • Whisk together the eggs and milk in another bowl, then pour evenly over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from refrigerator while oven heats.
  • Bake, covered, for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Uncover the casserole and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Nutrition

Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 323mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 258IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. I was very disappointed. I have made other baked french toast recipes that are wonderful but this just tasted like toasted bread chunks. Maybe it needed more eggs? I won’t be making it again.

    Reply

        1. Leaving it in the fridge overnight allows time for the bread to soften up and absorb the flavors surrounding it. Can you let it soak for at least 4 or so hours at minimum? I haven’t tested this recipe without soaking overnight. Let me know what you decide to do and how it turned out!

          Reply